Review of The Last House on the Left (1972) by Joseph J — 29 Jan 2009

After years and years of hearing about how "The Last House on the Left" was a classic, I was pretty disappointed when I actually watched it. Wes Craven, I've learned, can create terrifying scenarios (this is what has made him so much money at the box office), but he never quite knows what is generating the tension, nor how to exploit it.

Just when this movie could have been frightening (the scene when the girls wander into the psychopaths hotel room, or the scene when the girls try to run away), it backs off, or concludes the scene too quickly, or flips the script and puts the power into the wrong hands, thus muting the tension (when the father has the chainsaw, how are we supposed to be scared? Likewise, when Neve Campbell in "Scream" is chasing Skeet Ulrich, why would we fear for her life?).

"Last House on the Left," at best, is a piece of cinematic history. More realistically, it is a dopey, poorly acted, and horridly contrived story. The whole thing is built on a series of coincidences, none of which seem plausible, and the over-the-top comic relief of the cops absolutely kills the film's mood.

Don't even bother with "Last House on the Left," and definitely don't waste your money on the upcoming remake.