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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 2865
Released: August 18, 2009 |
| Our Price: $14.00 |
| Used Price: $3.97 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Renowned horror director Wes Craven returns to the scene of the most notorious thrillers of all time in this darkly disturbing reimagining of The Last House on the Left. After kidnapping and ruthlessly assaulting two teen girls, a sadistic killer and his gang unknowingly find shelter from a storm at the home of one of the victim's parents-- two ordinary people who will go to increasingly gruesome extremes to get revenge. Loaded with shocking twists guaranteed to leave you on edge, it's the ominous film critics call, "One of the best horror remakes ever made" (Scott Weinberg, Fearnet.com).
Description of Last House on the Left (2009):
A hot-button topic in the horror community from the minute it was announced, the 2009 remake of Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham’s controversial Last House on the Left will undoubtedly leave audiences polarized in regard to both its treatment of the source material and its level of violence. As with the original film, which drew inspiration from Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring (and was itself based on 13th century Scandinavian legend), director Dennis Illadis’ film traces the downward spiral of two teenage girls (Sara Paxton and Martha MacIsaac from Superbad) who fall prey to a quartet of degenerates. The perpetrators then seek refuge in a nearby vacation home--which happens to be occupied by Paxton’s parents. Both versions spare no quarter in detailing the torments inflicted on the two girls, as well as the ruthlessly efficient revenge metered out to the killers by the parents; the difference, however, lies with the intent. Craven and Cunningham (who serve as executive producers for the remake) sought to shock Nixon/Vietnam-era audiences by showing the limits to which the "average" citizen could be pushed by violent acts; Illadis, however, is simply content to deliver a glossy, overamped thriller that neither delights in nor condemns the atrocities committed by its characters. The result is a flat, often tedious exercise in nihilism buoyed only by its cast, especially Paxton, Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter as her parents, and Garrett Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men) as the malevolent leader of the depraved foursome. Fans of the original need not bother with this version; newcomers should seek out Craven’s version, which has lost none of its power to overwhelm. --Paul Gaita
Amazon.com
The legendarily scuzzy 1972 shocker Last House on the Left gets all dressed up in this slick remake, which retro-fits the original storyline to an isolated lakeside cabin. This time out, unsuspecting teen Mari (Sara Paxton) makes the crucial mistake of going to buy some weed at a rundown motel room with a stranger (Spencer Treat Clark). It must have sounded like a good idea at the time. Soon Mari and her pal (Martha MacIsaac) are confronted by the stranger's diseased posse, and the real trouble begins. The set-up of the 1972 picture, which director Wes Craven borrowed from Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, is a blunt exercise in brutality followed by revenge, the twist being that the revenge is as savage as the initial transgression. This structure remains in the remake, although a few key plot points are changed, with little improvement. Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn play Mari's parents, who at some point will be called upon to put aside their merlot and their civilized constraints and get to it; Garret Dillahunt, coming off his strong work in Deadwood and No Country for Old Men, is far too qualified to be playing the stock role of the creep-in-chief. There is something distinctly strange about watching a film that took much of its original power from its cheapness, an outlaw energy that is completely lost in this dressed-up, professionally made remake. Here the scenes of rape and murder are presented not as pulpy shouts from the subculture but as necessary ingredients in a respectable machinery, which somehow makes them more dispiriting and unpleasant to watch. That this film is a technical advance on the original film on every level--acting, writing, photography--does not make it a better film. --Robert Horton
Last House on the Left (2009) Reviews:
Got the item in a timely manner 
2009-11-19 - Haven't watched the DVD yet, I hope it is in good condition. The delivery time was great. Thank you.
sick twisted 
2009-11-16 - This is a sick and twisted movie with nothing new, except the sick minds that made it, Don't waist your time. Its over done., and becomes boring to where you wish it hurry up and end.
nothing new 
2009-11-11 - 5.0 THE FILM ITSELF
8.2 VISUALS
6.6 SOUND
5.0 PACKAGING
0.2 EXTRAS
*** SOME SPOILERS *** REVIEW IS OF UNRATED VERSION ONLY, NOT THEATRICAL
I have never seen the original that got people all worked up. So when I saw this remake and heard talks about how this is "the best remake in years" I was expecting... more. After seeing alot of horror films, one thing that stood out is that The Last House on the Left (2009) does nothing special and offers nothing new. Sure, there's little blood or gore which is surprising seeing as that's what the kids need these days to stay entertained, but this film could've probably used it.
