Plot: What’s it about?
Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassel) has just turned seventeen and to celebrate, she and her friend Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) have some big plans. The girls are headed to the city to see Bloodlust, a hard rock band that both of them love to no end. Although Mari’s father warns them about going, the girls insist and soon enough, they’re off to the rock concert. But when they take a detour to try and score some weed, things take a tragic turn for the two friends. Krug Stillo (David A. Hess) has escaped from prison and happens to be in the area, along with three other criminals that comprise his own gang of sorts. As fate has it, the girls run into these lowlifes and soon after, find themselves drugged and then the true terror begins for them. Krug and his thug buddies beat the girls in brutal fashion, humiliate them in all sorts of ways, and even rape them, leaving these young women as tortured victims. After they’ve been brutalized for a while, Krug and the others force them into the trunk of their car, to take them into the woods for even more abuse. Can the girls somehow survive and if not, what will become of their attackers?
After an extensive wait, American audiences can finally experience the complete & uncut version of Wes Craven’s The Last House of the Left. As we’ve suffered through dismal video and hacked running times, this uncut edition serves as a holy grail to some collections, at least I know it does in my case. Yes, the movie is brutal and dark, with scenes of extreme violence and horrific acts, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. As a fan of horror cinema in general, I’ve seen endless streams of blood and countless scenes of violence, but few films have created the kind of brutal, realistic atmosphere of The Last House on the Left. While not a traditional horror picture, it does have the needed ability to send chills down your spine, but not because of some monster, instead because of how plausible the horror is here. This kind of thing happens in real life and that makes it scarier than most demonic tales or vampire stories, to be sure. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to those easily offended, but if you’re interested in a realistic, terrifying picture, then The Last House on the Left is well worth a look. I’d also like to commend MGM, as they’ve given us the uncut version of the movie, a brand new anamorphic widescreen transfer, and a nice selection of supplements, all for a very minimal price, superb work indeed.
Although he is not my choice as one of the elite horror filmmakers these days, Wes Craven has been in that group before, without question. I know his Scream series is beloved by teenyboppers, but most longtime genre fans consider it to be the start of the downhill slide, as most horror movies have been more teen thrillers since. But before Scream tarnished the waters, Craven gave us some excellent tales of terror, including this brutal piece of filmmaking. While this was his first effort in the genre and one of his first film works period, Craven is able to put his limitations to work for himself, making his movie more effective as a result. So when his budget was low and conditions were harsh, he used that to make a realistic, horrific picture like this one. Other films directed by Craven include Swamp Thing, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The People Under the Stairs, and Shocker. The cast here includes David Hess (Hitch-Hike, The House on the Edge of the Park), Sandra Cassel (Legacy of Satan, Teenage Hitch-Hikers), and Fred J. Lincoln (Blazing Bedrooms, Nasty Girls).
Video: How does it look?
The Last House on the Left is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition on the disc’s flip side. As a low budget film shot under harsh conditions on 16MM materials, this film will never look pristine, but then again, that isn’t all bad. The dim, almost documentary style visuals add to the realism of the events and in this case, the movie turns out better as a result. This new widescreen version is cleaner and sharper than prior releases, but still has the limitations of the source material, to be sure. The colors look natural and acceptable, while contrast is usually well balanced, though production limitations are obvious at times. As for the print, it has some grain and moderate nicks, but all in all, is a welcome improvement. If you’ve seen this movie before, then you should be impressed with MGM’s work here, but if you haven’t, keep in mind the conditions under which it was created.
Audio: How does it sound?
A solid mono option is offered here and as with previous versions, the sound is reasonable, but hampered by production limitations. But then again, the raw and natural audio elements seem to add to the realism and as such, can’t be viewed as total problems. Even so, the dialogue is sometimes muffled and hard to understand, which isn’t good news, of course. I also noted some hiss, distortion, and harshness, though never to an extreme level of distraction. On the whole, this sounds like a low budget documentary film and for the purposes of the material, that works well enough for us to overlook the inherent flaws. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In addition to handing fans the complete & uncut version of the movie itself, MGM has delivered some solid extras, including an informative audio commentary track. The track has director Wes Craven and producer Sean S. Cunningham involved, both of whom seem to have a lot to comment on with this picture. I was surprised by the lack of defense for the movie, but the two seem to be more focused on detailing the production, as opposed to defending its brutal nature, which still makes for an insightful session. You’ll also find a terrific new thirty minute retrospective featurette, as well as an eight minute look at the various cuts the movie has suffered through. This disc also includes an introduction from Craven, ten minutes of unused footage, and of course, the film’s notorious theatrical trailer.
