Sara Paxton

Blu-Ray Review: ‘The Last House on the Left’ Deserves Better

BrianTT — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 09:13:12 -0600

CHICAGO – Dennis Iliadis’ brutal and accomplished remake of Wes Craven’s influential horror classic “The Last House on the Left,” now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, deserves a much better home release than the typically reliable Universal/Rogue has delivered for horror fans this week.

Blu-Ray Rating: 2.5/5.0

Despite decent reviews, “Last House” disappointed at the box office, but it will find a loyal audience on the home market and they’ll be angry at the scant special features that don’t even take advantage of Universal’s best recurring feature, U-Control and provide no insight into a complex and daring film. Far inferior horror films are regularly getting lavish two-disc Blu-Ray sets filled with special features. There’s nothing fair about HD.

Last House on the Left was released on Blu-Ray on August 18th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

The remake of “Last House on the Left,” itself a remake of “The Virgin Spring,” is a dark and disturbing film about how far a typically “good” person will go when the sanctity of their family is destroyed. “The Last House on the Left” works because it puts the emphasis on actual, gut-churning horror instead of the typical action cliches that the genre turned into in the ’80s when the slasher pic jettisoned honest dread in favor of the quality kill. Even modern horror like “Saw” is more interested in a typical trait of the mystery movie - a twist ending - than actual scares.

“The Last House on the Left” is truly horrifying. A large number of people who rent it will not get through it. The TV commercials make it look like just another cookie cutter slasher pic but “Last House” is about awful, irredeemable people doing vicious things to good people and then those “normal” people turning the tables and doing the same.

It’s essentially a three-act, three-set piece. The set-up is simple - If there were people in your house who had done something unspeakably horrible to your child would you ever let them leave? It’s a theme of storytelling as old as the spoken word - revenge. The success of the film comes down to the execution, no pun intended.

Last House on the Left was released on Blu-Ray on August 18th, 2009.
Photo credit: Universal Home Video

Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) and her friend Paige (Martha MacIsaac) make the mistake of asking the wrong sweet kid for weed. They follow Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) back to his hotel room and cross paths with the rest of his family. Led by the terrifying Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and assisted by the wacky Sadie (Riki Lindhome) and vicious Francis (Aaron Paul), Justin’s family kidnaps the pair, rapes them, tortures them, and tries to kill them.

Here’s where renters might reach for the remote. None of the brutality of what Krug and his clan do to Paige and Mari is glossed over like your typical mainstream horror movie. It will turn your stomach and make your skin crawl. Shouldn’t it? Why are people more upset when things like rape and torture are believably portrayed as if softening such horrific things makes them better?

And the darkness of the behavior that sets up “Last House” is necessary to make the final act effective. If it was softened in any way, we may not understand why John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma (Monica Potter) go to the extremes they do when Krug and his team happen upon the home of one of the girls they just tortured.

Iliadis understands the difference between shock and tension. He draws out the time in between the violent moments, allowing the dirty, awful tension to work its way under your skin. It’s not a perfect film - the score is awful, slo-mo is over-used in the climactic moments, there are a few fetishizing shots that disturbed me, and the final scene is just stupid - but it’s still better than a lot of 2009 horror. Fans of the genre shouldn’t miss it.

And they probably won’t. Horror fans are completists. They’ll see it and they’ll marvel at the shoddy Blu-Ray presentation, one that includes about fifteen minutes of special features and that includes the four extra minutes at work in the unrated version of the film. The only other special features are about eight minutes of deleted scenes and a pathetic “A Look Inside” featurette that runs under 180 seconds. No commentary, no interviews, no real behind-the-scenes footage, no discussion of the original film, no U-Control functionality - it’s one of Universal’s most pathetically conceived collections of special features of the year to date.

Luckily, the film itself looks great with a perfect 1080p 1.85:1 transfer and an effective English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Blu-Ray is still about the actual movie and special features are usually an afterthought. They clearly were in this case.

‘Last House on the Left’ is released by Universal Home Video and stars Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Spencer Treat Clark, Aaron Paul, Martha MacIsaac, Riki Lindhome, and Sara Paxton. It was written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth and directed by Dennis Iliadis. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on August 18th, 2009. It is not rated and rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Effective Remake of ‘The Last House on the Left’ a Powerful Horror Film

BrianTT — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:35:34 -0600

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Dennis Illiadis’ remake of “The Last House on the Left” is the exception the proves the rule that most horror movie remakes are a complete waste of time. With an incredible performance by Garret Dillahunt (“Deadwood,” “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) and great supporting work by Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Tony Goldwyn, and others, “Last House” is the best mainstream horror movie in a long time.

