[The Last House In The Woods]
Plot:When a woman escapes a group of bullies seeking to rape her and takes refuge with a seemingly kind couple, she discovers a dark secret hidden in their quiet, secluded house.

Cast:Daniela Virgilio, Daniele Grassetti, Gennaro Diana, Santa De Santis, David Pietroni, Geremia Longobardo, Cristiano Callegaro, Luigi Campi, Valter Gilardoni, Fabiano Malantrucco, Francesco Lopez, Elisabetta Rocchetti, Enrico Silvestrin.

My Thoughts:Italian horror meets Grindhouse.

Review:"The Last House In The Woods" is yet another cautionary tale which warns us all to not accept help so quickly from strangers. The film follows a woman and her on again off again boyfriend who meet one day, and he offers her a ride to work. They end up doing much more than just driving, in the car, while on a lonely stretch of road. Just as they are about to leave...a group of thugs show up and attack the two of them. The womans boyfriend is beaten senseless and left for dead, and the three men decide to rape the woman.

But she's rescued when a couple and their young son drive up on the road. The husband forces the thugs to back off, and takes the terrified woman and her injured boyfriend back to their house way in the sticks. But soon the female half of the young couple realize that this husband and wife aren't exactly "normal", neither is their son, and they both have evil plans for the young woman and her beau. Sure, if this were an american made horror film...it would've wound up being typical and cliche and all of the above.

Resulting in a very boring and uninteresting picture. But being that this was an italian horror film, shot in grindhouse stylings, it had a just enoguh fresh material to transform itself from the age old story into quite an enjoyable gorefest. First off, the film has a very colorful look to it visually, yet at the same time the throwback look of an 80's grindhouse movie. That alone made the viewing experience something news because not many horror films mix things up on the visual front these days. Second, the film doesn't take too much time to get into terror mode.

It sets up the scenario nicely, and pushes it forward quickly but nottoo quick so whereas anything is lost in translation. Perfectionists will probably dismiss this film early, as it does telegraph early on what's about to transpire. It's obvious that the husband and wife savior/right place right time scenario will backfire on the young couple. And it's also obvious early on that something terrible will happen to the young lvoers once the couple returns with them to their home located basically in the middle of nowhere.

But that doesn't mean a film like this can't be fun. It indeed was fun for me, mainly because Director Gabriele Albanesi seems to know this genre very well, and didn't waste any opportunity to make a very blood, gory, and simple throwback horror film to the days of "Suspiria", and other Italian horror like it. From a quality standpoint, this film is not comparable to "Suspiria"...but it certainly would reign supreme I think in the "backwoods horror" subgenre.

Also making this odd husband and wife couple the upper-crust-looking types, and not two weird, psychotic, unclean rednecks was a big plus. It kind of lures the viewer into a false sense of security with the characters, and makes you question their motives for awhile, instead of automatically assuming 110% that something sinister is afoot. The basis of the events which transpire after the young woman is rescued from her and ehr boyfriends attackers surrounds the husband and wifes son, who is not exactly what he seems.

Although as a viewer, you may have many different theories about what the deal exactly is with the husband, the wife, and the child....the end result will probably come as a disappointment. But despite that, the film still offers up alot of blood, gore, chaos, body count, gruesome-grisly deaths, and limb-lopping that we've all come to know and love from backwoods-styled horror. Think "Wrong Turn" cranked up ten notches in the gore department when it comes to the graphic nature of the violence in the film.

But Albanesi's film also offers up some surprising twists as well, which come during the pics action-packed conclusion which is where things get hectic as the number of people still alive dwindles quickly, new alliances are formed, betrayal rears it's ugly head, and lives hang in the balance. "The Last House In The Woods" is proof that even with a stale premise and overused cautionary tale story...with just a few new wrinkles thrown into the design, any horror film can offer up a good 90 minute thrill ride full of blood, guts, and mayhem.

Positives:Good looking film visually, good performances, interesting plot twists during a very fun and bloody ending, and lots of blood, gore, and graphic violence.

Negatives:Using an overused cautionary tale as the basis for the films story.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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