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*** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

post #1 of 17
3/13/09 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
Another major plus are the performances, which are very good. Dillahunt does a very good job as Krug but of course we're going to have people comparing him to David Hess, which is unfair. Dillahunt tries to do the role differently, which I give him credit for doing and he actually manages to make the character quite creepy in his laid back approach.
I know I'd see this either way but Garrett Dillahunt is the main reason why I actually want to see this movie. While David Hess originated the role of Krug, it doesn't take much to imagine that Garrett Dillahunt delivers a much better performance as the character.

I have to catch this in the next couple of days.
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post #2 of 17
3/13/09 at 3:05pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

I'd certainly love to hear yours and others opinions. There's a major plot twist I want to discuss with others but will wait so that I don't spoil anything. Those wanting something more brutal than the original should check out 2005's CHAOS. Even without the Ebert controversy I thought the film made for some great debate.
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post #3 of 17
3/13/09 at 4:23pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

I have no interest in seeing this, really... but actually, my wife is at the theater right now as I write this, to catch the 7:20 pm showing with a new girlfriend of hers, who loves horror movies. Her friend really wanted me to go, but as I say, I'm just not interested in this needles modern remake of the already-modern-in-feel original. It's not like I love the Wes Craven original; I caught it late in life on VHS, and by the time I got to it I thought the horrific element was exaggerated from everything I'd heard over the years.

I did just see Bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING for the first time last month, and THAT was disturbing. I'm wondering -- has Craven said his LHOTL was a direct homage/rip/influence from THE VIRGIN SPRING?

Quote:
The violence in the movie is rather laid back,

The movie has a fresh look to it so those expecting something raw like the original are going to be disappointed.

Gee, what a surprise.
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post #4 of 17
3/13/09 at 5:20pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Craven's film is VERY dated especially the humor.

You can listen to Craven's commentary for more info on the Bergman film.

Quote:
Gee, what a surprise.

We have enough torture porn for those wanting it and we've got plenty of raw movies for those who want their films to look like something on the budget of $100,000.
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post #5 of 17
3/13/09 at 6:30pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

James Bs review. He almost wants to recommend it. Says its very well done.

Warning there is a spoiler - about the hand injury mentioned above in his review....
Reelviews Movie Reviews



"We have enough torture porn for those wanting it and we've got plenty of raw movies for those who want their films to look like something on the budget of $100,000."

Yea but but as said in the review below, if youre going to remake the most "disturbing movie of all time", shouldnt you push the envelope?

As for torture porn, Ive only seen Saw and Hostel2. While the first Saw wasnt as bad as I expected, Hostel2 was garbage. The realism isnt there so those gory scenes are just that.... gory.


I remember when I saw A History of Violence, I though it was tame and was expecting something alot more brutal from Cronenberg considering the title and theme of the film.
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post #6 of 17
3/13/09 at 8:52pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Review: Horror Reviews - Last House on the Left, The (2009)
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post #7 of 17
3/13/09 at 9:13pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

The Last House on the Left :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews

I don't think Ebert remembers the original too well but he does make a few interesting points on people changing over the years. I once sent him an e-mail, which he replied to, about how he could love LAST HOUSE yet rip apart I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, get it kicked out of theaters and call it the worst film ever made.
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post #8 of 17
3/15/09 at 5:27pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Here's the one thing I thought was going to happen but didn't. I also thought this would have given the film a lot more power.

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Krug gets free from the guest house and while the parents are screwing around with his girlfriend, Krug is in the house alone with the daughter. I thought there would be a major outcry over the daughter surviving so when this happened I thought they were going to pull a major twist and have Krug kill her then.


One other thing causing debate:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
It seems a lot of people are throwing a fit about the microwave scene at the end including Roger Ebert. A lot are fighting whether you can or can't cook something but I really thought this end sequence was just a dream. In the original film you had a dream sequence of the bad knocking out one of the men's teeth. It seemed to me this was just a dream sequence because we see the family leaving in the morning so it's doubtful daddy went back to the house or did this before leaving with the family.
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post #9 of 17
3/15/09 at 10:30pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by TravisR
I didn't blow me away but I liked it quite a bit. The original has more raw power than the remake (because Craven and company had no clue what they were doing) but the remake is a superior movie in almost every other way. There's good performances and nice direction and camera work. It's a fairly brutal movie and doesn't have the 'fun' gimmick element that the Saw movies have so I'd imagine that alot of people left the theater disgusted after seeing this. The rape scene is similar to a scene in The Devil's Rejects where it's truly unsettling rather than just exploitive garbage.

The changes, like having some who looks like a teen playing Krug's son, dropping the cops all together, making it more reasonable that they happen to drive past the Collingwood house, having the gang stay in a guest house (rather than in the next room) and having also helped improve the movie in my opinion.


I'm not sure why to put that in the spoiler category since the movie trailer pretty much tells you what happened (and almost everything else for that matter). I watched one of the longer trailers and just could not believe all the plot giveaways which seems to be the trend in so many Movie and TV shows now. Heaven help us that these people would have done Empire Strikes Back or Sixth Sense or Psycho.
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post #10 of 17
3/16/09 at 3:16pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Glover
We saw this opening night as well. I was prepared for the scene and it was difficult to sit thru. I agree with James Berardinelli in that we don't have to have that rape element to make us hate the bad guys.
.

