Last House on the Left

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Last House on the Left

R

Released Aug 30, 1972

1h 31m

Horror

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Popcornmeter

63%

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40 Reviews

50%

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2,500+ Ratings

Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then afterward go looking for drugs. Instead, they find a gang of escaped convicts who subject them to a night of torture and rape. The gang then kills the girls in the woods, not realizing they're near Mari's house. When they pose as salesmen and are taken in by Mari's mother (Cynthia Carr) and father (Gaylord St. James), it doesn't take the parents long to figure out their identities and plot revenge.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

It isn't artistically adroit, but if success in this genre is counted by squirms, it's a success.

Sep 26, 2007

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Jo Berry

Empire Magazine

Sartorially dated certainly, but still powerful, disturbing and raw.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 26, 2007

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Nigel Floyd

Time Out

Craven's cold, flat style of filming emphasises the fact that the violence dehumanises not only the victims but the aggressors.

Feb 9, 2006

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Craven gives his film an uncomfortable verisimilitude, setting it squarely in the heartland of modern America. While it’s at times awkward and inconsistent, with distracting comic interludes, his handling of the brutal horror scenes is unsettling ...

Oct 27, 2023

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It struck a nerve at a moment when the Summer of Love already seemed ancient history, when the Manson murders, the never-ending Vietnam War and other factors had curdled idealism into escapism and reactionary paranoia.

Sep 7, 2022

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Piers Marchant

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Beyond clumsy and amateurish, Craven dispenses with such niceties as plot logic and character development .

Rated: 5.1/10

Aug 21, 2020

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Brad M

Just f÷%##& dumb. Even in the 70's.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/07/24

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John F

A minor entry for Craven but worth a watch for its depiction of how seemingly ordinary people are capable of doing awful things, for whatever reasons (be it revenge or otherwise).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/01/24

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Sam G

There's a core of a reasonable movie here, more fully explored in the remake. Still, this effort is annoying, off-putting, tonally disonant, and not entertaining.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

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Christian K

Effective as a stomach turner. Basically just repulsive and disgusting and not really entertaining. But as a first feature for Craven and the start of a kind of a revolution in horror filmmaking I can see why it is brought up so often. The only idea this had that didn't turn into a horror trope was that it killed its final girls in the middle of the movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

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Craig B

Okay... it was the '70s... 52 years ago. Being horror legend Wes Craven's first film, and considering the era, I was expecting some rough edges. A very controversial film considering it's core themes, watching this film is certainly not helped by wooden acting, an unimaginative plot (intentional) and some odd music scores.... but at least it is very short. Difficult to recommend except for the obvious reasons... Craven's debut and to see what all the controversy was about (well deserved given the confronting content and it being 1972).

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/01/24

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Teddy B

Wes Craven's debut feature film doesn't come across AS shocking by today's standards (in a similar vein to the first 'Friday the 13th') but serves as an important milestone for one of the masters of modern horror. The characters are entertaining enough, and the story has enough to it to be recommended but not fully enjoyed. The silliness of the characters does set me at unease, odd enough. It seems to work in their favour since they directly contrast the situation between the main girls and Mai's parents over the severity of their situation.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/02/24

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Wes Craven

Director

Sandra Peabody

Mari Collingwood

Lucy Grantham

Phyllis Stone

David Hess

Krug Stillo

F.J. Lincoln

Fred 'Weasel' Podowski

Jeramie Rain

Sadie

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Synopsis

Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then afterward go looking for drugs. Instead, they find a gang of escaped convicts who subject them to a night of torture and rape. The gang then kills the girls in the woods, not realizing they're near Mari's house. When they pose as salesmen and are taken in by Mari's mother (Cynthia Carr) and father (Gaylord St. James), it doesn't take the parents long to figure out their identities and plot revenge.

Director: Wes Craven
Producer: Sean S. Cunningham
Screenwriter: Wes Craven
Distributor: Hallmark Releasing Corp., Vestron Video, MGM Home Entertainment
Production Co: Sean S. Cunningham Films, The Night Co, Lobster Enterprises
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 30, 1972, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Mono

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