DVDfanatic9
Risen from the Grave
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 70
Loc: California
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I don't know what else people expected from this movie. And I don't know anyone who listens to hype either. The movie was great. A thoughtful social commentary on violence.
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She knows she's a winner
She couldn't be thinner
Now she goes in the bathroom
and vomits up dinner
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Uncle_Ash
Living Dead
Reged: 07/08/04
Posts: 993
Loc: Georgia
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I don't know what else people expected from this movie.
A quality movie watching experience. Unfortunately this was not to be had. Instead we were treated to a series of unsuccessful scenes that together just form a mess.
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Knifey
Flesh Eater
Reged: 06/20/04
Posts: 1184
Loc: Liberal Massachusetts
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Quote:
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I don't know what else people expected from this movie.
A quality movie watching experience. Unfortunately this was not to be had. Instead we were treated to a series of unsuccessful scenes that together just form a mess.
LOL
Well said...and I concur. 
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"You're a gentleman," they used to say to him. "You shouldn't have gone murdering people with a hatchet; that's no occupation for a gentleman."
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DVDfanatic9
Risen from the Grave
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 70
Loc: California
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Quote:
A quality movie watching experience. Unfortunately this was not to be had. Instead we were treated to a series of unsuccessful scenes that together just form a mess.
What scenes were unsuccessful, aside from all the scenes with the cops?
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She knows she's a winner
She couldn't be thinner
Now she goes in the bathroom
and vomits up dinner
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Uncle_Ash
Living Dead
Reged: 07/08/04
Posts: 993
Loc: Georgia
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Quote:
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A quality movie watching experience. Unfortunately this was not to be had. Instead we were treated to a series of unsuccessful scenes that together just form a mess.
What scenes were unsuccessful, aside from all the scenes with the cops?
The cops. 
Well I suppose I'll do this in chronological order.
The first scene that seemed odd and out of place was the conversation between the girl and her parents. The whole "bra" thing was really stereotypical and corny and reminded me firmly that I was watching a movie. That, along with the musical montage with the two girls, really takes the reality out of the film early on. This succeeds in destroying any attempt to be disturbed. Then we come to the meeting between the future victims and their soon to be victimizers. This scene is really badly shot. It's marked with kind of a cheesy aura and there is zero tension. A wasted scene, really. If better shot and structured, this scene could have provided a very tense mood to the film and completely erased the corniness of the previous sequences.
Then of course we get to the victimization. The failing of these scenes is mainly that I never really "feel" for the victims. The pieces just don't come together. The acting from all parties is too watered down and I never got a sense of "Oh my God NO!!!!" from the victims or a sense of joy from the victimizers. The fact that these scenes are considered shocking is a real mystery to me. They really feel flat. The most horrible of all being the sequence in which the thugs are supposed to appear to seem remorseful. This scene really comes off as hokey and unbelievable. Mostly, again, due to poor acting, in my opinion. They just kinda stare and it's not a blank stare. It almost seems like Wes just directed them to "stare". There really seems to be no motivation behind it.
The revenge sequence, I won't even go into, since most people acknowledge it's failure, but I actually find it to be the most convincing part of the film.
I feel odd going into detail like this. Me, the king of criticizing people for making such criticisms concerning Exploitation films. But when your intent is to shock, ya have to make it atleast somewhat believable. Last House on the Left simply isn't to me, at all.
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DVDfanatic9
Risen from the Grave
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 70
Loc: California
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Well you seem to know a lot. You might know more than me. That's okay with me.
At least you pay attention. That's very good.
So I've watched a lot of movies where I've felt the same way you did. The little details often pull me right out of a scene and then it doesn't work for me at all. Sometimes the rest of the movie is affected by this. When I would tell this to people, do you know what they'd say to me? That I'm being too technical. Of course I never believed them. But maybe some of what they said was true. I don't know. I disagreed with them.
About Last House on the Left though, it didn't really disturb me very much either. But I don't always pay close attention to the movie. On repeat viewings, it's as disturbing as anything could ever be. It's certainly uncomfortable. I guess what you're saying is that you don't like being uncomfortable unless you're very uncomfortable.
I'm not going to debate each scene you noted with you. I think it's pointless. Because I would have said the very same thing I'm saying now. And this way I think you can see the intent.
When I think about what I liked about this movie, I like some of the exact things you and many other people say they disliked about it. What's disturbing to me is the mood of the film. It might not be raw enough to feel like true reality to everyone who watches it, but to me it feels much bigger. It feels like it's making a much broader statement. Not just about the little physical actions that change a person's life, but also about the world we lived in, back then. I think this movie was taking a look at the world and making big statements about violence and society. I don't always like movies like that, but in the case of this movie, I still feel that every last thing worked. But those cops. For me, they were the only weak link.
I feel like it was more than just a disturbing movie. And it was disturbing. It certainly bothered a lot of people, caused a lot of controversy, and ruffled sensitive feathers. Like I said before, I don't get what else people expected from it. I'm not so jaded that I expect it, or any movie for that matter, will fuck me up. I hope others share the same basic view. I don't need movie experiences to make me feel alive. So what little satisfaction I got from this film, as far as I'm concerned, more than warranted its being made and pissing off a few horror fans wanting something else.
When I look at the movie, I don't see your examples hurting the film as much as you claim they did.
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She knows she's a winner
She couldn't be thinner
Now she goes in the bathroom
and vomits up dinner
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Uncle_Ash
Living Dead
Reged: 07/08/04
Posts: 993
Loc: Georgia
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I'm not gonna criticize you for how you feel about the film. I'm glad you like it. I'm glad it seems to be a positive part of your life. But the things you seem to enjoy about it are very wide and general. It's almost like you admire the point of the film more than the actual film itself. That may not be true. It's just the impression I get. Even if it is, that's okay.
