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"THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT" (2009) (Tony Goldwyn, Garret Dillahunt) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Extreme Extreme Heavy Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Mild Extreme *None Extreme Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Minor Heavy Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Suspense: A married couple must contend with strangers in their remote lake house, initially unaware that they've brutally attacked their teenage daughter and her friend. PLOT: It's been about a year since the death of her older brother, and now 17-year-old Mari Collingwood (SARA PAXTON) is traveling to her family's remote lake house with her mom, Emma (MONICA POTTER), and her dad, John (TONY GOLDWYN), an emergency room doctor. Being a swimmer, Mari is excited about having the lake for such use, but she really wants to go see her friend, Paige (MARTHA MACISAAC), who works at the local convenience store. It's there that the two teens meet teenager Justin (SPENCER TREAT CLARK) who offers Paige some pot in exchange for not carding him while buying cigarettes. Although she initially doesn't want to participate, Mari ends up joining Paige and Justin smoking pot in his motel room. They're having a good time until Justin's dad, Krug (GARRET DILLAHUNT), his brother, Francis (AARON PAUL), and Krug's girlfriend, Sadie (RIKI LINDHOME), arrive, surprised to find the teens there. And that's because it's their hideout following Krug killing two law enforcement officers who were transporting him to prison before the others freed him. Krug isn't happy with his son's actions, and knowing they can't let the teens go, he and his clan take the girls off into the woods via Mari's SUV. But things go wrong, there's a bad crash, and following that, Krug, Francis and Sadie brutally attack the girls, knifing one and raping and shooting the other. They then stumble upon John and Emma's house during a bad storm at night, with both parties initially unaware of the others' unlikely connection to the girls. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of the original 1972 film, grisly horror films in general, and/or anyone in the cast, they might be interested. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TONY GOLDWYN plays a surgeon who heads off to his family's lake home a year after his son's death. Initially friendly and helpful toward the strangers, he changes his tune when he learns what they've done to his daughter. He fights with them and uses lethal force, uses strong profanity, and drinks some. MONICA POTTER plays his wife, who's wary of the strangers when they arrive at their home at night, and later has those doubts validated by her discovery of their true nature. She also fights with them, uses profanity, and drinks some. SARA PAXTON plays their teenage daughter who goes off to hang out with Paige, and reluctantly joins her and Justin in smoking pot, only to realize too late they've stumbled into a bad situation. She uses profanity and must contend with various atrocities committed upon her. GARRET DILLAHUNT plays the leader of the homicidal criminals, the father of Justin who thinks his teen needs to grow up. He kills one girl, rapes another and thinks he kills her, and later tries to kill John. He uses strong profanity and drinks some. SPENCER TREAT CLARK plays his somewhat withdrawn teenage son who invites Paige and Mari to come back to his motel room to smoke pot with him. He must then contend with the criminal actions of his father and the others. RIKI LINDHOME plays Krug's equally sadistic girlfriend who's seen topless on several occasions, uses strong profanity, and likes sexually toying with Mari. AARON PAUL plays Krug's brother who joins them in their brutal and sadistic ways. He uses strong profanity and drinks. MARTHA MACISAAC plays Mari's teenage friend who uses peer pressure to get Mari to join her and Justin in smoking pot. She uses strong profanity and like her friend must contend with the attacks on them. