Last House on the Left -- it was a doozie!

MPAA Rating: R for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use.


"Excessive and gory, this remake lacks the intellectual punch of the 1972 original." -- Rotten Tomatoes

"...wallows in sick sadism while missing the point completely." -- E! online

"...desperate-to-be-shocking exploitation dud." -- Entertainment Weekly

“The Last House on the Left is a study of operatic vengeance and dueling family values." -- New York Times

"It is unapologetically violent, to the point where those who are upset by screen brutality will have a tough time sitting through it." -- Reelviews

Here's a good description/review:

On one hand, The Last House on the Left is a film involving such brutal violence and degradation that it made this viewer, and a few others we polled, physically sick. Some of the images are truly horrifying, and the content is generally disgusting and often unwatchable. It is a disturbing movie, which would seem to be the point. In moral terms, the film rates zero stars out of five.

On the other hand, in film terms, it must be said that The Last House on the Left is really well done, with impressive performances, masterful creation of dread and tension, perfect pacing, intense storytelling, haunting cinematography, truly sickening sound effects, and all that. The cast has several surprises, including Sara Paxton and Martha MacIsaac as the tortured teens and Tony Goldwyn as the dad; the bad guys, played by Garret Dillahunt, Aaron Paul and Riki Lindhome are wonderfully calm, cold and menacing.




Was it a terrible movie? No. Not at all. I was glued to it the whole time. I essentially knew the way it would end, having seen the original a few times back in the early 90s. I like Tony Goldwyn, so I enjoyed watching him in a movie again. (And I confess I started having flashbacks of him in Kuffs - a happy feel good comedy!) Plus it had a girl from Superbad it in, and I love that movie, so it was cool to see her again.

But I will admit this is probably the first time I have ever actually covered my face because it was too violent to watch. I never watch when animals are being hurt in movies, but people violence never bothered me. Well here it is, the first time in 30 years that I was shocked by what I was seeing. My face actually started to hurt from cringing so much.

Like my mom said about the original -- it is a scary movie. Not Freddy Krueger scary, but more 'holy cow this could be real' scary. I'll just say Watch with Caution!


But I did have a fun night!
And now I will install extra locks on all doors and windows and maybe never leave my house again. Certainly no more ever speaking to strangers!