Wes Craven’s Last House On The Left

• 22nd Mar 2011

Grotesque, vile and downright nihilistic, Wes Craven’s feature film debut – while incredibly rough around the edges – is still gripping, uncomfortable and disturbing viewing nearly 40 years on. Raw and uncompromising in its depiction of violence, this is still a true classic of its genre and one which until recently was only available cut.

With its instantly recognisable film tagline (“To avoid fainting keep repeating, it’s only a movie”) through to its striking poster image of a young girl close to death and its notoriety with the British film censors, it seems that Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left is still, at least for this young writer, one of the most difficult and challenging films to experience, even after the countless viewings.

Essentially a remake of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, Craven transposes the Viking mentality into a backwoods American town. Violent and perverse criminals replace rampaging Viking soldiers, with an added element of strange slapstick in the form of two bumbling country police officers. Last House is a rare first feature for a then, upcoming filmmaker. It has the ability to leave the viewer disturbed and in shock in equal measure without lashings of gore, but with its unadulterated rough and ready visual style.

This is raw slice of genre filmmaking which was finally released uncut in the UK in 2008 after a lengthy fight with the BBFC over the last 30+ years. Renowned film critic Mark Kermode even put across a heartfelt proposal to get it released uncut, deeming it an important piece of genre filmmaking. The battle to get this released within Britain certainly makes for entertaining reading and only goes to show just how much social ignorance has had an adverse effect on culturally significant films.

As it stands within its own context – post traumatic stress due to the Vietnam war – it’s a powerful and sleazy cult classic. It certainly has more than its fair share of issues (including poor acting and low tech filmmaking) but it more than makes up for it with pure aggressive energy and satirical jibes at politics and society. All of which has since either been copied or influenced various genre filmmakers.

Unflinching in its portrayal of screen violence, degradation, humiliation and rape, Craven’s film is the cinematic equivalent to a punch in the gut. After the initial act, the viewer’s left with a residual feeling of genuine unease and discomfort. It’s a gruelling and challenging experience, one which could possibly take more than a passing viewing to truly understand and appreciate. Of course this is far from being labelled high art, but by pishing social boundaries and the public’s sensitive disposition, horror has become all the richer because of it.

In fact, it the psychologically disturbing violence which really and truly creeps almost unnoticed under your skin. Gore-hounds would probably leave feeling betrayed and bewildered. Certainly it’s more for those who are looking to be challenged (and possibly disturbed) by its less fantastical and general unpleasant nature. But then when has vengeance and retribution ever been visually pleasant?

Other themes explored include seduction, humiliation, degradation and other various forms relating to what could be considered by the less educated film fan or casual viewer as depraved filmmaking. But it’s far from the violence that makes you feel uncomfortable; the use of a comedic and bumbling police double act which is intercut between the brutal happenings only adds to the jarring and disturbing nature of the film. These two varying elements produce a feeling of an unsettling pitch black farce.

The lasting effects the film’s core themes and sequences will have on any individual viewer will be great. Horror as a genre will be completely viewed with a fresh perspective. As a genre film it’s challenging and thought provoking, which makes the initial viewing all the more worthwhile when its admittedly short running time reaches its conclusion.

But if you scratch just beneath the surface, therein lies the blueprint for the modern horror film. For better or worse, without this film horror might never have evolved. For that every genre fan should be thankful and appreciate this as the sleazy yet genre-defining piece of guerrilla filmmaking that it is. You could keep repeating “it’s only a movie”, but your subconscious may disagree. The Last House on the Left is a film which is beyond standard film criticism, and one you’ll find to be unequivocally essential viewing, both within the horror genre and Craven’s own back catalogue.

Dominic O’Brien