The Last House On The Left
Sara Paxton in The Last House On The Left
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Sunday, 07, Jun 2009 04:30
Directed by Dennis Iliadis, out June 12th at the cinema, starring Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton 109min.
In a nutshell...
Seventies sleazoid shocker skilfully reworked
What's it all about?
An updating of Wes Craven's terror classic from the era of Vietnam and disillusionment, The Last House Of The Last circa 2009 asks the question:
If bad people hurt someone you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?
And following the brutal assault on their daughter Mari by a gang of violent sociopaths, her parents John and Emma avenge their daughter's ordeal in no uncertain terms.
Who's in it?
Playing the pivotal role of Mari is Sara Paxton, best known for her work in comedies such as Aquamarine and Sleepover.
Paxton, given her comedic resume, was not an obvious choice for Last House, however, director Dennis Iladis said: "She had played these very specific roles in high school movies but she's a person of amazing intelligence and instincts.
"I immediately saw this intelligence in her eyes and her intensity has made the film deeper. I was really looking for a pair of eyes that could tell the story and make you empathise with this character. She's given an amazing performance and a very brave one."
Paxton welcomed the opportunity to throw herself into such a challenging role. She said: "I wanted something I could sink my teeth into.
"I had my concerns about the movie being too graphic, gruesome or sexual when I was in the mix for the part. Dennis invited me to his office to have a conversation because I was pretty worried.
"I had this whole argument planned out about why I felt that way and what I felt shouldn't happen. But Dennis already understood; he, in no way, wanted it to be that way.
"The whole assault scene was not to be sexual in any way. I didn't want there to be a single moment where a person could get turned on. It's an act of violence and terrifying."
Monica Potter, who starred in Patch Adams and Saw, plays Mari's mother Emma. A mother of a teenager in real life, Potter responded to the themes the film explores.
She said: "What attracted me most to this movie was the family's relationship. They want to protect their child and that's the heart of it."
No Country For Old Men's Garret Dillahunt is Last House's villain, Krug. Dillahunt impressed director Iladis during the auditions for the role.
The director said: "Everyone was trying to play him like a typical bad guy. That's always a big mistake; even the most sadistic criminal will smile. You need to see him smile and his eyes change. Garret brought this whole ambiguity and subtleties."
Dillahunt felt he needed to humanise Krug if he would ever hope to understand the character and his despicable actions. To prepare for the role he read about serial killers and their motivations.
The actor describes Krug as an escaped convict who isn't a very good father although he does very much love his son.
"He's bitter that things haven't worked out better for him. He's trying to preserve the bond of his little twisted family," added Dillahunt.
Co-producer Jonathan Craven said of the paradoxical Krug: "He's been dealing with his own failures and it adds up to a very unique villain and someone who is almost a good father but also the worst human being in the world.
"It's very strange, he's got empathy for his son but it's twisted in on itself. It's so abusive, dark and horrible."
Using original director Wes Craven's screenplay as the basis, writers Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth updated and fine-tuned the story.
Director Dennis Iladis, attracted by the weaving of the visceral and well-rounded characters, said: "I want this to be a film that grabs you and never lets you go.
"At the same time it should make us think about human nature. Who is civilised, who is uncivilised? Who is violent, who is normal?"
As an example...
"I wanna hear you beg for mercy." - Mari's dad John during his fight with Krug.
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
It's a horror film remake that, despite having its moments and overall proficiency, is hardly going to strike a chord with the Oscar fraternity.
What the others say
"Upon its release in 1972 this low-budget exploitation movie caused exactly the kind of controversy craved by modern horror film publicists. Such was The Last House On The Left's reputation for sadism that UK censors banned its video release in the early 80s. Wes Craven has said that he intended the movie as angry reflection of Vietnam-era America and of how violence demeans us all.
"It's a notion that appears to have eluded the remake also entitled The Last House On The Left., which is not only entirely free of artistic personality - it could have been grown in the same petri dish as the cast of 90210 - but also the giggly, feral brutality that made the original so infectiously squalid. One of the most profoundly disheartening horror films I#ve ever seen." - Judge Dredd Megazine
So is it any good?
The motifs of modern horror movies came about with George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead in 1968 and were super-condensed with Wes Craven's original Last House in 1972, reflecting an America reeling from the death of the 60s dream and the hardening of the nation's arteries in light of Vietnam, Watergate, recession and unrest.
However, an endless parade of schlocky wannabes reduced the impact that horror and terror has and the arrival of the home video market in the 80s saw new depths of banality being mined until the genre became the preserve of almost cuddly clowns such as Freddy Krueger, Chucky and the increasingly ridiculous Jason Voorhees.
In the 90s horror became self-aware and mocking with the Scream and I Now What You Did-styled movies, with this genre reaching its nadir with the likes of Jeepers Creepers and Cherry Falls, all while Scary Movie offered up both parody and homage of all of the above.
However, post-9/11, War on Terror and recession, America is feeling under attack both at home and abroad. The nation's psyche has been bloodied and battered and the fear of the 'other' is paramount.
Home and hearth, peace and security are what people crave but as this well-realised remake shows that desire can be dashed on the rocks all too suddenly by a naïve decision or a hasty word.
When teenager Mari heads into town to hook up with a friend and hopefully score some drugs, she is ripped out of the safe world she knows and is attacked and left for dead by a vile family of violent killers in the woods.
What follows the genuinely unnerving assault, portrayed as cold and violent by director Dennis Iladis, is her parents' realisation that the group of grungy wanderers that have fetched up on their doorstep are in fact the scumbags who have attacked and shot their daughter.
The parents John and Emma, initially frozen by terror and outrage, let slip their veneer of civilisation and proceed to strike back at the butchers who have violated their daughter.
There is no great debate or moralising over this need for fighting back. It's the family unit, the most basic of human needs, protecting their own.
Revenge isn't the emotion on display here; it's much rawer than that. This is animalistic rage brought to the fore by the pseudo-documentary approach of director Iladis, whose cast exude a naturalism in their characters and actions.
Horror purists may blanche at the remake's slickness and dropping of the original's oh-so-70s sense of artifice but this version is far more rooted in reality making it uneasy viewing yet enthralling.
9/10
Lee Davis