The Last House on the Left

Written, edited and directed by Wes Craven, The Last House on the Left is the story of two teenage girls who come home from a concert where they get lost in the woods and are tortured by a gang of thugs who would later meet with one of the girls’ parents. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, the film is an exploration of two girls taking a wrong turn and the reaction of one of the girls’ parents when they find out what happened. Starring Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David A. Hess, Fred Lincoln, Jeramie Rain, and Marc Sheffler. The Last House on the Left is a gritty yet intense film from Wes Craven.

The film follows a young woman celebrating her 17th birthday with a friend as they’re about to go to a concert where they encounter some fugitives in the city and later be taken to the woods in an act of torture. It’s a film that is about what happens when two young ladies meet some very bad people who would beat and torture them only to later meet one of the girl’s parents where they find themselves in some serious trouble. Wes Craven’s screenplay starts off innocently as it follows Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody) who had turn 17 as she and friend Phyllis Stone (Lucy Grantham) go to New York City for a concert as they want to score some weed after the show. They meet a young man named Junior (Marc Sheffler) who says he can get them some weed as he’s really part of a gang of fugitives. By driving back to Mari’s home, they go nearby to the woods and create a whole lot of trouble and torment with Junior being the most reluctant to be involved.

Craven’s direction is engaging for its simple approach as much of it is due to its low-budget look and feel. Shot on location in New York City with bits of it on Long Island and many of the rural locations in Westport, Connecticut, the film does play into something that starts off very calmly as it is set in this small town where everyone knows each other. While Craven would use a few wide shots, much of his compositions emphasize more on close-ups and medium shots to play into the terror as well as some of the film’s offbeat humor as it relates to a sheriff (Marshall Anker) and a deputy (Martin Kove) trying to get a ride as they learn about the fugitives. Still, Craven is focused on the terror that is happening during the course of the film as much of the shocking content in violence comes during its second act.

Also serving as editor, Craven would put in bits of style in jump-cuts to play into the suspense which would increase during the third act when the fugitives arrive at Mari’s home where Junior would learn whose house he’s in and who the people at her home are. What would happen becomes intense as well as scary showing what happens when the bad guys would come into the wrong house. Overall, Craven creates a thrilling and intoxicating film about a group of fugitives who enter the home of one of the victims they torment and put themselves into trouble.

Cinematographer Victor Hurwitz does excellent work with the film’s grainy and grimy cinematography which plays to its low-budget look in all of its glory while displaying that grittiness for the scenes at night as it is one of the film’s highlights. Costume designer Susan E. Cunningham does nice work with the costumes as it stylish for what many of the characters wore during the early 70s. The sound work of Jim Hubbard is superb for the natural approach to sound in the way some of the objects sound as well as the way gunshots and such are presented. The film’s music by David Alexander Hess is fantastic for its mixture of rock, folk, and country to play into the different tones of the film as the soundtrack also play into those genres.

The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Ada Washington as a chicken truck driver, Steve Miner as a taunting hippie, Ray Edwards as a postman, Marshall Anker as the town’s sheriff, and Martin Kove as the somewhat-dim deputy. Cynthia Carr and Gaylor St. James are terrific in their respective roles as Mari’s parents in Estelle and Dr. John Collingwood who become concerned when their daughter doesn’t come home until they realize the visitors they invited into their home. Marc Sheffler is superb as Junior as a junkie who would lure Mari and Phyllis later to his own regret as he doesn’t approve of what the gang is doing as he later feels guilty. Jeramie Rain is fantastic as Sadie as the lone woman of the gang who likes to terrorize the ladies as she also has lesbian tendencies toward them.

Lucy Grantham is excellent as Phyllis as Mari’s best friend who takes her to the city for a concert as she is forced to strip and humiliate herself in front of the fugitives who torment her. Sandra Peabody is brilliant as Mari Collingwood as a 17-year old woman hoping to have a fun birthday only to have the worst time of her life upon encountering the dangerous fugitives as she tries to survive the torment she endures. Fred Lincoln is amazing as Fred “Weasel” Podowski as one of the two fugitives who has escaped from prison as someone who is sleazy as well as having no qualms in killing someone. Finally, there’s David A. Hess (who is also the film’s music composer) in a remarkable role as Krug Stillo as Sadie’s boyfriend who is also a fugitive that has a love for killing people as he would also be the most brutish of all of the fugitives.

