The Last House on the Left

Friday, January 18 - Sunday, January 20, 2013

35mm print

“Craven’s first horror movie is pretty strong meat… Two teenage girls (Lucy Grantheim and Sandra Cassel), on their way to a rock concert, are abducted, tortured and raped by a pair of psycopathic killers, Krug and Weasel, their dyke accomplice Sadie, and Krug’s heroin-addicted son Junior. Then, in a twist borrowed from Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, the criminals ask for help when their car breaks down at a nearby house, where Cassel’s parents (surprise, surprise) discover the truth and wreak brutal revenge. Rape, disembowelment and death by chainsaw are now standard horror fare, but Craven’s cold, flat style of filming emphasises the fact that the violence dehumanises not only the victims but the aggressors. Craven fans will also note an early use of the domestic booby traps and dream sequences which were to be central to the later Nightmare on Elm Street.” – Time Out (London)

• Country USA
• Rating R
• Year 1972
• Running Time 91 minutes
• Director Wes Craven

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.