Well, hello there, kind folks. If you’re visiting this blog of mine, I presume that you have a certain interest in the cinema. As for me, even since my early childhood, I have had a deep love of everything related to movies and television. As far as I can remember, I have been more at ease in front of a screen than in the yard, outside, playing. It is a great way to travel, though other people’s stories, without having to foot any kind of steep bill. Over the years, I feel that movie-watching has even fuelled my own creativity.

All that being said, I welcome you in my Cinephile’s Nest. I hope you enjoy it here, feel free to come back at any time. Here you will find reviews of current movies and older ones. TV shows also. Some classics that have remained some of my favourites, some that have disappointed me. I will use a very basic star (*) system to grade them from 1 to 5 (5 being sliced bread level). Remember, these are just my tastes. I will try to explain in each review what I liked about these particular movies, without giving spoilers.

Il y aura aussi des critiques en français pour les films francophones, car j'aime également le cinéma dans ma langue maternelle. Avant d'apprendre l'anglais, plus jeune, je louais des tonnes de films traduits en français, surtout ceux de Bud Spencer et Terrence Hill. Ma mère a eu le choc de sa vie lorsqu'un jour, dans la boîte d'un de ces films, Deep Throat avait malencontreusement inséré. Une expérience formatrice pour le jeune cinéphile que je suis.

Bienvenue à tous, amusez-vous bien.

I welcome you all here, enjoy yourself.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Last House on the Left (1972)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess
Running time: 84 minutes (Uncut), 91 minutes (Original)


This one sure is not for the faint of heart, but what a powerful knockout punch of a film. It tells the story of two late teen girls who go out on the town for a concert. In the process, they get kidnapped, tortured, rape and killed by a gang of escaped psychopathic convicts. After committing their crime, the thugs have to take refuge in a house nearby for the night because their car broke down. What they come to find out is that the people who take them in are the parents of one of their victims. And, unbeknownst to them, the parents find out the truth before morning comes.

Wes Craven reportedly wanted to make his film more graphic than it actually is, but he had to do some heavy editing considering the era it was shot in. In spite of the restrictions of the time, the torture and rape scenes are still hard to stomach. The acting and some of the sound effects may be a bit campy, but that is to be expected with the exploitation horror genre. It will certainly not leave any emotionless.

Craven would get his wish when the movie would be redone by someone else, with new actors and especially more freedom, in 2009. Still, the original remains a film to be seen by fans of this particular genre. It will stay with you for a couple of days, for sure. For the time it lasts, if you can stomach it all, you will not want to miss a beat…and a single drop of blood.

Rating: ««««

 

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