As with Wes Craven’s 1972 original, director Dennis Iliadis’ “The Last House on the Left” (2009) might be underrated because of its rape scene. Although this is a bigger-budget, mainstream version of Craven’s cult classic, its centerpiece is Krug (Garret Dillahunt, enhanced by career-criminal facial hair) raping innocent teenage swimmer Mari (Sara Paxton, beginning to show her acting range) in the woods.
An animalistic villain
If it’s not the film’s longest scene, it nonetheless feels like it. It’s purposeful, but not gratuitous. It forces a viewer to think about rape as the most uncivilized of human acts. Even torture falls under the umbrella of civilized behavior to some government and military officials. But torture is mostly a human invention; rape is the animal kingdom’s normal form of procreation. Arguably, sex as a consensual act is what puts humans in a separate class.
Everything before and after funnels to that rape scene. Iliadis and his writers (Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth, working from Craven’s original screenplay) make us like Mari before that and of course we hate Krug after that; we can’t see him as human anymore.
“The Last House on the Left” (2009)
Director: Dennis Iliadis
Writers: Adam Alleca, Carl Ellsworth (screenplay); Wes Craven (original film)
Stars: Garret Dillahunt, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn
Although “Last House” is a grim horror-thriller, a cast of established actors commits to the material. I admire the measured performances of Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter (“Parenthood”) as Mari’s parents, whose cabin is invaded by the criminals.
They come as close to “cool” as parents can get, and the family’s bond is quickly established by the fact that Paxton truly looks like the offspring of Potter and Goldwyn. When Mari’s life is at stake, we totally believe they would segue from a successful teacher and doctor into revenge killers.
Among Krug’s group are Aaron Paul, who gets to play a bad guy amid his long stint as a good-hearted meth dealer on “Breaking Bad”; comedienne Riki Lindhome in a sexy and scary against-type turn; and Spencer Treat Clark as the son whom Krug tries to indoctrinate into amorality.
Extreme but not gratuitous
“Last House” is simple in structure, but it left me off balance. With some exceptions: It’s so clear that Clark’s Justin is good at heart that even Mari’s parents immediately see it. And Krug, as noted, is bad to the bone. But Paul and Lindhome had me wondering just a tad about their characters’ motivations.
Meanwhile, we don’t know how far the parents will go, caught as they are between protecting Mari and the fact that they aren’t natural born killers. “Last House” defines the “good” and “bad” sides, but in any given scene, you might feel a tug of sympathy for the bad guys being targeted by the good guys.
Also working a gray area is Martha MacIsaac (“Superbad”) as Mari’s small-town bestie Paige. She’s a bad influence on Mari, peer-pressuring her into smoking pot with Justin in his hotel room. But when placed against the backdrop of what comes later, Paige is an utter innocent.
The unrated cut is among the most violent mainstream horror films of the millennium. But every scene is an honest horror-thriller portrayal of what it is, whether it’s a rescue, a sly home invasion, revenge, or even rape. John Murphy’s dirge-like score tells us we’re watching a sober story, despite its extreme moments.
Some viewers will stop “Last House on the Left” at the rape scene and never come back. That’s understandable. But this shouldn’t be construed as the film failing to achieve what it’s aiming for; the opposite is the case.