Y'all should read Roger Ebert's (spoiler-riddled) review of the The Last House on the Left remake. I would quote some of it but it's an especially thoughtful piece (his writing has been so relaxed lately) coming from him on the subject of film violence and it doesn't feel right breaking it up into bite-size morsels.
He talks about the four versions of this story that he's seen on-screen so far, stretching back to Bergman's The Virgin Spring of course, and the way the telling of the tale has varied through the years... it's a good piece that contemplates horror film-making coming from someone that's never been much for the genre. Check it out, especially if you know the story already or have no interest in seeing the film because you know enough of the story to make you stay away (like I said, spoilers for all four versions abound).
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He talks about the four versions of this story that he's seen on-screen so far, stretching back to Bergman's The Virgin Spring of course, and the way the telling of the tale has varied through the years... it's a good piece that contemplates horror film-making coming from someone that's never been much for the genre. Check it out, especially if you know the story already or have no interest in seeing the film because you know enough of the story to make you stay away (like I said, spoilers for all four versions abound).
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Man, I just finished posting an overview of the various versions of The Last House On The Left and this comes along. Darn.
One thing that caught my eye was that Ebert seemed to be suggesting that the review at Horror Movie A Day considered the rape scene tame, while I thought what he meant was that everything surrounding the rape scene was tame, making that scene even more disturbing. Oh, well.
With these kinds of movies, I generally seperate the good from the bad based on whether I'm frightened or just disgusted and horrified. That basically depends on the abilities of the director and how good the actors are at playing "scary."
I suppose the other major element to consider is whether it's sadism for the sake of sadism or whether it has a point. Or whether it pretends to have a point and be a social commentary but is really just sadism for the sake of sadism, a la the Saw franchise.
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