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated suspense/horror film. Profanity consists of at least 38 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as is nudity (bare breasts), various views of teenage girls in bras or panties, and a graphic rape (rear entry, with a view of the teen's bare butt, as well as thrusting). Other violence includes people being wounded or killed by various means, as well as some hard fighting and striking of others. Much of that has very bloody and gory results, and those scenes and moments of potential peril might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to viewers. All sorts of bad attitudes are present, and some of the action might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Several teens smoke pot and one buys cigarettes, but never smokes any, while some drinking also occurs. Tense family material is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of handheld camera movement (sometimes very bouncy) throughout the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Emma holds a bottle of champagne left as a gift from her brother for using the lake house, with a note from him saying to have a drink on him. John then complains that it's $4 wine. A guy buys beer in the store where Paige works. When he leaves, she asks Mari if she still smokes pot, but Mari says she doesn't. Justin then comes in and doesn't have the proper i.d. to buy cigarettes, so he tells Paige he has some "premium, grade-A sh*t" back at his motel that he'll exchange for the cigarettes. She agrees and they head back there with him, with Mari staying outside at first, but then going in and finding the two smoking pot on the motel bed (and Paige says it's "really good sh*t"). After pressure from Paige to join them, Mari reluctantly does. When we return to the scene, they're still smoking pot. John tells Emma (about Mari) that there's not much she can do about it and that Emma does it in the car, but we didn't note what the "it" was. John and Emma have wine with dinner. John uses liquor to sterilize a needle he uses to stitch Francis' nose wound closed. Francis asks for something stronger (referring to alcohol) when offered something to deal with his pain, and some drinking occurs. Francis surprises Emma in the house, with Mari lying in another room, and if Francis spots her, he'll realize the connection and probably turn violent. Accordingly, Francis leads him on, making him think she's sexually interested in him. During this, he states a cold beer might help him get back to sleep, with her offering an adult beverage. He asks about the whiskey, but she lies and says John polished it off and is now passed out upstairs. She then suggests wine and hands him a bottle, with him asking if he should chug it. She then gets glasses, and they both have some. When he walks off, she crashes the wine bottle over his head. BLOOD/GORE While being driven to prison, Krug says he has to "take a piss" and when that falls on deaf ears, asks if the law enforcement officers with him have a jar. After a car crash, two law enforcement officers are very bloody, with Krug shooting one in the head (more bloody results), while blood runs down onto money and some family photos of the other. We see a patient with a bloody leg in the ER. As Justin goes to pay for some things he buys in Paige's store, he quickly pockets some blood-stained money (from the above car crash scene). Sadie comments on whiney "little f*cking bitches" who have silver spoons "stuck up their asses." Following a bad SUV crash, Francis' face is very bloody from a gash on his nose. Mari has some blood on her head following the crash of her SUV. Krug stabs Paige in the gut with a knife. We don't see the insertion impact, but do see the knife in there, followed by him pulling it out and then stabbing her again, all with bloody results. She then spits up some blood. We see blood spurt out when Mari is shot in the back while swimming, followed by an overhead view of her floating there, with a large trail of blood in the water. John cracks Francis' broken nose back in place, causing him pain and more blood to flow. He then stitches up that large wound on the bridge of his nose, seen in close-up several times, with graphic and bloody views (at one point he has to leave the needle in there while he goes off to turn on the home generator). We see the bullet hole in Mari's back as well as blood in and around that. To cauterize the bullet hole wound in Mari's back, John heats up a knife in the fire and then places that hot blade to the wound (seen in close-up). When she has problems breathing, he then uses that knife to push a hole into her side (into her lung), places a tube into that, and we then see blood flow from that into a glass of water, thus easing her breathing. John spots some blood between Mari's legs (only partially seen). Francis is bloody after being stabbed in the gut, and he ends up bloodier as he fights with John and Emma. That includes his blood on the kitchen wall, as well as in the sink water when his hand ends up being ground in the garbage disposal. After John slams a pickax into his head, he's extremely bloody (seen then and again later). John and Emma are bloody after fighting Krug (who has a cut on his chest) and Sadie (who's bloody after being shot the first time, and then bloodier when shot again, with blood smearing on the wall behind her). We see separate views of several dead and very bloody criminals. We see a few close-up views of a scalpel cutting into skin, with blood coming out. We then learn that was done to paralyze one criminal from the neck down. He's then placed in a faulty microwave, with his head inside the unit with the door open. It's then turned out, he starts to fry and screams, and then his head explodes. