Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Aryana Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Mark Turner I can remember the first time I ever saw THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. I was drawn in by the ad campaign that claimed you had to keep telling yourself "it's only a movie, it's only a movie..." It was a great promo for the film and drew in those like myself who were pulled in as if dared to watch what would unfold on the screen. For once the hype matched the movie and it was more difficult to watch than I expected. More disturbing films have followed but this one released in 1972 was like a film that opened the door for those to follow. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.If you've never seen the film it's loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING (which I also recently viewed and wrote about). Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody) is a young girl living at home with her parents Dr. John Collingwood (Richard Towers) and Estelle (Cynthia Carr). She's going to a concert with Phyllis (Lucy Grantham), a friend her parents don't quite approve of. Before she leaves her father gives her a gift, a new necklace. The girls are on their way to the concert in a seedier part of the city when they come across Junior Stillo (Marc Sheffler). We as viewers are already aware of who Junior is, part of a gang of criminals who have broken out of prison. A description of them over the radio describes them as pretty much having committed every reprehensible act you can think of including murder and rape. The girls approach Junior hoping to score some grass and he invites them up to the hotel room he's in to sell them some. It isn't until they see the rest of the gang and Junior locks the door behind them that they realize they've made a mistake.The gang is led by Krug Stillo (David Hess), Junior's father and a totally scummy individual. With him are Sadie (Jeramie Rain) his long standing girlfriend and Fred "Weasel" Podowski (Fred Lincoln). It doesn't take long before the three of them begin threatening the girls. After a failed escape attempt by Phyllis she is raped and the girls remain hostages until the gang heads out the next day.Taken in the woods to be disposed of the gang, all with sadistic bents, force the girls to disrobe and make out with one another. Mari begins to go into a catatonic state and Phyllis is doing her best to cope with the gang and to help her friend. When they're done having "fun" with the two girls, the gang kills them and leaves them in the woods.At home John and Estelle had been planning a birthday party for Mari. When she never showed the night before they'd called the Sheriff (Marshall Anker) and he and his deputy (a young Martin Kove) arrived to get the details about the girls. The next day the pair find the abandoned car of the gang but can't get to help because their car runs out of gas. Having ditched the car with problems the gang heads out on foot and stops at a home to get some food and rest. What they don't realize is that this is Mari's home. They act peaceably enough not wanting to start anything that would leave a trail. Later that evening Estelle notices the necklace they gave Mari is now hanging from Junior's neck. What follows is less upsetting than the earlier moments of the film but no less unforgettable.The movie was the first film made by a college professor who went on to greater acclaim, Wes Craven. This was his first foray into film and was made on a miniscule budget as a way to get exposed to film. It was produced by Sean Cunningham who had worked with Craven when Craven synchronized his own directorial effort. Both would go on to bigger and better things, Craven to the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream franchises and Cunningham to the Friday the 13th franchise.Craven has said that he wanted to depict the violence on screen in the film because prior to this the movies glamourized violence. He wanted to show the brutality of it and he accomplishes it quite well. The scenes of brutality in the film are very upsetting and to this day I don't recommend the film for those with a weak constitution. It's not that the violence is as graphically depicted with blood or gore as many of today's films are but the way its shot, the grainy near documentary styled shooting used and the scummy feeling of the gang and their behaviors leaves you wanting a nice hot shower after viewing. I think I first saw the film back years after it had come out. I can't quite remember of it was a midnight movie or a second feature at a drive in. I do recall that I didn't understand the acclaim the film had garnered and found it quite upsetting to view. I did stick it out though. Watching it again after all these years I still find the film unnerving and upsetting. I'm glad those in charge of making the film went on to bigger and better things. The same can't be said of all those involved. The film has developed a legion of fans in spite of the low grade production values and the disturbing nature of the film. It was banned in several countries upon release and sought after just for that reason. Those fans will be pleased to find that Arrow Video is offering the film in the best possible format available with a ton of extras. But that's become second nature with any and all Arrow releases. To start with the film offers three cuts of the film newly restored in 2K from original film elements: the R-rated cut, the unrated cut and the Krug & Company cut.If that weren't enough the movie is offered on three discs and includes more extras than most films can even think of. Included are 6 lobby card reproductions, a double sided poster featuring new artwork, a reversible sleeve with new artwork, a limited edition 60 page book with new writing on the film by author Stephen Thrower, an isolated score remastered from the original magnetic tracks, a new commentary track by podcasters Bill Ackerman and Amanda Reyes, an archival commentary track by Craven and Cunningham, an archival commentary track by Hess, Sheffler and Lincoln and an introduction to the film by Craven.But there's more! STILL STANDING: THE LEGACY OF THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT an archival interview with Wes Craven, CELLULOID CRIME OF THE CENTURY an archival documentary with interviews including Craven, Cunningham, Hess, Lincoln, Rain, Sheffler and Kove, SCORING LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT an archival interview with Hess who did songs for the film, IT'S ONLY A MOVIE: THE MAKING OF THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEF an archival documentary, FORBIDDEN FOOTAGE the cast and crew on the film's most controversial sequences, JUNIOR'S STORY a new interview with Sheffler, BLOOD AND GUTS a new featurette with makeup artists Anne Paul, THE ROAD LEADS TO TERROR a new featurette revisiting the film's original shooting locations, deleted scenes, extended outtakes and dailies, trailers, TV spots, radio spots, an image gallery, THE CRAVEN TOUCH a new featurette bringing together interviews with Craven collaborators like Cunningham, composer Charles Bernstein, producer Peter Locke, cinematographer Mark Irwin and actress Amanda Wyss. Then there is EARLY DAYS AND 'NIGHT OF VENGUEANCE' where filmmakers Roy Frumkes remembers Craven and the film, TALES THAT'LL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT excerpts from an unfinished Craven shot, a Q&A with Sheffler from a 2017 screening of the film at The American Cinematheque, KRUG CONQUERS ENGLAND an archival featurette charting the theatrical tour of the first ever uncut screening of the film in the UK and a CD featuring the complete and newly remastered film score. WHEW!If it seems there is more to watch in this package than the actual film itself you are not wrong. I can't think of a more comprehensive package for any title that I'm aware of. If you're a fan then this is a MUST HAVE item. If you've never seen the movie go in wary and expecting to be shocked. Take breaks and walk away for a while if you must. If you're a horror fan then you'll want this as well. Arrow has outdone themselves on this release.Just to be clear I gave this release 7 stars because of the work put into it by Arrow Video for their release of the film. The film itself I'd drop down to perhaps 2.5 stars simply because of it's disturbing quality. But Arrow has come up with so much extra for the release I couldn't give it less than 4 stars for that reason.

