Sunday, March 15, 2009

Last House on the Left (2009)

Okay, so while my wife and kids went on a "Race to Witch Mountain", I ventured to "The Last House on the Left". Quite a trip!

I won't go into minute details on the plot and all that, as you can read great reviews at The Mad Ravings of an Entertainment Junkie; or at Doomed Movieblog; heck, even EW.com gets in on it. And there are plenty more at HorrorMovies.ca.

What I do notice is that most people like the movie itself, even if some are not as thrilled with it's "message". That said, I liked it and don't have a problem with it. Mary's parents are not merely seeking vengeance at first. They just wanted to get away with Mary in the boat. But once they come to the realization that it's either them or the bad guys, they don't hold back.

Can't say I would, either. They are obviously dealing with some deep pain over the loss of their other child, and what happened to Mary sent them over the edge. But I don't think they even needed the other child's death to "rationalize" their actions. You will do ANYTHING for your kids, and while it may not be "PC" to say so, I can't say I wouldn't do the same for mine. Wrong I guess, but true.

I am glad they didn't overplay the gore, ala the torture porn movies of late. What we did see was realistic, but not gross-out so. A good choice, as the scenes we were witnessing were wince-inducing all on their own without it.

The final scene was not so tame, however, and I know many people don't care for it, even hating it. I wasn't as shocked by it, as it had been alluded to in the trailers for the movie and I was waiting for it to happen. Was it needed? No, I don't think so. It was over the top, even for the parents. Like one reviewer said, "How did they explain THAT to the cops?" But hey, maybe Mr. Collingwood snapped a little. Can't say I blame him. And maybe the producers or whomever thought the movie need a "what-the-fuck?" scene, like the original had (you know the one). It didn't, in my opinion, but it doesn't ruin anything for me.

In comparison to the original (which I haven't seen in about ten years), I think this was a definite improvement. At first, I was concerned it couldn't replace the gritty, realistic, awfulness of the 70s film. But, once you are confronted with the horrible actions done to Mary and her friend, you see that it is just as bad. So hard and uncomfortable to watch, you still squirm in your seat. And that is what this movie is. Horrible? yes. Realistic? I think so. For everyone? Hell, no!

I would watch it again. Now, I am not sure what THAT says about me!

7 comments:

  1. Good, and I am very grateful to you and greetings to you
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  2. I'm suprised quite frankly that anyone thinks what the parents did was wrong. It was 110% without a doubt justified and I never felt for one second that it wasn't. That's exactly what any good parents would do in that situation.

    Glad you seem to have liked it as much as I!

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  3. Great Review Wings [and thanks for the shout out!] :-)

    While I agree with you that a parent should do anything to protect their children, I still enjoyed the new story arc of the loss of their oldest son, and I feel that it helped support how far the parents actually went, as I am sure that loss was affecting their reactions as well - with only one child left, I could see the reasoning behind the extreme situations.

    You already know my thoughts on the final scene, so I won't repeat myself here :-)

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  4. I guess we all agree that the parents did what they had to do.

    As for the last scene, I agree that it wasn't needed, I just didn't HATE it as much. >:)

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  5. Oh yes. I will be adding this remake to my collection when it comes out on DVD. It should make a great double feature with The Strangers which I also really liked. Of course, The Strangers is supposed to be a rip off of Them (the French film) but they really weren't that similar. Them is an awesome movie, btw.

    Wings, thanks for your kind works on my review of Last House. I added a link to your blog on the Doomed Movieblog.

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  6. slizwiz: No problem, I love your blog! As for "The Strangers", that was a great, creepy, scary movie. Loved it!

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