Last House on the Left UK Resource: The History

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Arguably the major inspiration for many horror films of the 1970's, "Last House on the Left" was a turning point in terms of screen violence and realism. Nothing quite like it had been seen before, and nothing quite like it has been seen since. That statement alone is a testament to how special the movie really is. It's not an outstanding film, so don't begin to think that, but it's one that gave the monumental push to the horror genre. It fuelled the movies that followed, most notably "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", which appeared only two years later. "Last House on the Left" was, after all, the first horror film to make gory use of the chain saw itself.

The movie, which is now a cult classic, began life at the hands of legendary horror film director Wes Craven. "Last House" was the director's first film, and before 1972, Craven had been working in the industry as an editor. Along with his close friend, Sean Cunningham, the director had found a project to work on. Cunningham was in-league with Hallmark Releasing Co., a movie distribution firm that was fully able to release films in theatres. Hallmark (which was a particulary sleazy and low-budget firm) wanted Craven to produce the "most violent" screenplay he could, and if they liked what they saw, they'd put money into the project. Craven had met Cunningham on the soft-core underground hit "Together" - a project in which Craven also cut his directorial teeth. The success of that film, led to a follow-up, which became "Last House".

Of course, Craven managed to do what Hallmark wanted, and produced a rather gory screenplay. While writing it, Wes had got his inspiration for the storyline from Ingmar Bergman's 1968 film "The Virgin Spring". This movie, which was a favourite of Craven's, provided the template for "Last House's" events. In Bergman's film, the story focused strongly upon the horror of rape, and cold-hearted revenge. In fact, "The Virgin Spring" is very similar to "Last House on the Left" in terms of plotting. But that is the only similarity, since Craven's film cannot really be compared to Bergman's drama. "Last House" was going to be a horror movie, and it certainly became one. At first though, Craven's script was called "Sex Crime of the Century" which was it's working title, and it was far different from the version that was eventually released.

Many prints of the movie have surfaced over the years, with a variety of titles, though "Last House on the Left" eventually stuck to the movie, even though the title during the shoot was "Night of Vengeance".

The screenwriting process was the first major dilemma the filmmaker's faced - with Craven providing draft after draft of often outlandish material, that was impossible to film with the budget.

Craven had produced such a violent screenplay, that several Hallmark executives were a little repulsed. But still, the firm knew the potential of a controversial horror film of it's nature, and the first signs of production were just around the corner. Craven would take the directional helm, while Cunningham jumped on board as producer. But first, Craven made quite a lot of changes to his screenplay, editing out parts that would be difficult to film, and others that were a little too sick. It wasn't too long before Craven offered a draft of his work that he was happy with, and one that they could use during casting. It was this draft that went by the title "Sex Crime of the Century", and the road to "Last House on the Left" had begun...

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What makes Last House on the Left controversial? The UK Resource aims to answer that question here, as well as providing the history behind one of the most reviled and celebrated horror films in history...

Until recently, the film was banned outright in Britain, and while new generations prepare to be terrified by Wes Craven's startling debut, we are looking back to the golden era of horror pictures...hold on to your machete - it was quite a ride!