Emphasis on the word horror, something you don’t see that often in movies of the genre that bears its name. In the ’80s, the slasher pic pushed the horror genre closer to the action genre asking audiences to cheer the murder of each nubile teen and running victim. Atmosphere and true, honest dread weren’t as important as a quality kill.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “The Last House on the Left” in our reviews section.

Of course, modern horror is closer to mystery with each movie trying to top another with its twist ending. There’s nothing remotely scary about any of the “Saw” sequels. It’s the mystery of the puzzles that brings people back. Gory, yes. Honest horror? No.

Which brings me back to “The Last House on the Left,” a truly horrifying experience. This is not for the faint of heart. I can almost guarantee you that people will walk out of the theater you see it in. The TV commercials make it look like just another cookie cutter slasher pic and people might not be prepared for what they’re about to see. “Last House on the Left” is about awful, irredeemable people doing vicious things to good people and the tables being turned.

‘The Last House on the Left’ stars Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Spencer Treat Clark, Martha MacIsaac, Aaron Paul, and Riki Lindhome. It was written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth and was directed by Dennis Illiadis. It opens on March 13th, 2009. It is rated R.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “The Last House on the Left” review.

The evil Krug (Garret Dillahunt) taunts his captive, Mari (Sara Paxton).
Photo credit: Lacey Terrell and Rogue/Universal

Slideshow: 18-Image Gallery From ‘The Last House on the Left’ With Tony Goldwyn

BrianTT — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:49:03 -0700

CHICAGO – This 18-image slideshow contains the available press images for Rogue Pictures’ “The Last House on the Left,” starring Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garret Dillahunt, Sara Paxton, Martha MacIsaac, and Riki Lindhome. The film, written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Dennis Iliadis, opens on Friday, March 13th, 2009.

Synopsis: “Masters of horror Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham revisit their landmark film that launched Craven’s directing career and influenced decades of horror films to follow: The Last House on the Left. Bringing one of the most notorious thrillers of all time to a new generation, they produce the story that explores how far two ordinary people will go to exact revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their child.

The night she arrives at the remote Collingwood lakehouse, Mari (Sara Paxton) and her friend are kidnapped by a prison escapee and his crew. Terrified and left for dead, Mari’s only hope is to make it back to parents John and Emma (Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter). Unfortunately, her attackers unknowingly seek shelter at the one place she could be safe. And when her family learns the horrifying story, they will make three strangers curse the day they came to The Last House on the Left.”

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos are credited to Lacey Terrell and Rogue/Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.

LastHouse_01: The vicious family of Krug (Garret Dillahunt).
LastHouse_02: The cruel Francis (Aaron Paul) prepares to hurt his victims.
LastHouse_03: The evil Krug (Garret Dillahunt) taunts his captive, Mari (Sara Paxton).
LastHouse_04: Director Dennis Iliadis on the set.
LastHouse_05: Paige (Martha MacIsaac) screams for help.
LastHouse_06: Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and Sadie (Riki Lindhome) plot their next move.
LastHouse_07: The evil Krug (Garret Dillahunt) sleeps with one eye open.
LastHouse_08: Dr. John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter) hunt killers.
LastHouse_09: Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) debates how to deal with his vicious father.
LastHouse_10: Director Dennis Iliadis on the set.
LastHouse_11: Dr. John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter) hunt killers.
LastHouse_12: (L to R) Francis (Aaron Paul), Krug (Garret Dillahunt), Justin (Spencer Treat Clark) and Sadie (Riki Lindhome) knock on the door.
LastHouse_13: Mari (Sara Paxton) crawls her way home after an attack.
LastHouse_14: (L to R) A wounded Mari (Sara Paxton) is aided by her parents, Dr. John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter).
LastHouse_15: Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter) prepares her attack in the suspense thriller that explores how far two people will go to exact revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their child.
LastHouse_16: Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter) prepares to attack the cruel Francis (Aaron Paul).
LastHouse_17: Garret Dillahunt as the evil Krug.
LastHouse_18: (L to R) Sadie (Riki Lindhome), Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and Francis (Aaron Paul) find unexpected visitors in their hotel.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Official Movie Poster Art Released For ‘Superhero Movie’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:29:44 -0700

CHICAGO – We have been sent the official poster art for the new simply titled film “Superhero Movie,” which is a send-up of superhero films including “Batman Begins” and “Fantastic Four”.

“Superhero Movie” features Leslie Nielsen, Pamela Anderson (as The Invisible Girl), Sara Paxton, Brent Spiner (the android in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), Simon Rex (as The Human Torch), Craig Bierko (as Wolverine), Tracy Morgan (as Dr. Xavier) and Regina Hall (as Mrs. Xavier).

The film, which is slated for release on March 28, 2008, is written and directed by Craig Mazin (the writer of “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4”). Click the image below for a full-size version.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com