Review of The Last House on the Left (2009) by Wes S — 25 Aug 2012

In this remake of the original Last House on the Left, this retelling is a much more sobering, gritty, and dark story about young Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) who is taken hostage along with her friend Paige (Martha Maclsaac) by escape convict Krug (Garret Dillanhunt) and his gang.

When Mari Collingwood shows up to the lake house in the countryside with her parents, she makes plans to spend time with her friend Paige who she hasn't seen in a while. While hanging out with her cashier friend Paige at the local store, they meet Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) who's father happens to be the notorious escape con who's been in all the papers. Innocently planning to buy a little marijuana from Justin at his hotel room, the girls walk into a nightmare when his father Krug, his uncle Frank (Aaron Paul) and Krug's girlfriend Sadie(Riki Lindhome) show up early. Violently terrorized and brutally raped, Mari barely manages to escape after a car accident leaves them all stranded in the woods. Now Mari tries to make it back home only to find her the very people who traumatized her taking refuge at her home during a bad storm.

The thing for me that is so unsettling about watching movies involving rape is by watching it I feel as if I am somehow an accomplice, and especially in this movie with Sara Paxton's chilling and way too realistic performance. And Garret Dillanhunt gives an equally chilling performance as the sociopathic and menacing leader of the gang who seems to take pleasure in terrorizing his victims. Solid performances from everyone in this thrilling revenge film, and a solid plot also that flows very well.