The Last House on the Left (1972 film)
| The Last House on the Left | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Wes Craven |
| Produced by | Sean S. Cunningham |
| Written by | Wes Craven |
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| Music by | David Alexander Hess |
| Cinematography | Victor Hurwitz |
| Edited by | Wes Craven |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Hallmark Releasing |
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Release date
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Running time
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84 minutes (uncut) 91 minutes (original) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $87,000 |
| Box office | $3.1 million |
The Last House on the Left is a 1972 American exploitation horror film written, edited, and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S. Cunningham. The film follows two teenage girls who are taken into the woods and tortured by a gang of murderous thugs. The story is inspired by the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is based on a Swedish ballad - "Töres döttrar i Wänge".
Craven's directorial debut, the film was made on a modest budget of $87,000, and was filmed in New York City and rural Connecticut in 1971. It was released theatrically in the United States on August 30, 1972, and was a major box office success, grossing over $3 million domestically. Although its confrontational violence resulted in its being heavily censored and sometimes banned in other countries, the film was generally well received by critics. The film was remade into The Last House on the Left in 2009.
Mari Collingwood plans to attend a concert with her friend, Phyllis Stone for her 17th birthday. Her parents, Estelle and John, express their concern about the band and her friendship with Phyllis, but let her go and give her a peace symbol necklace. Phyllis and Mari then head to the city for the concert. On the way, they hear a news report on the car radio of a recent prison escape involving criminals Krug Stillo, a sadistic rapist and serial killer; his son, Junior; Sadie, a promiscuous psychopath and sadist; and Fred "Weasel" Podowski, a child molester, peeping tom, and murderer. Before the concert, Mari and Phyllis encounter Junior when trying to buy marijuana. He leads them to an apartment where they are trapped by the criminals. Phyllis tries to escape and tries to reason with them, but she fails and is gang-raped by Krug, Weasel and Sadie. Meanwhile, Mari's unsuspecting parents prepare a surprise party for her.
The next morning, Mari and Phyllis are gagged and put in the trunk of their car and transported to the woods by the criminals. Mari recognizes that the road is near her home with a look of horror. Mari and Phyllis are forced to perform sexual acts to each other and Sadie attempts to perform oral sex on a weeping Mari. Phyllis distracts the kidnappers to give Mari an opportunity to escape but is chased by Sadie and Weasel, while Junior stays behind to guard Mari. Mari tries gaining Junior's trust by giving him her necklace and instead names him "Willow". Phyllis is then cornered by Krug with a machete and stabbed to death by Weasel. After seeing her leaning up against a tree, barely still alive and in shock, Sadie reaches into Phyllis's wounds and pulls out her insides.
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