If you go to a horror board you'll see a lot of them hyped up by the rape scene. These types of rape/revenge movies always need a strong rape sequence or they at least try for one. Just check out I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE for one that pushes the limits. The one here wasn't nearly as graphic many but it was well done and effective.
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post #11 of 17
3/16/09 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
Just check out I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE for one that pushes the limits.
Yep. The rape scene in this movie is tame and sedate compared to I Spit On Your Grave. In my mind, it's properly horrible but doesn't cross the line into being exploitive (unlike I Spit On Your Grave which is just sick for no reason other than showing some sick shit).
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post #12 of 17
3/16/09 at 6:06pm

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

I've always defended I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE but I think the "story" works better under its original titles of DAY OF THE WOMAN. I've never really seen it as an exploitation film.

It seems, judging by many horror boards, that this film is going over pretty well with people. It's not going too well with some of the "Critics on TV" shows that I watch as the movie is taking a pretty big beating.

The rape scene is getting bashed to hell because of how vile it is but how else do you show rape? I can't recall ANY rape scene that made me feel good watching it so I really don't see where some are coming from. In many ways I think rape is worse than murder so it's going to be ugly no matter what. Even THE ACCUSED features an ugly scene. The line might be crossed when a film shows a rape to be comedy or some sort of sexual turn on but this film doesn't do that. To me we really don't see that much, which is one reason why it's effective.

Fans of this type of film should really check out CHAOS and see how far that film pushes the limits.
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post #13 of 17
3/16/09 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 

re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
I've always defended I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE but I think the "story" works better under its original titles of DAY OF THE WOMAN. I've never really seen it as an exploitation film.
It's funny because I like the fairly repugnant scenes where the woman gets her revenge but the rape scene is just so horrible and protracted that it basically turns me off to the whole movie.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
The rape scene is getting bashed to hell because of how vile it is but how else do you show rape? I can't recall ANY rape scene that made me feel good watching it so I really don't see where some are coming from.
I can understand that people don't want to see that type of thing but, like I said, I think the movie handles it as well as can be. It's a cop-out to have it fade to black druing the rape but then show the Collingwoods getting their revenge in its full gory glory. I'm sure I'm stealing and misquoting Wes Craven's thoughts on the subject but both Last Houses are about seeing the depths of Krug and company go to and comparing that to the depths that the Collingwoods sink to combat them.
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post #14 of 17
3/17/09 at 12:30pm

Re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "The Last House on the Left (2009)". Please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "The Last House on the Left (2009)" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy
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post #15 of 17
3/17/09 at 7:27pm

Re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Travis, I went to the first showing of the movie expecting I'd be the only one there. I was in for a shock when I walked in and noticed 7 people who had to be over 60. I said to myself that they all must have made a mistake and that they'd all walk out yet none of them did. It really shocked me that these folks stayed even during the rape scene. Perhaps I'm jaded because of stuff like CHAOS but I'm really, really shocked at how many people are calling this scene one of the worst they've seen. I found it unsettling but I'm still somewhat shocked at how it's effecting people.

I thought the parents revenge here was a lot better handled than the original. To me the parents here only killed to pretty much defend themselves. Even the "hand" scene was pretty much self defense so to me it seemed like the screenwriters didn't want them going all gung ho like the original movies.

Spoilers for the original:

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
The mom going down on the man who killed/raped her daughter (so she thought) was just too much for me to believe. I can see a mother getting a guy into that position but I will never buy her "getting him off" and THEN doing to deed.


With that in mind, I was interested to see if they would keep this in the movie. They somewhat hinted at it with the "spa in the next room" but I think they made the right decision in not doing it.
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post #16 of 17
3/17/09 at 7:50pm
Thread Starter 

Re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
Travis, I went to the first showing of the movie expecting I'd be the only one there. I was in for a shock when I walked in and noticed 7 people who had to be over 60. I said to myself that they all must have made a mistake and that they'd all walk out yet none of them did. It really shocked me that these folks stayed even during the rape scene.
The two people in my theater looked like a mother and late teen/early 20's daughter and I expected them to walk out but they stayed. Since I was alone, they probably thought I was an ax murderer or a pervert (that's what I think when I see a single man in a movie theater).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Elliott
I thought the parents revenge here was a lot better handled than the original. To me the parents here only killed to pretty much defend themselves.
Up until they kill Krug (which I took as having really happened rather than a dream), I can agree with that. Even if it is a dream, I think a doctor being forced to kill, even in self defense, still shows the idea of the thin line between 'them' and 'us'. Killing Krug outright is just cold blooded but not undeserved.

I said it before but I think almost every change was a positive for the movie.
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post #17 of 17
3/17/09 at 8:50pm

Re: *** Official THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (2009) Discussion Thread

I think it was a dream because earlier in the film the microwave was broken
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