The Last House on the Left is an extraordinary film from Wes Craven. Featuring a superb cast, a grimy look, offbeat tones, and an eerie story of torment and invasion, it’s a film that is definitely quite intense in terms of the violence as well as what people would do to make someone’s life a living hell. In the end, The Last House on the Left is a marvelous film from Wes Craven.

Related: The Virgin Spring

Wes Craven Films: (The Hills Have Eyes) – (Stranger in Our House) – (Deadly Blessing) – (Swamp Thing) – (Invitation to Hell) – (Nightmare on Elm Street) – (Chiller) – (The Hills Have Eyes Part II) – (Deadly Friend) – (The Serpent and the Rainbow) – (Shocker) – (Night Visions) – (The People Under the Stairs) – (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare) – (Vampire in Brooklyn) – (Scream) – (Scream 2) – (Music of the Heart) – (Scream 3) – (Cursed) – (Red Eye) – (My Soul to Take) – (Scream 4)

© thevoid99 2017

Body Bags

Directed and starring John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper and written by Dan Angel and Billy Brown, Body Bags is an anthology film where a coroner and two morgue attendees tell three different stories relating to the bodies they’re analyzing. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a serial killer stalking a gas station attendee while the second entitled The Hair is about a botched hair transplant involving an alien parasite as both segments are directed by John Carpenter. The third entitled Eye is about a baseball player who receives an eye transplant unaware that it belonged to a killer that is trying to possess him as it is helmed by Tobe Hooper. Also starring Robert Carradine, Stacy Keach, David Warner, Twiggy, Sheena Easton, Mark Hamill, Tom Arnold, and Debbie Harry. Body Bags is a riveting and enjoyable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.

The film is essentially a trilogy of tales told by a coroner (John Carpenter) as it play to the bodies he is examining in one scary night. The first entitled The Gas Station is about a college student who works on her very first night as a gas station attendee as she deals with strange customers as well as the presence of a serial killer on the loose. The second story entitled The Hair is about a middle-aged man dealing with baldness as he goes to a mysterious doctor about a hair transplant where everything seems to go well until he discover alien parasites in his hair. The third and final story entitled Eye is about a baseball player who loses his right eye in a car accident where he goes into surgery to get a new one as he starts to see strange things involving dead bodies and such. All of it is told in different styles where screenwriters Dan Angel and Billy Brown play up some of the suspense where The Gas Station is about an unusual first day at work while Hair is about insecurities and vanities that eventually catches up to a man. Eye is about a man desperate to go back to baseball unaware of the horror he is seeing with his new eye.

Since the first two segments and inserts are directed by John Carpenter and Eye is helmed by Tobe Hooper with Larry Sulkin providing additional work on the insert scenes. Each segment is given a different feel as both Carpenter and Hooper both provide their own idea to their segments while the inserts where Carpenter plays the coroner are presented in a comedic manner. For The Gas Station, Carpenter creates something that is more of a suspense film as it is about a college student’s first day as a gas station attendant where there are bits of humor but also moments where Carpenter plays with the suspense. Much of his compositions in that segment and The Hair are quite simple where the latter is a bit more playful as Carpenter goes for something straightforward rather than make it a big-time horror piece. The scariest segment is definitely Eye where Hooper creates something that is more conventional in terms of the horror genre but prefers to play it out slowly as it also has some more stylistic compositions including surreal moments that play into the terror. Overall, Carpenter and Hooper create a fun and thrilling anthology film about terror.

Cinematographer Gary Kibbe does excellent work with the cinematography from the colorful look of the interiors at the morgue as well as the nighttime exterior scenes for The Gas Station and Eye. Editor Edward A. Warschilka does nice work with the editing as it is stylish with its rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense for all of the segments. Production designer Daniel A. Lomino and set decorator Cloudia Rebar do fantastic work with the look of the morgue as well as the gas station interiors for The Gas Station as well as the more straightforward look of the other segments.

The makeup work of Rick Baker and Greg LaCava, with hair stylist Carolyn Elias, do amazing work for the look of the mortician as well as the look of the new eye in Eye as well as the hair in The Hair. The special effects work of Howard Jensen is terrific as it play into the look of the parasites for The Hair. Sound editor Anthony Milch does superb work with the sound as it help create some of the chilling moments of suspense in The Gas Station and Eye. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Jim Lang is wonderful with Carpenter providing some unique electronic-based pieces for The Gas Station while going for kitsch-based jazz in The Hair while Lang provides a more symphonic score for Eye.

