The Last House on the Left

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring (1960), Wes Craven's 1972 low-budget horror film remains a genuinely unsettling viewing experience, employing a gritty, crude style to tell the story of four sadistic thugs abducting, raping, and killing two teenage girls, only to wind up at the remote house of one of the victims, where her parents take brutal revenge. Original audiences found the extreme sex and violence shocking, but even though standards have loosened considerably and gore effects have advanced markedly over the decades, The Last House on the Left is still pretty potent stuff. What makes the film seem truly unsavory today is the juxtaposition of the grim narrative with an incongruously jovial music score and periodic 'comic relief' episodes involving the inept local cops that serve to trivialize the horror. Re-released to coincide with filmmaker Dennis Iliadis' modern 2009 remake, this 'collector's edition' features a cast audio commentary, an extended interview with Craven, a 'making-of' documentary, a featurette on the score, a deleted scene and some outtakes, and footage (absent sound) from an unfinished short film Craven made as part of a projected anthology film. Many consider The Last House on the Left repulsive, while others see it as a landmark genre film. With that in mind, this is cautiously recommended. (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—July 10, 2018—Arrow, 3 discs, 84 min., R, Blu-ray: $49.95—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 1972’s The Last House on the Left features a nice transfer with uncompressed mono audio. Featuring three different versions of the film--R-rated, 'Krug & Company,' and uncut--extras include three audio commentaries (new by podcasters Bill Ackerman and Amanda Reyes; and archival by director Wes Craven and producer Sean S. Cunningham; and costars David Hess, Marc Sheffler, and Fred Lincoln), outtakes and dailies (48 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'Celluloid Crime of the Century' (40 min.), 'It’s Only a Movie' (29 min.), 'Krug Conquers England' (25 min.), 'The Craven Touch' (17 min.), 'Still Standing: The Legacy' (15 min.), 'Junior’s Story' with Sheffler (15 min.), 'Blood and Guts' with wardrobe and makeup artist Anne Paul (14 min.), 'Scoring Last House' (10 min.), 'Early Days and ‘Night of Vengeance’' (9 min.), 'Forbidden Footage' (9 min.), and 'The Road Leads to Terror: The Locations' (6 min.), as well as a Q&A with Sheffler (13 min.), 'Tales That’ll Tear Your Heart Out' excerpts from an unfinished Craven short (12 min.), a 'Songs in the Key of Krug' archival interview with Hess (10 min.), a brief deleted scene, TV and radio spots, image galleries, an isolated score, a booklet with writing by author Stephen Thrower, and an audio CD featuring the complete, newly remastered film score. Bottom line: the definitive edition of a deeply disturbing but also highly influential horror film.]