The Last House on the Left (2009)
Starring: Garret Dillahunt, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, Sara
Paxton, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Spencer Treat Clark
Directed by: Dennis IlIadis
Plot: After kidnapping and torturing two teenage girls a
killer and his thugs find The Last House on the Left. A couple greets them with
hospitality until the couple realizes the horror these thugs have cause and
then the art revenge begins.
My Review and Thoughts:
There’s nothing like a good disturbing horror movie filled
with unrelenting terror. Pure edge of your seat horror that tortures the
viewer's mind. This is a sadistic film. The original still shocks me and is
disturbing in its own way. In all honesty the original is outdated and so
behold the remake of this disturbing horror classic and I have to say they
captured the brutality of the original.
They do a fantastic job of pure terror. Dennis IlIadis
directed a solid film, he did the original justice by creating a perfect
example of a horrifying experience for the viewer. Now for diehard thick horror
freaks and gore lovers this will be just another movie, but for a general
audience that only watches psychological horror films in passing this will be a
huge eye opener and mind boggling experience into the realm of true sadistic
horror.
I for one was shocked at the nature they got away with. This
film captures a different type of horror. It captures true reality based
horror, a twisted insanity that plays with the viewer’s mind.
This is not for kids or teenagers, this should be viewed
only by adults in my viewpoint. The movie starts right off with the violent
bang. Two detectives are escorting Krug a criminal. Boom a truck crashes into
the car. They are Krug’s girlfriend Sadie and his brother Frank. They free him.
Meanwhile John, Emma and their daughter Mari head for
vacation at their lake house which is the last house on the left of a dead end
road. Mari is a water lover, a swimmer who is always dreaming of perfecting her
sport. When at the lake in the house Mari decides to go and meet up with her
friend Paige in the small town.
Soon the girls meet Justin a young teenager they have never
meet before which might I add is played by the wonderful actor Spencer Treat
Clark who played the son of Bruce Willis in Unbreakable. He is a fantastic and
believable actor with his beautiful stunning eyes and facial expressions.
Justine promises them some pot in exchange for a pack of
cigs. The girls head back to Justin’s motel but what they do not realize is
Justine is Krug’s son. Needless to say there is no cell phone signals. Soon the
girls are smoking it up and getting high and laughing and teasing and flirting
with Justine.
Garret Dillahunt gives a haunting psycho based performance
as Krug. Aaron Paul who plays Frank is a sick twisted insane person and the
acting by Paul is flawless. Riki Lindhome who plays Sadie is truly a sick
sexually twisted lady. All three give amazing haunting and sickening
performances.
All the performances seem real and come off as startling
works of emotional horror. Sara Paxton who plays Mari gives a perfect innocent
little girl victim performance. As the girls are kidnapped and toyed with they
attempt to escape and the SUV crashes causing Krug, Frank and Sadie to be more
pissed off than ever. Soon the true torture and torment begin in vivid
terrifying ways.
The filmed moment of the rape is an eye closing and head
turning reality. It was hard to watch. Mari makes it to the water and her lost
dreadful stare of lost innocence in her eyes bring a stark memorable moment in
cinema. Soon the thugs, monsters end up at the Last House on the Left with Emma
and John.
The movie is a deep trip into the horror of how sick people
can be. The reality of just how evil a person can be and also the aspect of the
true nature of the criminal reality. Revenge is sweet and messing with daddies
little girl is a true, no, no. A priceless showdown of pure carnage in the end
that leaves the viewer satisfied. The only real upset to me or lack of good
film making is some of the editing is off and there is some holes in the story
that are never explained and also I would have liked a better final moment of
death for the climax, it seemed a little too quick and corny in my mind.
With all the positive and negative said it’s still a great
horror watch for those who like the psychological horror. Be warned it has
brutal violence, rape, nudity and some very disturbing images. These actions
have to take place in showcasing just how bad these people are.
There are two versions of this film the rated R version and
also the unrated version. The difference between the two are four minutes are
taken away from the R rated version. The version I am reviewing is for the unrated
version.