Wes Craven: The '70s
The Last House on the Left (March 9/09)
Wes Craven's debut, The Last House of the Left follows a pair of carefree teenagers (Sandra Cassel's Mari and Lucy Grantham's Phyllis) as their plans for a fun night out are thwarted after they're captured by four sadistic killers (David Hess' Krug, Fred Lincoln's Weasel, Jeramie Rain's Sadie, and Marc Sheffler's Junior). On their way out of town, however, the quartet coincidentally wind up staying in a house belonging to Mari's parents (Richard Towers' John and Cynthia Carr's Estelle) - which effectively paves the way for a revenge-filled third act. Filmmaker Craven has infused The Last House on the Left with a pervasively amateurish vibe that extends to virtually every aspect of the proceedings, with the atrocious score, heavy handed screenplay, and almost uniformly unimpressive performances ranking high on the movie's long list of deficiencies. The exceedingly low-rent production values subsequently ensure that the more overtly horrific elements within Craven's script often fall completely flat, while the inclusion of several altogether needless instances of comedic relief (ie Marshall Anker and Martin Kove's bumbling cops) prove effective at compounding the movie's hopelessly incompetent atmosphere. Craven's far-from-subtle modus operandi permeates virtually every aspect of the proceedings, with John and Estelle's transformation from wholesome, Leave it to Beaver-esque parents to calculating, blood-thirsty animals undoubtedly the most eye-rolling example of this. There's ultimately little doubt that The Last House on the Left's status as a horror classic is nothing short of baffling, and it's a marvel that Craven was able to parlay the movie into a bona fide film career (it's just that bad).
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The Hills Have Eyes (July 20/02)
Long before Wes Craven made Scream or even A Nightmare on Elm Street (and especially Music of the Heart), he made The Hills Have Eyes - a sporadically effective Texas Chain Saw Massacre rip-off. An extended family making their way through the country in a car/mobile home find themselves stranded in the desert after dad inadvertently runs the car off the road. After an excruciatingly long 45 minutes of setup, the family finally winds up under attack by a group of psycho hillbillies with names like Pluto and Jupiter. If the movie didn't take so long to get going, it surely would have worked a whole lot better instead of wearing out the viewer's patience. Still, there are some chilling moments here, such as the fiery crucifixion of the dad and the baby that almost winds up dinner for the hillbillies (seriously, has there ever been a movie in which the baby gets it? This one comes pretty darn close!)
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Stranger in Our House
