Pwaters' Month of Terror Day 17: The Last House on the Left

Hello ladies, gentlemen, and creatures lurking in the shadows!  This month, October, is a favorite among horror fans, such as myself.  My goal for the next 31 days is to share with you the scariest and best of the genre.  The films will range from old school classics to modern day gorefests (they won't be in any particular order).  So scout these movies out, grab a bag of popcorn (or a blood bag) and enjoy!

The Last House on the Left (1972)
Dir. Wes Craven

You may recognize Wes Craven's name on some great horror movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream - even though those can be scary, they don't hold a candle to his purely disturbing debut feature: The Last House on the Left.  I warn you people, this film is really tough to handle, even for me who can sit through the Saw movies like it's Spy Kids 2.  Last House on the Left is about two girlfriends on their way to a concert.  Since it's the 70's and everybody's puffing the magic dragon, they decide to buy some marijuana afterwards and have a good time.  They run into a guy, "Junior," who brings them back to his apartment with promises of pot, but instead are greeted to a band of runaway convicts who kidnap the pair and drive off with them in the trunk of their car.

The movie is really tough-going sometimes, especially due to the depraved acts the convicts force the friends to perform (I'd rather not describe them but they basically fall under the "rape" category and it's never fun to watch someone be raped).  Plus, the convicts themselves are really creepy and believable.  Especially the "leader," Krug (David Hess, who also made the music for the film), is such a derelict you can't help but hate him.  What's worse is that we get to see the parent's side of the story as well; we get to see their investigation of their daughter's disappearance and let's say that they find out the hard way.  It's emotionally unsettling, it's a grungy, grimy movie that will likely make you want to hide in a closet and call your parents telling them you love them - it's everything a horror movie should be!

Almost in the same vein as William Castle's pictures, Last House on the Left used a wonderful marketing gimmick to attract audiences.  The poster and theatrical trailers for the film reassured movie-goers to repeat to themselves "to keep yourself from fainting, keep repeating...it's only a movie...it's only a movie...."  Of course this ploy would only make scaredy cats even more scared walking into a theater, but it also kind of covered their asses with the graphic violence involved with the picture.  It fell under heavy censorship when it came out, as would be expected from something like this (the film landed under the controversial "video nasty" list in Britain).  Over time however, it's amassed a big cult following and launched Wes Craven's career as a horror director (and also inspired a remake - although what horror movie hasn't been remade yet?).  If you can handle it, and appreciate horror on a level where you're not just "movie scared" but disturbed in a way that feels real, try out Last House on the Left and just repeat to yourself ....it's only a movie....it's only a movie....