Skip "The Last House on the Left"

I am a fan of psychological thrillers, and sometimes supernatural thrillers (preferably where a logical cause exists for the supernatural).  Having recently added streaming ability to my Netflix account, I immediately selected many of these types of films to get myself in the "Halloween" mood.

"The Last House on the Left," 2009, was not available for streaming, so I added it to a DVD queue, and watched the original.  There was absolutely NO redeeming value in this movie.  None.  Someone had compared it to "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates.  That movie was a cautionary tale and also encouraged young readers (like myself) to look at a values system.  There is depth to that book, and the filmed version with Laura Deen.

I did not find that in "House." There was a weird soundtrack, including a song "Road to Nowhere," so you know this isn't going to end well. . . Immediately, we are set up to dislike one of the two teen "protagonist" characters.  I won't even go into all the details, but the revenge tale was gruesome and odd.  I skipped watching parts of this film, putting another window in front of it, as I didn't care to see some of the more adult content scenes.  I've heard this isn't an element in the remake, from a friend who saw it and heard me complain about wasting 90 minutes on this film.

The good:  The acting of the parents, but they are HORRIBLY naive.  They live near New York City and let their daughter stay out all night before being too concerned.  What????????  They are not naive about the fact that their daughter's friend is more worldly. There is a cautionary tale for parents and for the teens---the parents need to be more aware of their children's actions.  The teens shouldn't have tried to score pot.

The bad:  The actresses were exploited in an unnecessary manner (scenes I flipped out of while they occurred).  ALL of the action could have been off-screen.  The acting.  The acting is just poor.  The outdoor sets and scenery were so-so.  The NYC apartment and the fact that the parents live SO far from local law enforcement (who run out of gas and literally walk for about nine hours to get to the house. . . . ) The comic relief of the law enforcement is strange and doesn't make the mood lighter, and neither does the "humor" style background.  Having seen Wes Craven's 80's fare, I expected a terrifying tale.  Not exploitation and gore.

The recognized:  the only actor I recognized was a young Martin Kove, who was a supporting character on "Cagney and Lacey."  He was blond there, and obviously has dyed black hair here. . . coming off as an adult film star wannabe.

This was supposedly inspired by a 1960 Ingmar Bergman movie. . . where two rapists/murderers kill a young girl and then go to stay, while walking, in her parent's home; they are discovered and tortured to death.

This was a terrible movie and I'm not watching the remake.  The revenge film is best left to crafty storytellers.  I found this film painful to watch; it had no redeeming value.

Fall Days

Fall brings some of my favorite things: Chrysanthemums, football, football, and more football, falling leaves, sweaters. . . . And also the season for two of my favorite topics.  I enjoy "thriller," reading, where the supernatural elements APPEAR to exist but are exposed as having natural causes.  I like this same type of movie.  (I also like the Kennedy theories, and try to limit my conversations except on November 22, but more on that later). . .

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