The film’s cast is great as it features an array of cameos from horror film icons as well as pop culture icons. For the scenes set in the morgue, John Carpenter is hilarious as the mortician while Tobe Hooper and Tom Arnold are terrific in their brief roles as the morgue attendees. In The Gas Station, the cameo appearances from Wes Craven as a customer, George Buck Flower as a homeless guy, and Sam Raimi as a dead guy are fun yet the short is largely focused on Robert Carradine in a superb role as the gas station attendant who shows the new girl what to do while Alex Datcher is wonderful as the new girl Anne who is stalked by a crazed serial killer. In The Hair, the appearances of model Kim Alexis and special makeup effects creator Gregory Nicotero as people with good hair are fun to watch while Debbie Harry is a hoot as a nurse trying to help the protagonist find the right look.

David Warner is excellent as Dr. Lock as the man who can help the character Richard find new hair while Sheena Easton is fantastic as Richard’s girlfriend Megan who tries to assure him that he looks fine. Stacy Keach is brilliant as Richard as a man who becomes insecure over his bald hair as he is eager to have a new look and feel happy only for things to go wrong. In Eye, the cameo appearances of Charles Napier as a baseball coach, Roger Corman as a doctor, and John Agar as the surgeon are just amazing to watch while Twiggy is terrific as Brent’s wife Cathy who becomes worried about her husband’s troubled behavior. Mark Hamill is marvelous as Brent Matthews as baseball player who loses his eye in a car accident as he gets a new eye but becomes unhinged by what he is seeing as Hamill definitely camps it up for the performance.

Body Bags is a remarkable film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper. It’s a fun anthology film that feature a trilogy of stories created by two masters of horror as it’s a film that is about terror at its most chilling. In the end, Body Bags is an exhilarating and fun film from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.

Tobe Hooper Films: (Eggshells) - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - (Eaten Alive) - (Salem’s Lot) - (The Funhouse) - (Poltergeist) - Lifeforce - (Invaders from Mars) - (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) - (Spontaneous Combustion) - (I’m Dangerous Tonight) - (Night Terrors) - (The Mangler) - (The Apartment Complex) - (Crocodile (2000 film)) - (Toolbox Murders) - (Mortuary) - (Djinn)

John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Someone's Watching Me! - Halloween - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward

The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Part 1 - Part 2

© thevoid99 2016

Paris Je T'aime

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 1/30/08 w/ Additional Edits.

Paris, one of the greatest cities of the world. Home of the arts, the Cinemateque, the Sorbonne, the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, and many more landmark sites including the people in all of its glory with its mix of models, actors, musicians, and artists eating on the sidewalk cafes eating crepes, French bread, and drink wine. It's a glorious place that for those who want to go will be dreaming about by even saying they've been there but not physically. Yet, for those who still dream about going to one of the most beautiful cities in the world, how can they understand the experience the city? Well, there's a film made by some of the world's greatest directors as they're joined by some of the world's finest actors in an anthology film entitled Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You).

Paris, Je T'aime is an anthology film featuring 18 short films about various people in the different sections of the city. Based on an idea by Tristan Carne and conceptualized by Emmanuel Benbihy who along with Frederic Auburtin directed the transition sequences between each short. The film is an exploration of the city through different stories from the perspective of its eclectic group of directors that include Joel & Ethan Coen, Gus Van Sant, Alexander Payne, Tom Tykwer, Olivier Assayas, Wes Craven, Gurinder Chadha, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Alfonso Cuaron, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Oliver Schmitz, Sylvain Chomet, Isabel Coixet, Bruno Podalydes, and Nobuhiro Suwa.

Featuring an all-star cast that include Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gerard Depardieu, Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, Barbet Schroder, Bob Hoskins, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gaspard Ulliel, Rufus Sewell, Emily Mortimer, Li Xin, Sergio Castellitto, Gena Rowlands, Miranda Richardson, Ben Gazarra, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, and many more. Paris, Je T'aime is a fascinating, enchanting film that will make anyone fall in love with Paris that they want to take a trip to one of the greatest cities in the world.

Montmarte (written & directed by Bruno Podalydes) is the story of a man (Bruno Podalydes) trying to find a parking space through the crowded sidewalk in the city as he finds one where he listens to classical music. Refusing to leave his space, he watches everything around where he then finds a woman (Florence Muller) fainting on his car as he tries to take care of her and then puts her in the back of his car as he tries to comfort her. Quais de Seine (directed by Gurinder Chadha & written by Chadha & Paul Mayeda Berges) is about a young man (Cyril Decours) who is hanging out with a couple of friends taunting women on the Seine River as he catches the eye of a beautiful, Muslim woman (Leila Bekhti) whom he befriends as she leaves for prayer at a nearby mosque as he waits for her. In Le Marais (written & directed by Gus Van Sant), a male customer named Gaspard (Gaspard Ulliel) is with Marianne Faithfull as he finds himself attracted to a young man (Elias McConnell) as he talks to him about soulmates despite the fact that this young man barely understands him.

