The Last House on the Left
The Last House on the Left is a 1972 rape and revenge horror film written and directed by Wes Craven in his directorial debut, and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.The film stars Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, and Marc Sheffler.The plot follows Mari Collingwood (Peabody), a teenager who is abducted, raped, and brutally murdered by a group of violent fugitives led by Krug Stillo (Hess).Distributor Hallmark Releasing, in partnership with American International Pictures, gave him and Craven funding after the box office success of Cunningham's Together (1971).While the film initially received a polarizing reception from critics, it was highly profitable, grossing over $3 million at the domestic box office.Phyllis and Mari head into the city, and on the way, they hear a news report of a recent prison escape involving criminals Krug Stillo, a sadistic rapist and serial killer; his heroin-addicted son, Junior; Sadie, a promiscuous psychopath and sadist; and Fred "Weasel" Podowski, a child molester, peeping Tom, and murderer.Later, when Junior is amid heroin withdrawal, Estelle enters the bathroom to check on him and sees Mari's peace symbol necklace around his neck.The film attracted the attention of Steve Minasian's company Hallmark Releasing,[6] which had a distribution partnership with American International Pictures.[6] Wes Craven, who had no money at the time, was put on the job of synchronizing dailies for Together[9] and soon began editing the film with Cunningham, with whom he became good friends.This script, written under the title Night of Vengeance, has never been released; only a brief glimpse is visible in the featurette Celluloid Crime of the Century, a 2003 documentary on the making of the film.[12] The crux of the plot is based on the Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge",[13] which itself was the basis of Ingmar Bergman's 1960 film The Virgin Spring, of which Craven was an admirer.[15] The majority of the cast of The Last House on the Left were inexperienced or first-time actors, with the exception of Richard Towers, Eleanor Shaw and Sandra Peabody, who were all soap opera regulars and had prior film roles.[17] Peabody, who was returning to New York after a cross-country road trip, signed on to the film after responding to a casting notice in the trade publication Backstage.[33] Peabody was often treated differently than the rest of the cast to the point that Craven recalled there "not being much acting" during the shooting of the film's more violent scenes.The music was deliberately written to break with established, conventional horror film scores at that point, employing a mix of 1960s folk rock and bluegrass.[46] It was frequently shown as part of a double or triple feature with other Hallmark/AIP releases, most notably Mario Bava's Twitch of the Death Nerve, a film that would also have a considerable impact on the horror genre due to serving as a primary influence on Cunningham's later Friday the 13th franchise.This difficult decision was predicated on the following considerations: The film relates to a problem that practically every teen-age girl and parent can identify with, yet does not pander to the subject matter.Cunningham claims that the marketing specialist who devised the Last House title was watching a cut of the film with his wife, who continually covered her eyes, prompting him to tell her that it was "only a movie".[8] Newspaper advertisements featured lengthy statements from the film's producers defending it against claims that it sensationalized violence,[54] one of which noted: "You will hate the people who perpetrate these outrages—and you should!"[60] Last House on the Left was refused a certificate for cinema release by the British Board of Film Censors in 1974,[61] due to scenes of explicit and sadistic sexual violence and humiliation.However, it had developed an underground cult reputation in the UK, and critics such as Mark Kermode began to laud the film as an important piece of work.[67] Contrary to popular belief, the film was never banned in Australia on its initial release – rather, it was never picked up for distribution in the country due to the censorship issues that it would have created at the time.The film was submitted to the censorship board in 1987 for VHS release by Video Excellence under the alternative title Krug and Company, but it was rejected because of its violent and sexual content.[74] On February 1, 2011, a Blu-ray was released by MGM through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, which featured multiple featurettes and making-of documentaries, two audio commentary tracks, never-before-seen footage, and cast and crew interviews."[81] Edward Blank of the Pittsburgh Press called the film a "cheap-jack movie of no discernible merit [...] riddled with awkward, self-conscious performances.Its consensus reads, "Its visceral brutality is more repulsive than engrossing, but The Last House on the Left nevertheless introduces director Wes Craven as a distinctive voice in horror.[88] In the 1980s, Vestron Pictures hired Danny Steinmann to write and direct a sequel, though the film fell apart in pre-production due to rights issues.[91] In August 2006, Rogue Pictures finalized a deal to remake The Last House on the Left with original writer and director Wes Craven as a producer.