helloallu hahahahahahhaha......they killed a priest and 2 nuns....LOL!...what could be worse?..........".....by an animal-like woman...."...hahahahaa!....what exactly does a woman have to do to qualify as being "animal-like?"...bark like a dog?....hahaha....this is so hokey.....In the scene where Phyllis's hand sticks out between Weasel and Sadie and eventually falls to the ground, its obvious that whoever is attached to the hand is still alive because the fingers move....you'd think Wes craven would have caught that before putting it in the film......another thing too....if you were a woman and a man just killed your daughter, would you allow him to put his penis in your mouth?....i don't think so.......Also, just exactly what did the doctor hope to accomplish by stringing wire outside the bedroom doors and smearing shaving cream all over the floor?.....so the killers would fall down....woop-tee-do...Seems like a lot of work to go to for nothing...all that would do is make the killers MADDER....It didn't accomplish one thing.....Also if the killers were murderers who escaped prison, every law enforcement official in the country would be looking for them...that being the case, why would they waste all this time torturing and killing a couple of teenage bimbos?...What would be the point?...i think in real life, the killers would either be hiding or trying desperately to get out of the country.....Lastly, why were there so many movies made in the 70s like this one, which portray the police as stupid, bumbling, clumsy, redneck, keystone-type cops?..is that really how people saw law enforcement as being back then?

zoegraham-85551 I had put off watching this film despite hearing good things about until the death of horror maestro Wes Craven last week. Having read aspects of the plot online I wasn't sure, even after watching Gaspar Noe's Irreversible that I could handle The Last House on the Left. However after deciding I could not claim to be a Wes Craven fan without watching it I mentally prepared myself and put the film on. For starters I recommend that you avoid reading about the plot of this film before watching it, difficult as that may be due to its age and notoriety. This review does not contain huge spoilers but will cover some key plot points. So, the film begins. It is the most seventies thing I have ever seen, but not in a negative way. The cinematography is great and the characters are believable and likable. The film benefits from being made in this time period as it allows the film to take its time making the audience really get to know the characters - and had one not had prior knowledge of the film, it would be possible to believe it is a merry little film about two hippie friends having a great time going to a concert. We are also however introduced to the antagonists - radios in the background of scenes clueing us in to the escape of psychopathic criminal Krug and his family. We also see the family themselves lounging around in their home, which will later become the location for the disequilibrium in the film and the site at which Phyllis and Mari are taken hostage. Now to the infamous crux of the film, the rape scenes. Yes, they are uncomfortable, as they should be, however, Craven is careful to toe the line and never cross into sleaze or eroticism of the acts portrayed, in fact he even cut some of the forced lesbian scene after the film was finished as he believed he had gone too far. This is supposed to be horrible, and it is. These senses are long and painstaking to watch but necessary to sit through in order to appreciate the second act of the film. This is where I believe the film lets itself down a little, something I am not sure whether has been changed in the 2009 version. Maybe after watching the first half was too bloodthirsty, but personally I think that Krug and his gang did not suffer enough. The realisation my Mari's mother was not done particularly well and I didn't find their revenge to be equal to the crimes committed to their daughter and her friend. Having said that the idea was unique and brilliant to have the criminals end up at the parents house. Perhaps my view that the ending is not horrible enough shows that Wes Craven has made a film that garners such strong feelings in those that watch it that during the end scenes we are yelling for the dad to just starting chopping bits of of Krug with the chainsaw already. For some horror fans who have grown up on Saw and Hostel this may not seem like a typical 'horror' film, however it is a classic and it deserves to be revered as one. It is dated, (the music and shooting style, clothing, acting) but this does not detract from the horror and I can only imagine how shocking it was to audiences at the time. Well worth a watch if you are a fan of the genre, rape revenge films in general (Straw Dogs, I Spit on Your Grave...) or the director. It is one of the best films I will never watch again, and remember keep telling yourself "It's only a movie".

ines-o-almeida I'm sure in the 70's this was quite a show, and an amazing suspense or whatever movie, and I can see how it can be considered very good, but I couldn't take half the movie seriously because the soundtrack was so inadequate. In scenes that were supposed to be intense, like the runaway part they put songs that seemed to have been taken out of a cartoon or a cowboy movie or something. Even the rape scene, which in the new one is one of the most intense scenes, did absolutely nothing for me on this one. The choice of songs was very unfortunate and it didn't go well with the whole atmosphere of the movie, or the atmosphere I hoped it had. It was frankly disappointing.