In Tuileres (written & directed by Joel & Ethan Coen), a tourist (Steve Buscemi) is waiting in the Tuileres station, he reads a book about Paris where he breaks an unspoken rule about eye contact where he catches the eye of a young woman (Julie Bataille) only to anger her boyfriend (Axel Keiner) where he finds himself in trouble while getting hit with spitballs from a child. Loin du 16e (written & directed by Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas) tells the story of a young woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who leaves her baby behind at a daycare as she sings him a lullaby. After leaving her child, she takes a long journey from one side of the city to another as she works as a nanny for a rich woman to take care of her baby. Porte de Choisy (directed by Christopher Doyle & written by Doyle, Gabrielle Keng, & Kathy Li) involves a beauty products salesman (Barbet Schroder) whose meeting with a salon owner (Li Xin) nearly proves to be disastrous until the look he gives her proves to be a hit with her customers.

Bastille (written & directed by Isabelle Coixet) tells the story of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who decides to leave his wife (Miranda Richardson) for a younger woman (Leonor Watling) until his wife tells him some news that makes him rethink his decision as it's told in a third-person narration. Place des Victoires (written & directed by Nobuhiro Suwa) features a woman (Juliette Binoche) still coping with the death of her young son (Martin Combes) as her grief is suddenly comforted by a mysterious yet magical cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Tour Eiffel (written & directed by Sylvain Chomet) is told by a little boy (Dylan Gomong) of how his mime parents (Paul Putner & Yolande Moreau) meet and fell in love. Parc Monceau (written & directed by Alfonso Cuaron) is about an old man (Nick Nolte) who decides to meet a young woman (Ludivine Sagnier) based on an arrangement for a man named Gaspard as they talk about their own troubles in one continuous shot.

Quartier de Enfants Rouge (written & directed by Olivier Assayas) features an American actress (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who befriends a dealer (Lionel Dray) as she procures some strong hashish she needed before going to work on a costume drama. Place des Fetes (written & directed by Oliver Schmitz) features a wounded man (Seydou Boro) who is trying to talk to a woman (Aissa Maiga) whom he had met and fallen for some time ago as he tried to find her and ask her for a cup of coffee. Pigalle (written & directed by Richard LaGravenese) features an aging couple (Bob Hoskins & Fanny Ardant) trying to reinvigorate their marriage and love life as they contend with aging and their upcoming doom. In Quartier de la Madeleine (written & directed by Vincenzo Natali), a backpacking tourist (Elijah Wood) is walking late at night when he catches a vampiress (Olga Kurylenko) biting someone as she catches him as he falls in love with her.

Pere-Lachaise (written & directed by Wes Craven) features a soon-to-be-married couple (Rufus Sewell & Emily Mortimer) visiting famous grave sites as the woman is upset by her lover's lack of humor while they catch the grave of Oscar Wilde where during a tense moment, the man finds inspiration from the ghost of Oscar Wilde (Alexander Payne). Faubourg Saint-Denis (written & directed by Tom Tykwer) tells the story of a blind man (Melchior Beslon) who receives a call from his actress-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) about a break-up as he recalls the memories of their love life and their decline. Quartier Latin (directed by Gerard Depardieu & Frederic Auburtin & written by Gena Rowlands) tells the story of an old couple (Gena Rowlands & Ben Gazarra) set to divorce as they talk about their life for one last drink on the day before they officially separate. In 14e Arrondissement (written & directed by Alexander Payne), an American tourist (Margo Martindale) takes a trip to Paris and in rough French, where she goes through the sites of the city and wonders about the city and herself.

Essentially, the film is about Paris and the stories of love surrounding the place through its characters and interactions with the city or something. In many ways, it's a joyous collection of shorts from some of the world's greatest directors in this cinematic tour guide in the City of Lights. For some directors like Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, and the Coen Brothers, it's an opportunity to take a story each told in five minutes and use it to emphasize their themes and such. Payne's story of an American tourist telling her story in rough French emphasizes the director's mix of melancholia and humor as it's told wonderfully. The Coen Brothers segment with regular Steve Buscemi is a funny take on the don'ts at a subway. Gus Van Sant's segment will remind audiences of his early work like Mala Noche and My Own Private Idaho revels in the director's themes of gay love and disappointments. Then there's Gurinder Chadha's poignant tale of a young man falling for a young Muslim woman as he is captivated by her beauty. That short is another emphasis on Chadha's worldly view on Muslims and their mystical beauty.

