‘Last House’ lacks camp of original
David Hatem, Entertainment Editor
May 19, 2009
Filed under Uncategorized
When I heard that “Last House on the Left” was being remade, I was downright angry, until I found out that Wes Craven was directing this version as well. I was curious to see if he could make lightning strike twice.
It’s not that lightning doesn’t strike twice; it just strikes in two different places.
For those who aren’t familiar with the plot of “LHotL,” it’s pretty much your textbook snafu. A group of violent thugs led by the vile Krug (Garrett Dillahunt) abducts and rapes two teenage girls, Mari (Sarah Paxton) and Paige (Martha MacIsaac). That night they take refuge in the summer home owned by Mari’s parents, and when Mari’s parents find out what their guests did to their daughter, wackiness ensues (and by wackiness I mean a brutal and gory face-off).
It’s not for me to say that Craven took too many liberties with changing the plot this time around, but he did take too many liberties changing the plot this time around. For instance, SPOILER ALERT, after Mari is raped in the original she walks away lifelessly like an empty shell. This was the most powerful scene in the movie, but Craven ruins it this time around by changing the plot so that Mari makes a daring and successful escape.
Also gone are the slapstick police segments of the original. These segments contrasted the horror of violent rape with the adventures of two bumbling cops. While these scenes may sound out of place, they make the viewer even more disturbed because they know Craven is downplaying the rape and murder as if it were nothing.
Consider this analogy – what would be more disturbing: seeing someone getting beaten in the middle of the street and a police officer running up and valiantly putting a stop to it, or the officer just walking by, laughing?
The original worked in the same principle but the newer version doesn’t take that risk, much to my chagrin.
Also, Krug doesn’t have the same sort of Cro-Magnon leader of the pack feeling to him as he does in the original. He just feels like a huge jerk in this one.
And while you can’t expect any Oscar-worthy performances in this type of movie, the acting on the part of Mari’s parents (Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn) was simply inexcusable. It’s like they just fought their daughters’ killers because Craven was paying them a couple million dollars.
Still, the premise alone makes this movie worth seeing. Although not as bizarre as the original, “LHotL” is still a decent introduction to slasher horror movies.