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

64%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

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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Keith Phipps

AV Club

It wouldn't work without the violence, but the violence alone doesn't make it work.

May 13, 2025

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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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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Preferring to wallow in cruelty and misogyny (as was his norm), Wes Craven removed all the nuance and meaning coursing through Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring and replaced it with unrelenting sadism.

Rated: 1/4

Jun 28, 2025

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Christopher Monfette

IGN Movies

Love it or hate it, the film stands as a centerpiece of the horror genre, the subject of much praise and derision and an instigator of conversations regarding censorship throughout the globe.

Rated: 7/10

Jun 24, 2025

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

With David Hess giving one of the most evil performances in cinema history as the gang leader, this highly upsetting and uncomfortable viewing experience remains a benchmark in the annals of cinematic offensiveness.

Rated: 3/5

May 23, 2025

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Audience Member

If your looking for a disturbing film, this isn't it. It's dated and a little silly about a couple of escaped convicts that terrorize some teen girls. It's OK but not what it's claimed to be.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/13/25

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Kornel P

I can just imagine the cameraman who had to shoot all those scenes with a Super 8 camera.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

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michael C.

One of the most unpleasant films I’ve seen. Saw it as a kid on a double bill with a slasher film called Twitch of the Death Nerve.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/26/25

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thiago s

Filme bacana, o roteiro é mais ou menos, o filme mostra um grupo de caras e uma garota, que estrupam duas garotas e depois matam as duas, quando a família de um das garotas perceberam que ela estava desaparecida, ouviram uma gritaria na mata e acharam a garota ainda vida, depous no final a família da garota mataram os estrupradores junto com a vagabunda do grupo, e acabou o filme, com tudo isso, o filme tem cenas pesadas de estrupo, e eu meio que recomendo esse filme pela forte violência nele.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/25

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Shawn R

Not a good movie at all.. avoid at all costs

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

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Farah R

A Wes Craven flop that lacks intelligence and goes overboard with depictions of brutality.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/01/25

Full Review

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Wes Craven

Director

Sandra Peabody

Mari Collingwood

Lucy Grantham

Phyllis Stone

David Hess

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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: The Night Co, Sean S. Cunningham Films, 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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