Fright Comes From the Left

Written by: Samuel K. Sloan (SoSF Producer & Managing News Editor)

To avoid fainting, keep repeating “It’s only a movie…It’s only a movie…”

One of the most frightening movies I ever saw was the film that made Wes Craven a household name, his 1972 masterpiece in horror, “The Last House On the Left.” Craven has decided to take his perfect piece of terror and update it for the 21st Century. After the success of the remake of “The Hills Have Eyes,” the master of the macabre stated in a recent interview that many of his other films, including “Shocker” and “People Under the Stairs” are set for a redo sometime in the near future.

“Last House On the Left” was one of those films that was a perfect mixture of drama, suspense and pure revengeful homicidal terror that even as a young man of 23 scarred the crap out of me as I sat with my girlfriend at the time, watching it at the Drive-In theater (remember those?). The scene by the lake still makes my groin ache. And, as one critic put it, even after 34 years, certain scenes in Last House are “most unsettling.” So, a word of warning – If Wes stays true to his original premise, this film will not be for the faint of heart or those with queezy stomachs.

Since Wes will be totally involved with this remake and have creative control over the product I expect it will even be better with today’s moviemaking technology. “I’m far enough removed from these films that the remakes are a little like having grandchildren,” Craven said. “The story about the painful side of revenge is an evergreen. The headlines are full of people and nations taking revenge and getting caught up in the endless cycles of violence.” Wes certainly got that right in his classic first film “Last House On the Left.” Now that I am nearly 35 years older than the first time I saw it, I will be sure to wear my Depends to the remake.

Rogue Pictures is the deal maker for this flick and is looking at sometime in 2007 for a release date.