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Krug, Francis and Sadie obviously have extreme bad attitudes for their criminal, sadistic and murderous ways. Paige agrees to sell Justin cigarettes despite him being underage, all in exchange for some pot back at his motel room. John and Emma turn vigilante on the criminals and dole out their own lethal justice. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. As Justin goes to pay for some things he buys in Paige's store, he quickly pockets some blood-stained money (from the above car crash scene). That notifies the viewer that he's with the killers, and that the girls are now in some sort of danger. Krug tells Justin to pick one or both of the girls, presumably meant sexually. When he won't, Krug places Justin's hand up under Mari's shirt onto her breast and then down into her pants (no nudity). After stabbing Paige, Krug has Francis and Sadie pin Mari to the ground, face down. She screams and tries to get up, but can't, with him then removing her pants and panties (we see her bare butt from the side), followed by raping her from behind, as she lies face down. We don't see any of his nudity, but do see several views of his thrusting movement. The killers end up at John and Emma's house at night in the rain, with neither aware of the others' connection to Mari. Justin sees a photo of Mari on the fridge, thus realizing John and Emma's connection to her. John and Emma hear knocking from out on the porch and slowly go to investigate (in the rainy night). They then find Mari lying there, badly wounded, and rush her inside where John has to perform CPR on her. They then race to stabilize her, while Emma finds her necklace in the kitchen, realizing Justin put it there. Justin sees his dad's handgun on the table beside the bed where he and Sadie are sleeping. When Krug gets up, Justin slowly creeps over there to get the gun. John (holding a fireplace poker) and Emma (with a handgun) slowly enter their guest house where the rest of the criminals are sleeping. They eventually end up in the bedroom where they find Justin seated against the wall, aiming a handgun at them. But he then offers that to them, with John slowly walking over to take it, hoping not to wake up Krug or Sadie. Just as he gets the gun, they wake up, and the violence begins. John returns to the house, armed with just a fireplace poker, and slowly hunts for Krug who's somewhere upstairs. GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/Knives: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for details. Francis holds a knife while seated next to Paige in the backseat of Mari's parents' SUV. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "What the f*ck /are you doing?" "Oh f*ck," "Don't you f*ck up again," "M*therf*cker," "I f*cking knew it," "You f*cking bitch," "Who the f*ck are you?" "Who are you crazy f*cks?" "He is really f*cking dead," "Premium, grade-A sh*t," "Really good sh*t," "We really don't give a sh*t," "You piece of sh*t," "Whorehouse," "Stupid slut," "You picked a hell of a time to grow some balls," "Gotta take a piss," "That woman drives me nuts," "Jeez," "What the hell, you guys?" "Oh hell" and "Man up." Some of the action, stunts and/or violence might be tempting for some kids to imitate. JUMP SCENES A truck suddenly slams into a car. A hand suddenly bangs at Mari's SUV window. We suddenly see Krug behind John. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous and suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None, but a song had lyrics that we couldn't fully hear and/or understand, thus presenting the possibility of it potentially containing something objectionable. PROFANITY At least 38 "f" words (3 used with "mother"), 11 "s" words, 1 slang term for sex ("screw"), 3 hells, 2 damns, 1 ass, 1 S.O.B., 5 uses of "Oh my God," 2 each of "God," "G-damn" and "Oh God," and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "Jesus" and "Jesus Christ." SEX/NUDITY Two law enforcement officers drive Krug to prison, with one talking about sexual matters, including a "whorehouse," sexual use of the term "screw," a comment about guys "jerking off" and about "two hot lesbians going at it." Sadie passionately kisses Krug after helping free him from his prison transport. Mari shows some cleavage in her one-piece bathing suit. Mari shows a little cleavage. Mari strips down to her bra and panties to go swimming in the lake. Later, we see close-up views of the same as she gets dressed. John tells