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When I look at the movie, I don't see your examples hurting the film as much as you claim they did.
This is a very personal statement. There's really nothing I can say against it. Certainly, if they don't affect the way you feel about the film then the things that you look for or appreciate about films like LHOTL are different than mine.
It really comes down to this for me. I didn't need to keep telling myself it was just a movie. The movie did that enough itself.
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Knifey
Flesh Eater
Reged: 06/20/04
Posts: 1184
Loc: Liberal Massachusetts
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It really comes down to this for me. I didn't need to keep telling myself it was just a movie. The movie did that enough itself.
]
That last line of yours says it all.
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"You're a gentleman," they used to say to him. "You shouldn't have gone murdering people with a hatchet; that's no occupation for a gentleman."
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Kriz
Flesh Eater
Reged: 01/23/00
Posts: 1839
Loc: Salisbury, NC, USA
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DVD Fanatic, those were some very good observations on the movie. It does have a very oppressive feel to it, and most of its plusses as well as its faults come from its low budget.
I even like the cops. It makes the movie even sadder that they're not really that funny. I definitely don't think this was a conscious decision on the part of Wes Craven, but the fact they show up, and are hokey and not really lighten the mood at all...its like you can tell from the beginning the cops are not going to help the situation at all because they're so fucking retarded. And, if you feel at all for the main characters, its depressing. Its like hope, in the form of the police, is introduced, but you know watching it that its a false hope...that the cops cannot save the girls...
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Brains for dinner, brains for lunch, brains for breakfast brains for brunch. Brains for every single meal why can't we have some guts?
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Dragula52765
Recently Deceased
Reged: 08/08/07
Posts: 4
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i bought the movie by impulse i heard it was alright, so i just bought and when i watched it i wasn't disappointed. i did what all movies should do...entertain so no i dont focus on the little aspects of the movie to base my jdugement on it as a whole...
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Dr Peligro
Voodoo Master
Reged: 05/25/00
Posts: 7588
Loc: Québec City
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I rewatched Last House on the Left yesterday evening (had taped it off the Scream channel a few months ago, apparently they used the uncut MGM DVD as a source). I must admit my thoughts on it have changed a bit since my last viewing. Maybe it's because I had lower expectations this time around, but I must say I actually enjoyed it. I still don't see it as some brilliant horror masterpiece, but it's a decent trashy 70's exploitation flick. And David Hess still rules.
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We're all champs when we're drunk.
-Paul Kemp
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DVDfanatic9
Risen from the Grave
Reged: 04/23/07
Posts: 70
Loc: California
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I know it's been awhile. But, what the hell:
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It really comes down to this for me. I didn't need to keep telling myself it was just a movie. The movie did that enough itself.
I guess what I was saying before is that I like movies to always feel like movies. Realism to me is in the actor's portrayal of a character more than it is in brutal violence. The style of the filmmaking was that it should look like a documentary. The style of the writing was that in some ways it should be clever social commentary (peppered with references to chauvenism, peace, womanhood, love, drugs) and a sort of after school special. At least, that's how I take the scenes with Mari at the beginning talking about boys and breasts. The way she talks about "changing" feels just like one of the those kids' educational videos.
But I think most people who saw this movie felt the violence was brutal enough, real enough, and that the cruelty of the characters felt quite real. As did the fact that the girls' deaths were long and drawn out. Which is supposed to be vastly different to how deaths are typically portrayed in most mainstream movies. Though they didn't really have Friday the 13th films at the time where the people would get an ax or machete in the head and just fall down, I'm told the film was one of the first to show the horror of realistic death.
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DVD Fanatic, those were some very good observations on the movie.
Thank you. One of the things I think makes this movie so much for people is that, regardless of how cheap some people feel the characters are, many people feel the events are really tragic. And it is. In fact, everyone seems destroyed by what the criminals did. But, why did they do it? This movie really takes place in a hopeless world.
Everything is depressing when people aren't cracking jokes. I guess in that respect, the cops are put in proper context. Because they aren't the only thing that comes off jokey. Everyone cracks a joke or 3 in the movie. Before they see that things aren't so funny after all.
But the story of the girls is very tragic. Innocence and youth taken before its time. In a very violent way. But, how innocent is anyone in the world this movie takes place in? Everyone is corrupted by film's end. That to me says there's something wrong with the world too.
If it had just been a movie about people stabbing each other and cutting each other open in the woods, I don't think it would be as disturbing as this movie was. I don't think we'd still be talking about it after all these years.
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She knows she's a winner
She couldn't be thinner
Now she goes in the bathroom
and vomits up dinner
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JakeHorror
Recently Deceased
Reged: 05/01/08
Posts: 7
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I can understand why many people think it's trash, however, I myself love the film. Just like anything that gets overhyped you have to go into it knowing its a 36 year old movie. In 1972 the expoitation films were still mainly underground. Somehow Last House managed to get some theater play therfor it reached audiences that normally would not dig to find this type of film. Some seen it by mistake and were so appaled they left the theater...this is the root of controversy. Give it 30+ years to age, and an evergrowing population of horror film makers, now mix that with how much the world has changed and how many are now desensitized and BAM, you now have a film that is no longer shocking, no longer has it's original appeal to stun the audience. You have a film that is now deemed "overhyped crap." In it's time it was effective. Today it's getting harder to please the insatiable need for violence.
On a side note, the goofy cops (and goofier music in the cop scenes) added humor in a story based around kipnap, rape and murder. That was sure to mess with minds in 1972. Here in 2008? Nah, takes alot more than that to impress us horror-hounds.------JakeHorror
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