Don't get me wrong...I don't like Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left because it's gratuitous and violent. I've liked plenty of films that were violent and over the top. My problem with The Last House on the Left is that it simply isn't a good film. By this point in his career, Wes Craven hadn't figured out what to and what not to put into a film. Therefore, this film about a group of criminals who rape and murder a couple of teenage girls who are then subsequently murdered by their parents is all over the place. Shots of brutal torture and rape are juxtaposed with scenes of two inept country cops farting around the countryside. Scenes at night are poorly lit, but not in the intentional kind of way that many horror films are. Even the gore effects are poorly done. Great low-budget horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are gritty as a result of skilled people creating an atmosphere and environment for the film to inhabit. The Last House on the Left is gritty because the filmmakers didn't know what they were doing. And don't tell me that it's because the film had only $90,000 in its budget. I've seen films made for a FRACTION of that cost that were infinitely better. Re-Animator, anyone?
3/10
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