by JudgeX
March 17, 2009 03:38
The Last House on the Left
*spoiler warning*
The 2009 remake of the 1972 original The Last House on the Left is definitely not for everyone, but it is relatively accurate to the original material. The new movie replaces a good measure of the original's gritty, heavy material with some much-needed big-screen modern glitz, camerawork, and special effects, but ultimately, they are roughly the same. The '72 version is perhaps a little more impactful in its unblinking observation of the terrible things that happen to Mari and her friend, but the aged quality of the film and cultural differences between 2009 and 1972 are very hard to see past if you aren't used to movies from that time period.
Generally, horror movies receive lower IMDB and other rating site scores than other genres, by a full point on average. Because of this, finding the good horror movies is a difficult challenge. While there are some innate problems with this movie in terms of composition and flow, I must highly recommend that it be viewed. This is, however, still shock horror, so it is not to be watched by anyone who doesn't want to see depictions of incredible cruelty.
So let's talk rape. Central to this movie and the original is a very brutal rape/murder, or murder one girl then rape another, scene. Honestly, I didn't expect it to make it into the movie intact, from the original. And, well, it *almost* made it intact. This is probably the most brutal rape scene in a widely released American movie that I have seen in the past 15 years. The original movie's scene was perhaps a little worse in terms of sheer carnality, but the filming was not as well done, so I place these two scenes as relatively equal. Most moviegoers won't be ready for the new scene, and if all of the little gut-wrenching details from the first movie were captured, I'm not sure this movie would have made wide release in the current atmosphere. The '72 version and I Spit On Your Grave both did a fantastic job of portraying a terrible, terrible event, and using it to great effect. The 2009 The Last House on the Left does so as well, and if it's toned down, it's by no more than 15%, which is made up for and easily forgiven by the quality of the production.
The plot, for those unaware, is as follows, from IMDB:
"After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee (Dillahunt) unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims -- a mother (Potter) and father (Goldwyn) who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics."
Eh, relatively accurate, IMDB.
As far as performances go, I was impressed! Each character is well done, and painted as a unique individual with likeable nuances and quirks. The badguys range from pathetic (well done!) to wicked (well done!). Mari and her friend seem believable enough as teenagers trying to enjoy life in a small and boring town. Everyone did a great job, and I think the director was able to masterfully focus on his best performers and use judicious camerawork to denigrate the effect of some of the unpolished acting that could have otherwise marred this movie.
Overall, I'd rate this movie 8 out of 10. For a horror movie with nobody I've ever really seen in anything else, it's pretty damn good, and stacks up to the original fairly well. Is the original better? No, but only because it's so dated/low production quality. A line by line remake of the original, updated for 2009, with the same actors probably would have had an edge, but this was still really good.
MPAA rating: R (for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use).
Running time: 1:40.
Opening: March 13.
Starring: Sara Paxton (Mari); Martha MacIsaac (Paige); Garret Dillahunt (Krug); Tony Goldwyn (John); Monica Potter (Emma).
Directed by: Dennis Iliadis; written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth, based on Wes Craven's 1972 film; produced by Wes Craven, Sean Cunningham and Marianne Maddalena. A Rogue Pictures release.
