THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) Movie Review

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)

Review by Tom Parnell

Maybe it’s an indictment of the desensitizing of modern audiences, but I find that most films which were banned or heavily censored decades ago would probably attract no more than a PG-13 rating today. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is not one of these films.

Made in 1972, it was part of the BBFC's infamous Video Nasties list. It wasn't until 2002 that this film was officially allowed to be released in the UK, and then it wasn’t until 2008 that a fully uncut version was passed by the BBFC. The film is still banned in multiple countries around the world.

If LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT had been about killer monsters or aliens I don’t think it would have had half the problems passing the censors, or half the impact on the viewer. However, the horror which director Wes Craven creates here is one that is so despairingly human that it becomes difficult to watch and for once I can understand why the BBFC might have wanted to protect certain people from seeing it.

The film tells the story of an ‘as American as apple pie’ family who live out in the sticks, and begins with their celebration of daughter Mari’s sweet seventeen. Much to the concern of her protective parents, Mari is heading out to the big city to watch a rock band with her rebellious friend Phyllis. What’s going to happen to them?

Meanwhile nearby, escaped criminals Krug Stillo and Weasel Podowski are holed up with equally disturbing partner Sadie and Krug’s junkie son Junior.

On their way to the concert our young protagonists meet Junior in a shop and are lured back to the gang’s hideout on the premise of buying some drugs. So begins a horrific ordeal, both psychological and physical, which sees the girls kidnapped and driven out into the countryside, where their torment continues.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT was horror big-hitter Wes Craven’s directorial debut, and even though it is of the same genre it is far from the cartoonish violence of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or SCREAM. The film is also arguably more intelligent than Craven’s later work, as the viewer is faced with a series of escalating nightmarish scenarios and we get a real feeling of the girls’ powerlessness in the hands of their captors.

Craven also successfully uses Junior as a vehicle for a more human, nearly sympathetic witness to the girls’ torment, building a bridge between the viewer of the film and the character and pointing out the impotence of both in their ability to change the course of events.

This is not the ludicrous and tasteless realms of more recent ‘torture porn’ horror trend, as seen in films like SAW or HOSTEL. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT’s last act causes the viewer to turn from revulsion at the acts of the psychotic criminals to practically cheering on Mari’s middle class parents as they perpetrate similar horrors, which leaves you on very thin moral ice and is a powerful statement about the fragility of society.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a difficult film to watch, but it is also an intelligent, thought-provoking film, which makes it a rare gem in the horror genre.

THE MAD MAGICIAN Movie Review

THE MAD MAGICIAN (1954)

Review by Brian McGovern

THE MAD MAGICIAN is Vincent Price at his deranged and diabolical best. After Warner Brothers created a hit with their 3-D production of HOUSE OF WAX Columbia Pictures decided to get in on the craze. They hired the writer from HOUSE OF WAX and brought back Price and his tortured-artist-turned-mad-man shtick in this 1954 3D horror classic.

Mr. Price stars as Don Gallico, a frustrated inventor of stage illusions. Gallico toils in the magic prop studio of the cruel Mr. Ormond (played by Donald Randolph) and dreams becoming famous as “The Great Gallico,” once he has perfects his masterpiece of magic, “The Buzz Saw Illusion.”

Gallico mounts a stage production to promote his new illusion. When Ormond sees the commercial potential of the buzz saw trick he shuts down the show on opening night with a court order. Gallico learns that his contract with Ormond gives him no right to his own inventions. We find out that not only has Ormond destroyed Gallico’s career, he’s also managed to steal his wife. Gallico flies into a rage. Greedy boss, vanquished dreams, jealous ex-lover plus buzz saw plus Vincent Price… I think you see where this is going. Cue the maniacal laughter.

After the mad magician dispatches Mr. Ormond via a real buzz saw blade he has two problems; what to do with the body and what to do with the head? Gallico disguises himself as Mr. Ormond and drags his victim’s body to a convenient pre-game bonfire just about to start only a short walk from the scene of the crime. Disguising the body to look like a straw-filled effigy of a rival sports team member, he’s cheered as he dumps the body in full view of a crowd. Since the crowd believes he is Mr. Ormond, Gallico believes he’s pulled off the perfect crime. Tah-da!

Now to dispatch with Ormond’s noggin, stashed safely away in a small satchel. Unfortunately Callico’s assistant drops by his studio and accidentally takes the satchel containing the head. Then she loses the bag in a cab. The cab driver gives the bag to a police officer and Gallico must race across the city to find the bag before anyone discovers what is inside.

Just when Gallico thinks he’s covered his tracks, his ex-wife (played by Eva Gabor) shows up searching for her husband, the very dead Mr. Ormond. She discovers Gallico’s crime so he dispatches his unfaithful lover in pure Vincent Price rage. So many bodies, so little time.