Emma (about Mari) that there's not much she can do about it and that Emma does it in the car, but we didn't note what the "it" was. Paige shows some cleavage. Upon returning to the motel, Sadie changes her shirt and we see her bare breasts. While in the backseat of her parents' SUV, Mari must contend with Sadie seemingly coming on to her (or just taunting her that way), rubbing her hand along the teen's arm and then across her clothed chest. We see Paige in small shorts. After knocking her out, Francis tears off Paige's shirt, and we see her in her small bra (showing lots of cleavage). Krug tells Justin to pick one or both of the girls, presumably meant sexually. When he won't, Krug places Justin's hand up under Mari's shirt onto her breast and then down into her pants (no nudity). After stabbing Paige, Krug has Francis and Sadie pin Mari to the ground, face down. She screams and tries to get up, but can't, with him then removing her pants and panties (we see her bare butt from the side), followed by raping her from behind, as she lies face down. We don't see any of his nudity, but do see several views of his thrusting movement. We see Krug shirtless in bed, and then later when he fights with John. Krug spoons with Sadie in bed, but no sexual activity seems to occur. Francis surprises Emma in the house, with Mari lying in another room, and if Francis spots her, he'll realize the connection and probably turn violent. Accordingly, Francis leads him on, making him think she's sexually interested in her, but nothing sexual ultimately occurs. We see several views of Sadie's bare breasts when she gets up from bed and then fights with John and Emma. To taunt John, Krug asks him about Mari, "Wanna hear how tight your homecoming queen was?" (referring to the previous rape). SMOKING Justin doesn't have the proper i.d. to buy cigarettes, so he tells Paige he has some "premium, grade-A sh*t" back at his motel that he'll exchange for the cigarettes. She agrees and sells him the cigarettes, but we never see any smoking (beyond pot later on). TENSE FAMILY SCENES John holds a small boat made long ago by his now dead son, while we also see photos of that teen, and Mari has a pendant from him that she wears a necklace. Justin states his mom is dead, with Mari saying her older brother died about a year ago. Justin must contend with his father physically and emotionally abusing him throughout much of the film. John and Emma must contend with finding their daughter near death, having been shot, and they later learn raped as well. Krug sees that his brother has been killed. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT People who murder and rape others. Revenge. The supposed cathartic release of watching people get revenge on those who've wronged them. VIOLENCE A truck suddenly slams into a car, all to free Krug who's captive in the backseat. The two law enforcement officers in the front seat are badly injured and bloody, with Krug shooting one in the head (more bloody results) and then tormenting the other (including punching him in the face before wrapping the seat belt or something similar around his neck) and then pushing down on his head and neck, breaking the latter and killing him. Krug punches Justin (his son) in the gut for bringing the girls to their motel room hideout. Francis then has his arm around Paige's neck and shoulders, holding a switchblade on her. She manages to escape into the bathroom, but can't get out the small, locked window, while Francis smashes through the locked door. He grabs and throws her to the floor, punches her in the face (knocking her out), and then throws her cell phone to the wall, while grabbing Mari's and smashing it on the floor with his foot. While in the backseat of her parents' SUV, Mari manages to activate the cigarette lighter back there with her foot. She then grabs and presses that to Sadie's face, burning her. She then tries to get out the back door while the SUV is still moving, but Sadie and Francis stop her. The commotion, however, causes the SUV to go off the road and careen down a hill, bouncing off several trees until smashing nose first into a tree, injuring some of those inside. As they slowly get out, Krug backhands Paige to the ground, while Francis kicks Mari in the gut while she's on all fours. Moments later, he kicks Paige in the gut. Paige runs away from the criminals in the woods, with Francis and Sadie giving chase. Paige manages to hide in a depression as the two stand in front of her, and then runs off when they depart. She ends up hurting her leg, and just as she sees a factory and possible help, Sadie tackles her, followed by Francis knocking her out. Krug tells Justin to pick one or both of the girls, presumably meant sexually. When he won't, Krug places Justin's hand up