Last House on the Left (1972)

[img]http://www.monstersinmotion.com/catalog/images/dvd/lasthouseonleft.jpg[/img]

Director Wes Craven 
Cast Sandra Cassel, David Hess, Jeramie Rain, Gaylord St. James, Ada Washington, Martin Kove, Lucy Grantham, Fred J. Lincoln 
Genre: Horror/ Thriller / Crimen
Length 87 min 
Video Pal
1.33:1 , 4:3 
Languages Dolby Digital Mono: English (In the Original Language), Spanish 
Subtitles Spanish 
Other features
Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Film credits, Cast, Filmographies 
FullDVD5

SYNOPSIS

Wes Craven's nightmarish odyssey of revenge helped to usher in a new era of graphic horror filmmaking in the early 1970s. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960), THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a parent's worst nightmare come to terrifying life. Beautiful 17-year-olds Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head into the city for a rock concert, but once there, they're kidnapped by three repulsive, sadistic escaped convicts led by Krug Stillo (a menacing David Hess). After the gang drives the girls into the woods, where they rape and murder them, the disheveled crew ends up at the home of none other than Mari's parents, John (Gaylord St. James) and Estelle (Cynthia Carr). When John discovers who has unknowingly walked into his home, he exacts a revenge that makes the convicts' actions seem tame by comparison.

Although the film has had problems with censorship around the world, how it was dealt with in Britain is extremely notable.

The film was refused a certificate for cinema release by the BBFC in 1974 due to its scenes of sadism and violence. However during the early 1980s home video boom it was released uncut as home video did not fall under their remit at the time. This changed when the "video nasty" scare which started in 1982 led to the Video Recordings Act 1984. This in turn banned the film as one of the infamous Department of Public Prosecutions list of "video nasties."

As such it remained banned throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s. However it had built up a cult reputation in the UK, plus critics such as Mark Kermode began to highly praise the film as an important piece of work. In 2000, the film was again presented to the BBFC for certification and again it was refused, though it was granted a license for a one-off showing in Leicester in June 2000. After this showing it was again made clear by the BBFC that the film would not receive any form of certification, so the film was put up for a home video release in 2002. This release was refused as the distributors were unwilling to cut the film as the BBFC requested.

The film finally received a DVD release in the UK in May 2003 with 31 seconds of cuts. These cut scenes were available to view as a slideshow extra on the disc, there was also a weblink which would direct to a website where the cut scenes could be viewed. It has still not received a certificate for a cinema release, nor has it been released uncut on DVD in the UK.

Working on a shoestring budget and coaxing naturalistic performances out of his actors (with the exception of two bumbling law enforcement officers), Craven displays the talent that he would later develop on a grand scale with A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and SCREAM. Certainly not for the fainthearted, THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT remains one of the most visceral horror films ever made.

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