A rival magician named The Great Rinaldi appears, trying to steal another secret from Gallico. Rinaldi stole credit for the Buzz Saw Illusion and wants another trick. Gallico shows him his new Crematorium Illusion, up close. Rinaldi vanishes in a puff of smoke. And so it goes up to the formulaic finale.

In all, THE MAD MAGICIAN typifies the teenager targeted shock movie of the 1950’s. Full of plot holes, unbelievable coincidences and sophistic character motivations it’s a campy, fun and entertaining 74 minutes.

Turner Classic Movies Starts October with a Fang Bang - 30 Days till Halloween

You've got to love Turner Classic Movies, the cable channel that gives you the best of the best of classic cinema uncut, commercial free and in its correct aspect ratio.

For horror fans, TCM in October is a playground of thrills and chills as the House That Ted Turner Built let out from the vault an assortment of fantastic flicks, some of which are unavailable in the home video format.

Each Friday in October, TCM will have a mini-marathon of goodies, all leading up to a fantastic, non-stop horror cavalcade the entire Halloween weekend.

October 1st start things off right with four Dracula movies from Hammer Films. Films and times (in Eastern Standard Time) are:

8:00 PM Horror of Dracula (1958) - The legendary count tries to turn his enemies' women into his bloodthirsty brides. Cast: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough. Dir: Terence Fisher. C-82 mins, TV-PG

9:30 PM Brides Of Dracula, The (1960) - A handsome vampire stalks the students at a remote girl's school. Cast: Peter Cushing, Martita Hunt, Yvonne Monlaur. Dir: Terence Fisher. C-85 mins,

11:00 PM Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966) - Four travelers unwittingly revive the bloodsucking count. Cast: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir. Dir: Terence Fisher. C-90 mins, TV-14

12:45 AM Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1969) - Dracula goes after the niece of the monsignor who destroyed his castle. Cast: Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson. Dir: Freddie Francis. C-92 mins, TV-14

I'm off to watch HORROR OF DRACULA.  Join me, won't you?

30 days till Halloween...

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (1970) Movie Review

Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Review by Tom Parnell

A quick glance at the cast list of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN should be enough to excite any horror fan.

Featuring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price this 1970 film could easily have come from the Hammer stable if it wasn’t for the utterly bizarre, convoluted and ultimately confusing plot which encompasses vampire superhumans, oppressive Eastern European regimes and vats of acid.

Adapted from a Peter Saxon novel by Christopher Wicking (who years later co-wrote the David Bowie flop/cult classic ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS) SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN is a film that constantly keeps you guessing and generally proves your predictions wrong.

As the opening credits roll we are treated to a serene scene of a jogger crossing a green somewhere in suburban England. The dramatic title freeze frames the action for a moment accompanied by an upbeat David Whitaker jazz number. So far, not so sinister. What’s going to happen to him?

Not vampires, not violent dictators or rubber-masked monsters, but a sudden heart attack does for our jogger and suddenly we cut to him tucked up safe in hospital. Or is he? A nurse arrives and wordlessly attaches one of those weird suction pipes which drain your saliva to our jogger’s mouth. When she leaves he takes stock of himself. One arm. Two arms. No legs! Let the screaming begin.

Now from here most watchers would expect the rest of the film to focus on the jogger’s ongoing torment and potential escape attempts, but actually the film’s focus shifts entirely to an unnamed Eastern European country ruled by some sort of Gestapo-like organization headed by Peter Cushing. This is where things begin to get confusing.

I would like to say that I could give the plot away at this point, but having watched this film twice in quick succession I still can’t claim to fully understand it. One of the tricks which this film constantly manages to pull is, just as you start to get the hang of what’s going on and who everybody is, it suddenly changes location and story thread.

Apparently Vincent Price repeatedly said in interviews that he didn’t understand the script at all and he had no idea what he was talking about in his final, supposedly explanatory, monologue. I’m with him.

If you sit back and let the various convoluted plot points wash over you however, you are left with a highly enjoyable, stylish and sometimes genuinely innovative film. Disappointingly Peter Cushing never appears with the other two main stars, but we do get to see Peter Sallis (Clegg from LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE) meeting an unfortunate end (and not in a bathtub rolling out of control down a hill).

Bizarrely the best bit of the film has none of the top-billed stars in it, as the British police chase a (literally) blood-thirsty murderer around Betchworth Quarry and to a very surprising end.

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN may not have gone down in history as a classic, but for its uniqueness and elaborate plot alone it is worth a watch for any horror fan.

Tom Parnell is a writer and former journalist who spends too much time sitting around at home watching Doctor Who DVDs.