[Last House On The Left]
Plot:In this remake of the classic Wes Craven horror film...John & Emma Collingwood are on vacation at their lakeshore house when, when by a bizarre twist of fate, they give shelter to the sociopaths who have just assaulted and nearly killed their daughter. Upon discovering the truth, they exact a chilling revenge on her attackers.

Cast:Riki Lindhome, Garret Dillahunt, Martha MacIsaac, Rhys Coiro, Aaron Paul, Sarah Paxton, Spencer Treat Clark, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn.

My Thoughts:Above average remake.

Review:I wasn't too sure how a remake of a classic like "Last House On The Left" would play out. I was concerned about a number of things that could've went wrong. But the movie, which was mostly filled with non-mainstreamers when it comes to actors, with the exception of Monica Potter...did the original justice I must say. The film follows The Collingwood family, John (Goldwyn), Emma (Potter), and their daughter Mari...who go up to their lakeshore house for the weekend.

Mari (Paxton) decides to take the car and go for a drive into town to see her friend Paige, against her mothers wishes however. While in town, her and Paige meet a young teen named Justin, who overhears a conversation between the two girls about trying to score some weed. Justin informs them that he has some, but will only take them back to his hotel room to acquire it if they give him a pack of cigarettes.

So in exchange for the score, the girls contribute the minor's delinquency by giving him the cigs. While back at the hotel, the three are smoking and ejoying themselves, until the films three main baddies show up. Krug (Dillahunt) Justin's father, Francis (Paul), and Sadie (Lindhome). The three are on the run, after Sadie and Francis during the films bloody and twisted opening scene, help Krug escape police custody.

At first, Paige and Mari think their gonja-party with Justin has simply been broken up, totally unware of the danger they're in at the hands of the three sociopaths. The one thing that this film does well is drawing out the inevitable. We know eventually something bad will happen to Mari. And we know that her parents will eventually take their revenge against her attackers. But the movie does an excellent job of not boring the audience before these moments.

Which is very key. There's nothing worse than a movie which coasts until it gets to the scenes where it's supposed to get intense. "Last House" stays intense from the moment Krug, Francis, and Sadie show up to break up Justin, Mari, and Paiges fun. The three criminals, who we already know are sociopaths who will kill anyone, at first lure the girls in with their slightly-easygoing attitudes towards their presence there. But their tone of voice, and actions quickly turn angry and violent.

And soon, they have the two girls in their clutches, and for the viewer...it's simply a matter of waiting to see when, where, and how they will dismantle the two young teens. But the X-Factor in all of this is Krug's son Justin, who doesn't seem nearly as eager to inflict, nor cold-hearted towards the sheer brutality of the situation as the other three are. An interesting wrinkle which is thrown into the films overall design by writers Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth.

So this gives the viewer some hope that maybe the girls have a hero in the midst, but then again...maybe not? The movie has alot of conflicts early on, and the early scenes are well-shot, as well as very graphic in tone, violence, and overal content. The writers go out of their way to make these three villains as evil as human beings can be, and we as viewers know this is just a ploy to build up the rage and anger so we will be egstatic when they finally get what's coming to them.

But another mistake that could be made is making the early scenes...too intense, leaving nothing for the viewer to visually feast on in the middle and end of the movie. But again, writers Alleca and Ellsworth avoid making this mistake as well. The tension and suspense build once the three sociopaths, with a disturbed and sickened Justin in tow...head off to the lakehouse to escape a rainstorm which has come into play. The house of course turns out to belong to Mari's parents, and here's where things get very interesting.

And writers Ellsworth and Alleca again start building and building up to the moments where John and Emma realize the wolves they've let into their home harmed their child. And it really puts forth the question of what would you do if you had your child's brutalizers right where you wanted them? And although the vengeful parents are in the position of power during the films final act, it certainly doesn't mean the criminals are going to go to the grave easily.

And this is what makes the films final act the best part of the picture. As a brutal, violent, and suspenseful struggle for lives, vengeance, and possible redemption ensues. The films final scene to me personally is one of it's weak spots. Although not too weak. I quite frankly found the period at the end of this cinematic sentence to be cheesy in some ways, but it certainly wasn't enough to destroy all the good stuff that comes before. "Last House On The Left" is a good horror/revenge/remake, driven by performances, and human tragedy.

Positives:Excellent performances all around, great action, suspense, and intensity. The scenes involving the three killers, Mari, and Paige were very graphic, gritty, and real.

Negatives:The final scene came off as a bit cheesy. But not a deal-breaker by any means.

Overall:Three and a half out of four stars.





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