The Last House on the Left (1972)

Two teenage girls head to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychotic convicts.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Wes Craven

Stars:

Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sandra Peabody	...	Mari Collingwood (as Sandra Cassell)
Lucy Grantham	...	Phyllis Stone
David Hess	...	Krug Stillo (as David A. Hess)
Fred J. Lincoln	...	Fred 'Weasel' Podowski (as Fred Lincoln)
Jeramie Rain	...	Sadie
Marc Sheffler	...	Junior Stillo
Richard Towers	...	Dr. John Collingwood (as Gaylord St. James)
Cynthia Carr	...	Estelle Collingwood
Ada Washington	...	Ada
Marshall Anker	...	Sheriff
Martin Kove	...	Deputy
Ray Edwards	...	Postman

Storyline

On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Mari Collingwood tells her parents that she is going to the concert of underground band Bloodlust in New York with her friend Phyllis Stone. She borrows the family's car and heads with her friend to a dangerous neighborhood in the city. Meanwhile, the sadistic and cruel escapees Krug Stillo and Fred 'Weasel' Podowski are hidden in a hideout with their partners Sadie (Jeramie Rain) and Krug's addicted son Junior Stillo (Marc Sheffler) after killing two guards and one shepherd in their runaway. The two girls seek marijuana near the theater and meet Junior that offers some Colombian grass to them. They go to his apartment and are subdued by the criminals that rape Phyllis. On the next morning, they hide the girls in the trunk of their convertible and head to Canada. However, they have a problem with the car's rod and they stop on the road close to Mari's house. When Phyllis tries to escape, the gang stabs her to death and shots Mari after ...

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | female pubic hair | female full frontal nudity | female frontal nudity | maniac | 

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Taglines:

Can a movie go TOO FAR?

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Last House on the Left

Filming Locations:

121st Street and 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sean S. Cunningham Films, The Night Co., Lobster Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 64 min (heavily cut) 91 min (original cut) 82 min (R-rated)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to director Wes Craven, the crew set up a special editing office to restore prints returned from cinemas because "every one would come back chopped up by theater owners".

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Goofs

When Weasel says, "How's your back, baby?" to Phyllis, she spits in his face, but Weasel closes his eyes before she spits.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Postman: [to dog] Hello, Cassie! Hiya, girl! Hello, there! Now, let's see.
[looks through mail]
Postman: Ah, it looks like Mari's getting cards from half the civilized world. Mari Collingwood. Mari Collingwood. Mari Collingwood. You'd think she's the only kid to reach the age of 17. Of course she is probably the prettiest piece I've ever seen.

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Crazy Credits

In the 1980s, the American video versions contained additional text after the film had ended, reading: "Coming soon to a theatre near you. From the producers of Last House On The Left, and the director of Friday the 13th Part V, ... The Last House On The Left, Part II. You won't believe your eyes!" (No sequel ever materialized)

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Alternate Versions

On the R1 DVD, the featurette of Dailies and outtakes contains a longer Chase sequence with Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred Lincoln, and Jeramie Rain; More footage of Mari and Junior; a deleted conversation with Cynthia Carr and Gaylord St. James, and more deleted material. This footage is most possibly the rest of the footage cut from the film. And if so, the only reason a completely uncut version can't be released is due to the fact that the synchronized audio track is lost to this day.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Top 20 Bronze Age Horror (2016)

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Soundtracks

Wait for the Rain
Written and Performed by David Hess

User Reviews

Absolute Worthless Garbage

I don't care what print of this film I saw, there was absolutely no redeeming value in this alternately boring, wretchedly made horror opus. I truly cannot believe how many people actually like this pile of garbage. It did not scare me at all; it did not entertain me at all; in fact, the only thing I wondered was what the point of this whole exercise was. If one is going to make a trashy, nearly plot less movie at least one should make it entertaining. I've seen lots of horror movies; some good and some OK and then I've seen ones like this: in serious need of having the celluloid recycled into ANYTHING else. I will not watch this movie again. And not because it disturbed me because of its plot line, but because it was just so damn bad with a capital "B". Some folks find this movie to be Wes Craven's masterpiece. Some folks, therefore, are in need of therapy because only a basket case would find this poorly made rubbish to be the epitome of Wes Craven's output. Whoever used their money to bankroll this amateurish mish-mash should have spent it on scientific research on how crap like this becomes a "masterpiece" in the eyes of some people. Ugh!