The Last House on the Left (2009)

Director:

Dennis Iliadis

Writers (WGA):

Adam Alleca (screenplay) and
Carl Ellsworth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

If bad people hurt someone you love, how far would you go to hurt them back?

Plot:

After kidnapping and brutally assaulting two young women, a gang led by a prison escapee unknowingly finds refuge at a vacation home belonging the parents of one of the victims -- a mother and father who devise an increasingly gruesome series of revenge tactics.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | Revenge | Prison Escapee | Burnt Head | Bare Chested Male

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Tony Goldwyn	...	John Collingwood
Monica Potter	...	Emma Collingwood
Garret Dillahunt	...	Krug
Aaron Paul	...	Francis
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Justin
Riki Lindhome	...	Sadie
Martha MacIsaac	...	Paige
Sara Paxton	...	Mari Collingwood
Michael Bowen	...	Morton
Joshua Cox	...	Giles (as Josh Cox)
Usha Khan	...	Maid

MPAA:

Rated R for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use.

Runtime:

110 min | 114 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44897) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | UK:18 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:16 | France:-16 | Germany:18 (nf) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/18 | Mexico:C | Australia:R | Norway:18 | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Rogue Pictures

Trivia:

The interiors and exteriors of the Collingwood house were built all on the same location to avoid having to relocate the production to a sound stage.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Usually microwave ovens don't work while the door is open, as depicted at the end of this movie, however earlier on in the film it is stated that the microwave is broken.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Morton: [telling joke to Giles] So the next week, he's even hornier. And this time, he's got twenty bucks instead of ten. He goes back to the whorehouse, he slaps down the twenty, and tells the madam he needs to get off, but he ain't going to screw no goddamn chicken this time. She says it still ain't much, but she can help. She tells him to go to the room at the top of the stairs. This time there's just a bunch of guys jerking off, but one of the jerk off guys assures him "oh hey, it's cool, it's cool" and he waves him over to this whole toilet they're all looking through...
Krug: Oh, can we stop please? I really gotta take a piss.
Morton: Fuck you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (#1.3)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Dirge

Pretty good, for a re-make

If you've ever read any of my other reviews you know how I feel personally about re-makes. Most horror fans feel the same way I do (yet we still watch these things!) so needless to say I went into this movie expecting to be disappointed. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well this one was. Yes there are the usual cases of character name changes, scene and dialog changes and complete story line changes for no apparent reason but the basic premise that made the original film so creepy was somehow still retained. The major story line change in this one has been discussed in previous reviews and revolves around main character Mari (I won't reveal any major changes for the benefit of those who haven't seen it yet) and yes I was EXTREMELY disappointed with these changes but as I said I went into the film expecting to be let down so this helped to soften the blow. This version of "Last House on the Left" has a considerable amount of added gore sequences as well but they are not overly done or thrown in for no apparent reason other than shock value (as was the case in the unofficial 'Last House on the Left' re-make 'Chaos' directed by David DeFalco). Nowadays there really is no way to re-create the grainy, almost documentary like filming style of the original which is one of the main elements that added to the general feel of the film, but these filmmakers did an exceptional job of making the viewer curl in disgust at the actions of the villains and cheer and applaud the violence that befalls them. If you enjoyed the original you will most likely enjoy this one as well...just make sure you watch it and avoid the aforementioned "Chaos".