The Last House on the Left

Wes Craven’s 1972 The Last House on the Left is revered by many as some sort of masterpiece, a barebones horror film that channeled fears brought on by the murderous Manson family in the late ’60s. In the film, Mari Collingwood and her friend went searching for pot and wound up in the woods being victimized by unspeakable horrors. These horrors would be avenged in a ridiculous finale by some none-too-pleased parents wielding chainsaws, biting genitals and whatnot. I never liked that movie, and I’m not too fond of this remake. It was made with a bigger budget and bigger stars, and it tries to soften the blow of Craven’s original vision. The film, regrettably, contains a re-do of the infamous rape scene from the original, and the Collingwood parents (Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter) still get their bloody revenge. It wants to be both a crazy slasher film and a realistic horror picture, and the two don’t mix well. In the end, it’s just sort of unnecessary.