DOUBLE FEATURE: THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) & RE-ANIMATOR (1985)

Horror films exist to draw a reaction from audiences. Most films in the genre amplify and exploit some kind of fear, be it fear of violence at the hands of others, a threatening monster or animal, or a seemingly unstoppable supernatural entity. The lengths to which horror films go to elicit those reactions is one of the key components that set them apart. Both of the films in this double feature use extreme content to test the audience’s endurance and gag reflex for sensational and gratuitous violence.

The Last House on the Left was the late horror icon Wes Craven’s first film, and he wasted no time making a name for himself. For her 17^th birthday, Mari is taken out by her friend Phyllis to attend a rock concert. Mari’s small-town parents’ fears all come true when the girls’ pit stop in the city to score some drugs leads to their abduction at the hands of a quartet of wanted maniacs. Both girls wind up raped and murdered, but the killers’ car ironically breaks down at Mari’s home. After piecing together the truth about the guests in their home, Mari’s parents plot and unleash extreme acts of revenge.

The only fear that this film doesn’t play to is that of race, but don’t confuse that for a compliment. While I enjoy the horror genre, I find this film to be tasteless and unsatisfying. Rather than providing social commentary on, well, anything, or exploring the trauma of sexual violence, Craven just employs sexual violence for shock value. The same goes for some of the graphic violence that is both seen and implied. This film will surprise some viewers with just how far it is willing to go and how much it is willing to show. While plenty of people will find its content shocking and disgusting, will anyone say it is scary?

One aspect of the film that I find both confounding and irritating is the periodic injection of humor by way of bumbling local police who are always a few steps behind. Maybe Craven was trying to give audiences a break before plunging headlong back into sensational content. If so, this form of escape or relief hasn’t aged well. I don’t think there should be any humor given the subject matter, unless the director wanted to employ a sick sense of humor in the villains to enhance the psychological chills. The same complaint exists for the use of lighthearted or cheesy music at times against the backdrop of some pretty nasty stuff.

The Last House on the Left is a “classic” only in that it launched Craven’s career, which went on yield some legitimately worthwhile horror films (Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream). While this film may be a landmark of sorts for its extreme content, it’s far from a worthwhile trip. The writing and acting are all secondary to its extreme and sensational content, and it shows.

If you are looking for a movie with over-the-top content but also a semi-decent plot, Re-Animator could be up your ally. After transferring from a Swiss medical school due to controversial experimentations, Herbert West arrives at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts. He rents an apartment from fellow med student Dan Cain, using the basement as his personal laboratory. His work produces a serum that brings the dead back to life. Herbert draws the suspicion and ire of Dan, the med school dean, and a professor who grows jealous of his work. Herbert’s experimentation on the recently deceased is a trial-and-error process that quickly gets out of control.

This film is loosely based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, whose work I have yet to explore. What I know of Lovecraft’s style matches the pulpy, over-the-top antics on display in this film. While the film is full of graphic content but remains anchored by plot. While some horror movies are thin on plot for the sake of laying on clever and shocking gore, Re-Animator takes a best-of-both worlds approach. The result is a fun but gross B-movie that doesn’t aspire to be anything more than it is.

This modern Frankenstein tale would be nothing without Jeffrey Combs’s performance as the ambitious and laser-focused Herbert West. Combs embodies the character with the intensity of a method-acting Hollywood star rather than a virtual unknown making a trashy horror-comedy. I see no trace of Combs overacting or hamming it up as if he viewed this as a vehicle to propel his career. Rather, he portrays West as the force of nature that he needs to be for the film to work- a blend of frightening brilliance and absurd hubris. The result is an all-around off-putting character that you won’t soon forget.

While much of the gore in this film is gratuitous, it does lend itself to some very good makeup and special effects work. A disembodied head comes back to life, requiring some unique staging and framing. Some of the gore is too over the top, but this is not a film that strives for realism. What tanks it for me is the unnecessary nudity and sexual content, some of which made me squirm more than most of the shock-and-awe splatter fest elements.

To summarize this double feature, neither film is aiming for mainstream success. They both know that their audience is the underground horror junkie. The Last House on the Left uses shock tactics to a savage degree, but it never pulls itself out of the basement, leaving it a sloppy sum of its parts. Re-Animator, on the other hand, just about hits the ceiling for its tone and subject matter. A little more restraint on gore and nudity might have pushed it a little higher, but B-movies can only rise so far.


THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT – FINAL RATING: 2 OUT OF 5

RE-ANIMATOR – FINAL RATING: 3 OUT OF 5