Wes Craven's "Last House on the Left": The Making of a Cult Classic

by David A. Szulkin

Wes Craven is world renowned as the creator of classic horror film events such as The Hills Have Eyes, the Nightmare on Elm Street series and the Scream franchise. Craven began his meteoric career in fear with a notorious, controversial low-budget shocker called Last House on the Left.

Produced by Friday the 13th creator Sean S. Cunningham, Last House on the Left was a movie that broke the rules... and the bank.

A disturbing, gritty tale of sadistic violence and devastating revenge, Last House on the Left became one of the most influential cult classics of all time. It was the movie that assaulted audiences with the terrifying roar of a chainsaw two years before The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

David A. Szulkin's book tells the inside story of the making of Last House on the Left through in-depth interviews, rare photographs and extensive research. Featuring stills from unreleased out takes and commentary from Wes Craven, this book is the definitive record of one of the most legendary, iconoclastic horror movies in history.

Last House on the Left remains one of Wes Craven's most powerful and unique films. Rough, raw and irreverent, it is still censored in Britain for its unflinching portrait of rape murder. Attacked by censors and often reviled by critics, Last House on the Left is all the more noteworthy in retrospect for its pioneering, prescient contribution to the 'splatter' film tradition. Those who wish to know where and how it all began need look no further than this book.

Genres: Film, Horror

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Val O. Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent read. I've only seen the movie once, which was more than enough. I prefer monster movies and ghost stories over revenge flicks. But that doesn't take away from the enjoyment in reading about how Wes Craven started his career guerrilla style. If you're into filmmaking, this is a must read.

[BRNTerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great and informative read that's filled with tidbits that I didn't know before. The author interviewed some of the people involved with this during 1991/92 and in 1996/97. Below are bits of information from the book:

-Hallmark Releasing liked the script so well that they gave Wes and Sean an extra $40,000 to make it. 
-The first draft had Krug and Weasel engaging in necrophilia with Phyllis after they killed her.
-Mari's rape was supposed to be much longer and more brutal. In the script her character was blonde.
-An early draft had Mari's father being karate-chopped to death and a different draft had him dying in a scalpel fight.
-Phyllis' death was to be more brutal. Sadie was supposed to gouge her eyes out, cut off her breasts, and cut her tongue out.
-Sean said the film was supposed to have a lot more sex in it but decided against it stating that it's more important to tell a story.
-Martin Kove, who played the deputy, turned down the roll of Krug because his character was too "dark." Martin was dating and living with David's sister at the time.
-Ada Washington, the black woman who drove the chicken truck, was currently Sean's mother's housekeeper and she didn't know how to drive. Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill was supposed to be playing on the truck's radio during that scene. I understood Sean to mean Ada was also the housekeeper while he was growing up. Her part was supposed to be played by a black man they'd given the character name Jerome Pickins to.
-Sean's wife Susan made the clothes.
-Junior was supposed to survive.
-Earlier in the year Wes and Sean worked together on a soft-core porn called Together.
-Jeramie Rain/Sadie was paid $600 for her role and she bought a Doberman puppy with the money. She also couldn't stand her hair style in the film. She got poison ivy while filming and in one scene in Mari bedroom where she's wearing black men's socks, it's because they had to hide the poison ivy.
-Jeramie said that once between takes she was leaning on the hood of the car, arms down at her sides (and I guess her head resting on the hood), and the police showed up. Someone thought she'd been in a car accident and called the police so they came to investigate.
-Fred Lincoln said that Sandra/Mari was scared of the film, left, and had to be talked into coming back to work. She also said she did a terrible job in the film and that she was scared of the script.
-The chain saw scene was inspired by Wes seeing a movie poster in Times Square (New York) of guys fighting with chain saws.

There are about fifty pages where the author summarizes the film in chronological order and inserts comments by the actors regarding those scenes. I really like that it goes in order since it's easier for me to follow along.

Perhaps my favorite part is near the end, chapter 8 titled Rip-offs and Rehashes, where the author goes into several David Hess films that are in the same vein as this one, and discusses others of this genre from the 70s and 80s, some of which I've never heard of. Love learning about similar films and can't wait to check some of them out. Here is the list from the book. 

Fred Lincoln (Weasel) said something funny: "They never actually showed that my character was dead...so I want to do 'Last House II: Weasel's Back!' A guy with no dick, out for revenge!"

Jeramie said something sort of funny too: "I believe that Last House on the Left is truly the worst movie ever made...and I'm proud to have been a part of it! (Laughs) Seriously, it's the biggest embarrassment, and I apologize to my children for being in it. It has no redeeming qualities. It does have a cult following, but I'm not proud of it at all...I would hate to think of anyone being harmed or hurt because of something I did. That's not what I want to contribute to the world...I'd rather do positive things with my life."

I've uploaded some images of the filming schedule from inside the book here .

Here are images of the script's original ending. Click on all Imgur images to enlarge.

[Noel Thingvall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelously thorough and colorful detailing of how and why this film was made, and how it became the legend it is today. And I love how, to keep it from being too slim, the authors expands out into exploring the grindhouse era into which the film was released, as well as detailing the various derivatives which came in its wake. Great stuff.

I only have two tiny nitpicks, but I believe both were outside the author's control, so I won't nick a star for them.

1) The book seems to shy away from the adult film work of Wes Craven and several of the actors (the exception being Fred Lincoln), some of which is important to understand where their careers were at the time and where they went in the immediate wake of the film. Granted, some of this is stuff that's only recently been coming into light, and isn't something those involved have been comfortable admitting.

2) We get the tease of a few pages of Craven's screenplay, when it would have been fantastic to be able to read the whole thing. Given how rough and raw it was, I can understand him not wanting to grant that permission, but it's still a shame.

Those tiny bits aside - which, again, are more nitpicks than actual flaws - this is a highly recommended read.

EDIT: And as a quick clarification, this is for the original release of the book, not the "revised and expanded" edition put out several years later. I'm curious to get my hands on a copy of that one and see what all has been added.

[Simon Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly in-depth look at a notorious film. LHotL isn't my favourite from this era of horror movies but there is still a great insight into the making of it and the impact it had. The author has done a great job of talking to just about everyone involved and the behind the scenes stuff is more detailed than in any other book I've read.

Highly recommended to fans of horror or low budget movie making in general.

[Quentin Stuckey · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most controversial films of all time, this book provides the most in depth and comprehensive look at the making of Wes Craven’s “The Last House on the Left”. Complete with interviews, photographs, tons of research and behind the scenes stories I haven’t come across before, any one with an interest in film or horror cinema is certain to enjoy this book. The second last chapter talking about all of the films inspired by LHOTL was a little tedious and could’ve been shortened.

[Sam Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant how-to guide on making a low budget film, whilst exploring the legacy of this controversial piece of horror cinema.