(18) (1hr 50 mins)
Starring: Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Sara Paxton, Garret Dillahunt
Director: Dennis Iliadis
Rating: **
IN 1972, writer-director Wes Craven - then unknown - shocked audiences with grisly rape revenge thriller, The Last House On The Left.
Very much a product of its era, the film tackled controversial subject on a miniscule budget and reflected the prevailing anti- authoritarian mood in a country bitterly divided over Vietnam.
Censors banned the film in the UK for years.
For the filmmaker, this debut sparked a highly- lucrative career, awash with seminal moments such as The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Scream and their sequels.
This 21st-century remake of Craven’s notorious vision trails wearily in the footsteps of updated versions of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and Friday The 13th.
It is a pointless revisit to a landmark in modern cinema, spruced up with impressive make-up and special effects as two parents declare war on thugs who brutalise their daughter.
Mari and her friend Paige flirt with shy teenager Justin, who promises them a share of his drugs stash if they follow him to his motel.
The chilled-out mood is shattered when the friends are attacked by Justin’s father, escaped criminal Krug (Garret Dillahunt), and his cohorts.
Paige is stabbed to death and Mari is raped and left floating in the river but miraculously manages to get home to parents John (Tony Goldwyn) and Emma (Monica Potter), who pick up a kitchen knife and fireside poker to protect themselves.
Fake blood runs over in Iliadis’ re-imagining of The Last House On The Left, including a gory moment with a sink waste-disposal system, which is where, arguably, the film belongs as well.
The rape sequence is harrowing, justifying the 18 certificate for brutality.
The flimsy plot is lost entirely for the final showdown, virtually destroying John and Emma’s home.
Performances run the gamut of pain, fear and rage without any tangible depth, while Iliadis chooses to bleach the colour palette to accentuate the cold emotions of the characters.
He pulls no punches as Mari’s parents seek their revenge. Krug’s horrific fate is total overkill.