Is there an atmosphere? Yeah, I guess so. But the score pounds it into us that these people are so 'evil' that it gets old very quickly. Guess what? We know they're evil. We've seen them kill cops, kidnap two little teeny-bopper girls, kill one of them, and then freakin rape one of them. We know that these people are sick and twisted, we don't need to be bludgeoned with a spooky score to get the picture.
The film itself runs pretty boring. Clocking in at 107 minutes (unrated version), there are alot of boring moments and the typical dumb characterization. How many teenage girls are going to go with some strange pot-head back to a hotel room? Especially ones that appear smart and focused on school, but I guess that's the power of drugs.
Aside from the horrorific (and over extended) rape scene, there's nothing else here to call this a horror movie (until the last 30 minutes). I've heard people say that it's hard to cheer for the parents... this is not the case. Everyone should be rooting for the parents. If not, you should be placed head first into a microwave.
8.2 VISUALS
There's not much to see here, but this 1080p film looks pretty good. Colors are sharp and vibrant and while there's some grain, I believe that's supposed to be there for the feel of the film.
6.6 SOUND
Aside from the blaring, overused bass for when we see the criminals, there's very little else here for surround sound fans. The film runs more off of scenery and visuals than a decent score.
5.0 PACKAGING
The main menu is the oddest thing I have ever seen in a blu-ray release. It looks like a computer start up screen or something and while choosing through the dozens of special features and options (sarcasm ending now) most of the screen is clips from the movie.
0.2 EXTRAS
Now how about those special features! Oh boy. The year is 2009 people, and this is a remake of what some would call a classic for the horror / snuff film genre. So one would think that this blu-ray release would be littered with features. Even some of the most boring films of the last few months have a commentary track ("The Haunting in Connecticut"), but not here. How about an interview with Wes Craven or someone else about the difference between the new and old film or who's idea it was for a remake? Nope.
All we get are 9 minutes of boring deleted scenes and something called "A Look Inside" which is a 2.5 minute clip about the film that virtually tells you everything that happens in the film (minus the rape scene). And that is it. Extremely disappointing film matched by an even more disappointing set of special features.
IN CLOSING
I was let down by The Last House on the Left (2009) due to it being nothing memorable or fun. Aside from the rape scene, this is barely a horror film by any means. Sure, the crazy parents at the end extracting revenge is horror-ish, but it's understandable what they do. Special feature wise there is nothing here. So will a movie that visually won't be anything to show off to friends, a movie most people won't want to watch twice and completely worthless special features, this should only be purchased by absolute horror diehards who love to add to their collections. Or blu-ray fanatics.
4.4/10 "POOR"
good movie to pass the time 
2009-11-09 - I was kind of scared of watching this movie due to the reviews that the rape scene was really bad I like scary movies and action movies and was told this movie was really good so I decided to purchase it I did not think the rap scene was that bad as they make it seen it was very infuriating and something you don't like to see but I was happy with the ending of this story! I liked this movie it was full of action and I feel the ending was very really good I would have liked it to have told us a little bit about what happened afterwards with the boy and the girl but I liked the movie.
What more can you ask of a Reboot?
2009-11-05 - I'll keep this short and sweet. This was gruesome and twistedly faithful to the original in spirit and effect. I totally expected to be the one tortured when watching, well I should have left my preconceived notions at the door. The acting was sharp, the plot devices made just enough sense that it never broke my disbelief and I admittedly had to briefly look away from some scenes.
The setup was stellar and the ending did not disappoint. I give it a 5 but if it was possible I would have given it more.
Good for the genre and great by comparison of other remakes.
I would definitely suggest it to anyone that enjoys the genr
