Case study : Last House on the Left

"To avoid fainting, keep repeating-it's only a movie..."

Detailed knowledge of the film

Directed by Wes Craven
Produced by Sean S. Cunningham
Written by Wes Craven
Starring Sandra Cassel
Lucy Grantham
David Hess
Fred J. Lincoln
Jeramie Rain
Marc Sheffler
Gaylord St. James
Cynthia Carr
Ada Washington
Music by David Alexander Hess
Cinematography Victor Hurwitz
Editing by Wes Craven
Distributed by Hallmark Releasing Corp.
Release date(s) August 30, 1972
Running time 91 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget $87,000 (estimated)

Provocative content

The film had problems with censorship in many countries, and was particularly controversial in the United Kingdom. The film was refused a certificate for cinema release by the BBFC in 1974 due to scenes of sadism and violence. During the early 1980s home video boom, the film was released uncut as a video that did not fall under their remit at the time. This changed when the "video nasty" scare which started in 1982 led to the Video Recordings Act 1984. This in turn banned the film as one of the infamous Department of Public Prosecutions list of "video nasties".

The film remained banned throughout the remainder of the 1980s and into the 1990s. However it had built a cult reputation in the UK, plus critics such as Mark Kermode began to laud the film as an important piece of work. In 2000, the film was again presented to the BBFC for certification and it was again refused, though it was granted a license for a one-off showing in Leicester in June 2000, after which the BBFC again declared that the film would not receive any form of certification, resulting in the film being put up for home video release in 2002. The release was declined when the distributors were unwilling to cut the film as the BBFC requested.

The film finally received a UK DVD release in May 2003 with 31 seconds of cuts. The cut scenes were viewable as a slideshow extra on the disc, and there was a weblink to a website where the cut scenes could be viewed. The film has still not received a British certificate for a cinema release, nor has it been released uncut on DVD in the UK.

The gang catch up with her, however, and-in one of the most controversial scenes in the film-Sadie reels out her intestines. Mari eventually convinces Junior to let her go. However, as they get up to leave, they are also stopped by Krug who, after showing her Phyllis' severed hand, slices his name into her chest and rapes her. After the rape, Mari vomits and walks away into the lake, where, half submerged, she is shot and killed by Krug.

Type of censorship

Certification:

UK:18 (re-rating: 2002) (cut) / Australia:R (re-rating: 2004) / UK:(Banned) (1984-2002) / Australia:Refused Classification (original rating: 1987) / Germany:18 / USA:Unrated (uncut) / Sweden:15 (uncut) / New Zealand:R18 (re-rating: 2004) / Norway:16 (DVD rating) (2005) (self applied) / UK:R (original rating: 1974) / Canada:R / France:-16 / Iceland:(Banned) / Ireland:18 (cut UK version) / Netherlands:16 / New Zealand:(Banned) (original rating) / Norway:(Banned) / USA:R (heavily cut) / West Germany:(Banned) / Italy:VM18 / Finland:K-18 / Germany:16 (heavily cut)

The film was refused a certificate for cinema release by the BBFC in 1974 due to scenes of sadism and violence.

The film finally received a UK DVD release in May 2003 with 31 seconds of cuts. The cut scenes were viewable as a slideshow extra on the disc, and there was a weblink to a website where the cut scenes could be viewed. The film has still not received a British certificate for a cinema release, nor has it been released uncut on DVD in the UK.

In the 2002 television special Masters of Horror (sometimes called Boogeymen II: Masters of Horror and not to be confused with the Showtime series Masters of Horror), Wes Craven admits that, due to the film being rejected multiple times by the ratings board, it had been extremely edited down. At a later point in time, they re-inserted much of the removed footage. Producer Sean Cunningham then borrowed a fellow filmmaker's print featuring R rating tag and spliced it in, allowing the film to be released uncut at least for a time in the United States.

The film was originally shot with Mari's parents finding her still alive, identifying her attackers before she dies. Editing and dialogue changes were made to depict Mari as dead when her parents find her. However, in the film when her parents find her, she can be seen moving and breathing, and her parents mouths don't match the dubbed "She's already dead" dialogue.
Arguements for


Arguements against


Notion of protectionn


My views