To avoid fainting, keep repeating:  “It’s only a movie, only a movie, only a movie….”

One of the most iconic horror movies ever made, and for its time, one of the most disturbing, comes The Last House on the Left.  Written and directed by horror icon, the great Wes Craven in his directorial debut, and produced by yet another icon, Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13^th), the film still holds up as one of the most twisted films in horror.  When Craven presented it to the MPAA, it was instantly labeled with an X rating for its graphic depictions of violence and disturbing content.  After several back and forth cuts of footage, eventually it was given an R rating, resulting in many different versions floating around in the cinematic world.

THE PLOT

Young Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody) and her “bad girl” best friend Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham) are on their way to New York City to celebrate Mari’s 17^th birthday by attending a rock concert.  Although Mari’s parents aren’t too keen on the idea, they decide to let her go and prepare their home for a birthday party when she returns.  As Mari and Phyllis approach the city, they hear a radio news report of a group of escaped convicts who are considered armed and extremely dangerous.  As they walk the streets looking to score some weed for the concert, they stumble across a young guy standing on an apartment stairway and ask him if he’s selling.  He lures them inside and the girls realize that they are now trapped by the criminals they heard of earlier!  This group, led by Krug (David Hess), consists of his drug addicted son Junior (Marc Sheffler), his wild girlfriend Sadie (Jeramie Rain), and his psychotic cousin, Weasel (Fred J. Lincoln). These people have no intensions of making this an easy night for the girls, immediately assaulting and humiliating them.  As the night quickly goes from bad to worse, the girls have no idea what’s in store for them the following morning.

With the plan to head north and leave the country, the gang throws the girls in the trunk of the car and hit the road, only to break down not long after.  This leads them to drag the girls into the nearby woods and have some “fun” with them.  This is where the nightmare truly begins, and the two girls endure hours of complete humiliation and torture.  With Mari’s parents’ growing concern for their missing daughter, and the local law enforcement’s almost hopeless pursuit, the helpless girls’ chances of rescue and survival start to quickly fade away.

SHOULD YOU SEE IT?

This movie is definitely not for the faint of heart.  In my opinion, this low-budget film is far from perfect, but for fans of dark and deranged style horror, it’s a film that shouldn’t be overlooked.  Although the film was remade in 2009 (and well done, I might add), I feel that it’s important to watch the original first so you can appreciate the remake for what it is.

It was a very bold move for Wes Craven to create something this depraved and disturbing in the early 1970’s.  That being said, it laid the groundwork for a career that would soon blossom into something timeless and iconic.  With its use of gritty imagery, absurd soundtrack, and very believable and maniacal behavior of the deranged gang, The Last House on the Left will definitely make the viewer feel uneasy and possibly a little dirty long after its viewing!