under Mari's shirt onto her breast and then down into her pants (no nudity). After stabbing Paige (detailed below), Krug has Francis and Sadie pin Mari to the ground, face down. She screams and tries to get up, but can't, with him then removing her pants and panties (we see her bare butt from the side), followed by raping her from behind, as she lies face down. We don't see any of his nudity, but do see several views of his thrusting movement. Krug stabs Paige in the gut with a knife. We don't see the insertion impact, but do see the knife in there, followed by him pulling it out and then stabbing her again, all with bloody results. She then spits up some blood. After Krug has raped her, Mari gets up, cradles a large rock in her hand, and then smashes that to the side of his head. She then flees, with Francis firing a single shot at her, but it misses. She then gets into the lake and starts swimming away, with Krug firing several shots at her (some seen from above, others from below with the bullets and water trails from them passing close by). She appears to have gotten away when a long distance shot hits her in the upper back, stopping her forward motion. She then floats face up and appears to be dead (but is later seen alive). As Francis walks off, Emma smashes a wine bottle over his head. He then comes after her, with Emma rushing into the kitchen where she grabs a large knife and turns, stabbing it into his gut. He then pulls that out and comes after her, pinning her to the dining room table where he tries to stab her, but she manages to escape. He then comes after her, but John then attacks him, including pressing down hard on Francis' nose wound, causing him pain. That fighting and struggling continues, with John tackling him but then being kicked back. Francis then goes for a knife, but Emma grabs and pushes his head under the water in the sink, with John joining in and holding him down there as well as he struggles to get free. That's followed by his hand ending up in the garbage disposal that's turned on, with loud grinding noises and lots of screaming from him as he tries to free his hand but initially can't. When he finally does, John slams a pickax into his head, killing him. John (holding a fireplace poker) and Emma (with a handgun) slowly enter their guest house where the rest of the criminals are sleeping. They eventually end up in the bedroom where they find Justin seated against the wall, aiming a handgun at them. But he then offers that to them, with John slowly walking over to take it, hoping not to wake up Krug or Sadie. Just as he gets the gun, they wake up, with John shooting Sadie in the neck or nearby, wounding her. That's followed by all sorts of fighting and John shooting at Krug but missing, with Sadie jumping on John's back. Krug ends up jumping through a closed window, smashing through the glass, rolling down the roof, and then falling to the ground, while Sadie goes into the bathroom. John goes in there after her, and they fight, with her hitting him several times with the shower curtain rod or something similar. Justin then hits her, but she knocks him into the bathtub where she slams the end of that pole into his face. John then punches Sadie, followed by Emma shooting her dead (we see blood smear on the wall). John returns to the house, armed with just a fireplace poker, and slowly hunts for Krug who's somewhere upstairs. Krug then rushes forward and attacks him, with John swinging his poker at him many times. The two fight, with Krug gaining the upper-hand, kneeing John in the face, smashing him against a wall, and then kicking him through a banister rail, sending John falling to some furniture on the floor below. John then hits Krug with some resultant wood, but Krug hits him with the poker and then holds John by the throat. Moments later, John smashes a small table into Krug who then chokes John into unconsciousness with the poker around his neck. Justin holds a handgun on his dad, and then pulls the trigger, but the gun is empty. About that, Krug states, "You picked a hell of a time to grow some balls." He then pushes the fireplace poker into his son's chest, and then pushes it in even more. Emma then hits Krug with a fire extinguisher, and sprays him with the same. John then hits him with the poker, followed by Emma smashing the extinguisher into his head, knocking him out. We see a few close-up views of a scalpel cutting into skin, with blood coming out. We then learn that was done to paralyze one criminal from the neck down. He's then placed in a faulty microwave, with his head inside the unit with the door open. It's then turned out, he starts to fry and screams, and then his head explodes. Reviewed March 10, 2009 / Posted March 13, 2009

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