The Last House on the Left (1972)

Nobody does horror like Wes Craven does. He’s got such a touch that nobody else has. There are other horror directors who have their own unique touches that are amazing, but none of them are Craven. This film, even though it’s kind of awful at times, is still awesome. It’s awesomely awful and awfully awesome. I love the concept, which is exactly what I want for a 70s horror film: a girl gets murdered, and her parents end up (brutally) killing the killers. It combines horror and action well. It’s got such a homemade feel that makes it feel so authentic and real, a lot like ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’. These 70s slashers are just wonderful. Now, the acting wasn’t anything super great, as much of these low budget indie films are. A lot of it is very exaggerated, but that’s the charm. The writing was also very patchy, with a couple good moments, but a lot of weird jumps and bad character decisions. Nothing against Wes at all. The concept was there, everything else was goofy. But the kills were fun at the end and it has a satisfying conclusion. Overall, this is a very charming but very corny horror film that’s a decent directorial debut, but Wes obviously goes on to bigger things. I would recommend it if you like old, low quality horrors that you can laugh at, but still have disturbing moments.