Tradition

We're over here now, as I help to celebrate the month of October with not one but two movie reviews. First up is a 1970's movie that I had never viewed titled Last House on the Left. The first movie Wes Craven wrote and directed for the big screen. The audience was told in order to keep from fainting you need to keep telling yourself "it's only a movie". These were probably the same people who labeled the 1963 Vincent Price movie Diary of a Madman as "the most terrifying movie ever made". But I digress, LHOTL was produced by Scott S. Cunningham. Wes Craven would go on to make horror movie history with his Nightmare on Elm Street movies while Cunningham began the Friday the 13Th franchise.



LHOTL is an odd movie. From the very beginning something doesn't feel right. Usually this is a good thing for a horror movie but in this case it's not. What I mean is, as the movies female lead Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassell) takes a shower on her 17Th birthday and gets dressed to go out to a concert by a group called Bloodlust there is nudity right away, I usually don't complain about nudity but she's supposed to be 17. That seems a little gratuitous lecherous to me. As she comes down stairs to leave she is confronted by her father Dr. John (Richard Towers) and he makes sure to mention that she is not wearing a bra and that can see her nipples through her shirt. It's just an odd way to start a movie for me.



On the way to the city, Mari and her friend Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) hear a radio report about a recent prison break, involving violent criminals by the names of Krug Stillo (David Hess who also does the music for the film, more on that later), his son Junior (Marc Sheffler; who's agent plays Dr. John), Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred J. Lincoln who did mostly porno movies but treated us to his main stream craft here, lucky us). Upon arrival in the city, Mari and Phyllis walk around looking someone who might sell them some marijuana, a known horror movie no-no. Eventually, they run into Junior, who leads them back to an apartment, where they are immediately entrapped by the criminals. Fun and frivolity of the sick and twisted variety shortly ensues as back home, Mari's parents begin decorating for a surprise birthday party.



After a fun filled night the girls are locked inside the trunk of the criminals car as they attmpt to leave the country. Their car breaks down right in front of Mari's driveway, as luck would have it, but is ignored by the two sheriff deputies that are investigating the kidnapping of Mari. The criminals take Mari and Phyllis deep into the woods and continue the torture and other vile acts which include Phyllis being forced to urinate in her pants and Mari and Phyllis are then made to have sex with one another. Meanwhile, the bungling cops have realized the error of their ways and are going back for the criminals car. Unfortunately for them their own squad car runs out of gas and the two are forced to try and hitch a ride from a group of hippies who gives them the finger and yells at them that they hate cops. Next up is a chicken farmer and the two keystone wannabees luck doesn't seem to get any better.



I won't give you any more detail of the films, ah hem, plot only to say you will have to go see for yourself if you have not seen this. Believe it or not LHOTL is actually based on Ingmar Bergman's classic film The Virgin Spring which won an Oscar in 1960 for best foreign language film. How did that come all the way to this?

This film, along with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is credited with being the two films that brought realism into horror films. Originally titled Night of Vengeance, the original script called for even more violence and brutality than actually made it into the film. What the hell is wrong with Wes Craven? The movie is actually well filmed and it does look more like a documentary of sorts than a produced movie, but the music, well, that's a whole different subject.



The film's soundtrack was written-and partially sung-by David Hess, who also played the main antagonist Krug. It is notable for being contrasted with the events on screen. For example, as the gang drives the two girls out into the countryside, an upbeat, almost comical tune plays and, after a rape scene, a soothing ballad plays.



Most of the acting is as horrible as the torture the girls go through. LHOTL was a huge hit at drive in movie theaters in the 70's and has a cult following around the globe to this day. It has only recently been made available in it's "uncut" form (17 seconds is still missing from the version available in the UK) in many countries. A remake of the movie is currently in the works. While watching it I was actually saying something like the tag line said I would only I was adding one word to the line "it's only a movie" and that word was "bad". I can only muster up one fang out of four for this one. I will be back with my second movie later.