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THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
The original LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT: there exist better known films in the splatter movie pantheon, and certainly better made ones, but you’ll have a difficult time finding a meaner, nastier film--a film, I might add, whose continuing influence on modern horror/exploitation cinema is undeniable.
The Package
Back in 1972
there was nothing else quite like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. It marked the
debut of writer/director Wes Craven, supported by producer Sean S. Cunningham
(who went on to direct the original
FRIDAY THE 13th).
In those days before THE EXORCIST, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST,
Craven and Cunningham set out to create the most extreme film they possibly
could. The inspiration was Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 classic THE VIRGIN SPRING,
which was considered quite shocking for its time. Craven and Cunningham’s
unaccredited remake, initially titled NIGHT OF VENGEANCE and then KRUG AND
COMPANY, far outdid Bergman’s film--and virtually every other--in shock and
awe.
It was a no-budget affair retitled LAST HOUSE ON THE
LEFT by financier/distributor Hallmark Releasing, and released to great success
with the legendary tagline “TO AVOID FAINTING KEEP REPEATING, IT’S ONLY A
MOVIE...ONLY A MOVIE...ONLY A MOVE...” (The full story of LAST HOUSE'S
making and reception is told in David A. Szulkin's 1997 book
WES CRAVEN'S LAST
HOUSE ON THE LEFT: THE MAKING OF A CULT CLASSIC, which I
recommend.)
There exist several outright rip-offs of LAST HOUSE, from 1974’s
NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS to 2005’s CHAOS, as well as countless more pictures inspired
by it to varying degrees, including
THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE,
THE CANDY SNATCHERS,
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
and Craven’s own THE HILLS
HAVE EYES. There was also the inevitable remake, which appeared in
2009, and which I strongly doubt will ever displace the original.
The Story
Teenage Mari
and her friend Phyllis are en route to a concert one night. They enter a shady
part of town hoping to score some pot, and end up in the clutches of Krug, an
escaped psychopath, and his gang. The retinue includes the amoral Sadie, the
equally conscienceless Weasel, and Krug’s mentally impaired son Junior, who Krug
has hooked on heroin to keep him under control. These human monsters take Mari
and Phyllis into the woods, where they sexually humiliate the girls before
brutally raping and killing them both.
After the slaughter is over the killers seek refuge in the first house they
come to: that of John and Estelle Collingwood, Mari’s parents! That night
Estelle overhears Krug and co. talking about murdering the girls, leading to an
orgy of vengeance.
John booby traps the house while Estelle leads Weasel
outside...and, during an impromptu blowjob, bites his dick off. John
decapitates Krug with a chainsaw, but not until after the latter has convinced
Junior to shoot himself in the head. Sadie is dealt with by Estelle, who
slashes her throat and leaves her to expire in the backyard swimming pool. Thus
the bad guys have been done away with, but the Collingwoods are left
blood-spattered and irrevocably debased by the violence they’ve committed.
The Direction
Wes Craven freely admits he didn’t know what he was doing when he made THE
LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (he was apparently “stoned most of the time anyway”),
which explains the crudity and amateurishness of the project. The early scenes
are borderline unwatchable with their clumsy staging and wooden performances,
but once Mari and Phyllis are taken into the woods by Krug and co. the picture
ignites. The lack of polish enhances the horror of these scenes, which have a
rawness few other films can hope to match. The presence of David Hess as Krug
is a big plus: Hess makes for a terrifyingly convincing psycho in a role that
became so iconic the actor has spent much of the remainder of his career
repeating it (in films like THE HOUSE AT THE EDGE OF THE PARK, HITCH-HIKE and
Craven’s SWAMP THING).
The final showdown between Krug’s gang and Mari’s parents presents Wes
Craven’s favorite theme of normal folks pushed to psychotic extremes (showcased
in later Craven opuses like THE HILLS HAVE EYES and THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS)
in its purest, most undiluted form. The intercutting between the Krug-Dr. John
chainsaw duel and the outdoor fight to the death between Sadie and Estelle
conveys a bone-rattling intensity that belies Craven’s amateur status.
The key to the film, perhaps, lies in two short scenes. The first occurs
during the torture of Mari and Phyllis when their tormenters suddenly appear
overcome by remorse at the crime they’re committing, and the second at the very
end, when Mari’s parents, after avenging their daughter’s murder, strike a
shamed pose. In both instances the perpetrators of the violence, justified or
not, have been unalterably sullied by their actions--as by extension has the
viewer. Ugly, grotesque and vicious this film may be, but it’s also profoundly
affecting. You may not like it, but I guarantee THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT will
leave a lasting impression.
Vital Statistics
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (a.k.a. NIGHT OF
VENGEANCE, KRUG AND COMPANY, SEX CRIME OF THE CENTURY)
Hallmark Releasing Corp.
Director: Wes Craven
Producer: Sean S. Cunningham
Screenplay: Wes Craven
Cinematography: Victor Hurwitz
Editing: Wes Craven
Cast: Sandra Cassell, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain,
Marc Sheffler, Gaylord St. James, Cynthia Carr, Ada Washington, Marshall Anker,
Martin Kove