It's the First House on the Right Too, If You Think About It

You know, I'd started to think that the "torture porn" horror movie trend had died after Hostel 2 flopped a few years back. Yeah, the Saw movies are still around, but as a whole, I thought the trend had died a death as painful as those suffered by the victims in them. But then along came the remake of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left. I saw it early this afternoon, and while it isn't quite a "torture porn" movie akin to Eli Roth's body of work, I can definitely see similarities.

The basic plot is this: A girl gets raped, beaten, and left for dead, and her attackers end up seeking refuge from a coming storm at the home of their victim's parents. The parents discover their transgression, and take it upon themselves to seek bloody retribution. The first half of the movie is very uncomfortable, especially during the rape scene. I know the scene is supposed to be hard to watch, since that's pretty much the point. But if I were watching it on DVD, I personally would have fast-forwarded through it. Skipping it would lessen its impact, but I just don't like watching rape scenes in movies. At least it gets the villains over as evil, sadistic psychopaths.

But like the "torture porn" movies, the violence in the second half is prolonged, bloody, and brutal. It's unfortunate that the best kills are spoiled in the trailer, but it the movie still had some - gasp! - suspense. Who would have ever thought that would happen in a movie like this? I don't know if I would call this a great movie or even a very good one. But it's acceptable enough to get you through a lazy Sunday afternoon. I guess if I was forced, I'd give it a three out of five rating. I definitely didn't hate it. Now I just need to get around to seeing the original movie. I know, right? What kind of dedicated horror fan am I?