The shorts of these directors along with the shorts of Sylvain Chomet, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Nobuhiro Suwa, and Vincenzo Natali are the real highlights among the 18 shorts shown on film. Chomet, who is known as an animated film director, brings a delightful story told through mimes as it's truly one of the most entertaining. Tom Tykwer's short about a declining relationship told from one's memory is engrossed in the German auteur's unique style of fast-forward editing, sharp camera work, and electronic music as it emphasizes some of the film's emotional moments. Wes Craven's short is a surprise of sorts from the director who is known for horror and thrillers as he brings a wonderful take on romantic comedy with help from Alexander Payne as Oscar Wilde. Nobuhiro Suwa's emotional story of loss reminds audiences of Juliette Binoche's work from Krzystof Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs: Bleu with a wonderful appearance from Willem Dafoe as a cowboy in a strange, fantasy sequence.

While a lot of the shorts are mostly told in a dramatic fashion, Vincenzo Natali's short features no dialogue and is a mix of horror, comedy, silent-film, and romance as it's one of the film's finest shorts with wonderful performances from Elijah Wood and Olga Kurylenko. Other shorts that are memorable include Olivier Assayas' short with Maggie Gyllenhaal that features a grainy-like camera work to emphasize her character's hazy state of mind through hashish. Renowned Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle explores his familiar world with Asians in a wonderful short with Barbet Schroder and Li Xin that is filled of humor and references to French actresses. Bruno Podalydes' short was a great opener to the film as it emphasizes the accidental meetings between man and woman. Isabel Coixet's short was also strong that showed a man's choice between one woman and another forces him to question his loyalties.

The Richard LaGravenese short with Fanny Ardant and Bob Hoskins is one filled with lots of humor that featured the French actress and British actor playing off each other through great comedic timing. Gerard Depardieu & Frederic Auburtin's short that featured Depardieu as a restaurant owner is a joy to watch that is also in a style reminiscent of John Cassavetes with a script by Gena Rowlands as she and Cassavetes associate Ben Gazarra do amazing work with Rowlands displaying herself gracefully in the short. Another strong short is Oliver Schmitz short featuring African actors in a story of love and desperation proving the film's diversity. Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas' short tells a great story with a wonderfully understated performance from Catalina Sandino Moreno though it's one story that is depressing.

With every anthology film, there's some great shorts and some really good ones. Then, there's those that don't do as well. This is in the case of the short by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron, which is surprising considering his reputation for great films. The problem with his short that features Nick Nolte & Ludivine Sagnier is told through one, uncut, unedited, continuous shot. While on a technical level, it's a great idea yet the result is style over substance. The tracking shot is really a distraction as the story of this old man and young woman talking doesn't have a lot of depth. Nolte and Sagnier are fine actors but the material they're working with isn't very good and Cuaron's overwhelming emphasis on technical style over the story definitely causes a problem. It's the one short that doesn't work in some respects.

With some amazing technical work in the editing, different styles of cinematography with contributions from Eric Gautier and Bruno Dubonnel, and the music to convey the romanticism of Paris. The film flows easily as for most of the time, the film is well-paced with very few bumps while the overall aspect is entertaining. Yet, with directors bringing in their own style of storytelling as well as a vision. The result is truly mesmerizing. Even with a diverse cast of actors from legends like Fanny Ardant, Gena Rowlands, and Bob Hoskins to famed character actors like Steve Buscemi and Sergio Castellitto, to young talents like Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, and Gaspard Ulliel.

Paris, Je T'aime is an extraordinary short that is a must have for fans of anthology films. For anyone who loves the work of Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, the Coen Brothers, Gurinder Chadha, Tom Tykwer, and Alexander Payne will no doubt find shorts worthy of their rich filmography along with surprises from Sylvain Chomet, Nobuhiro Suwa, and Vincenzo Natali. For anyone who dreams of going to the City of Lights will no doubt enjoy this tour of one of the most beloved cities in the world. In the end, for anyone who wants to say they've been to Paris but not physically, Paris, Je T'aime is the film to go see.

Related: New York, I Love You - (Tsibilis, I Love You) - Rio, Eu Te Amo

(C) thevoid99 2011