The Last House On The Left (1972)

Put On Your Raincoats | A Place Beyond Shame (Lincoln & Mitchell, 1980)

Seka plays a computer programmer who suddenly, without warning, can no longer stand to have any sex whatsoever. You could say she’s in a place of shame. So to solve her problem, she goes to a hypnotherapist played by Paul Thomas, who uses the powers of hypnosis to treat her sexual hangups, so she can move to… a place beyond shame. Actually, it’s not clear that it’s actually shame that she’s feeling, or if it is, is isn’t clearly articulated. But that’s the title of the movie so that’s how I’ll explain the plot.

Anyway, this is somewhat transparently a loop carrier, in which Seka, under hypnosis, deals with her sexual hangups by watching a bunch of sex scenes to which she has either a loose or nonexistent connection. The closest non-pornographic comparison I can think of is Cat in the Brain, as Seka, like Lucio Fulci, spends the movie reacting to stock footage. Although between you and me, I’d rather look at Seka react than Fulci, especially because she starts graphically masturbating during some of these sessions. Imagine how much scarier Cat in the Brain would have been had Fulci started jackin’ it during the gore scenes.

I’ll say that the sex scenes are executed pretty well (although the crappy copy I watched did no favours to the cinematography by Joao Fernandes), but the movie suffers from the loose at best connection they have to Seka’s character. At one point she explains her profession as a computer programmer stems from her childhood love of motorcycles, at which point we get a scene on a motorcycle. This is probably the only time I’ve seen Michael Morrison presented as attractive, with sunglasses and a leather jacket. I actually like that her character is given a non-stereotypical job for a woman; I wonder if that was one of Sharon Mitchell’s contributions as co-director.

At another point Seka watches her mother get double-teamed, although the weak framing keeps this from feeling as kinked out as it might have in other hands. But other scenes like the bride-groom pairing and the cross-cutting between a cowboy-cowgirl duo, a Russian couple, and a threesome between Billy Dee and a pair of Asian girls, while not lacking in spice, don’t feel organic to her character growth. So when she eventually resumes having sex, it’s certainly a welcome development as Seka as an engaging performer (and she gets a threesome with Lori Blue, who I have a soft spot for), but there isn’t much catharsis. So I don’t think it really works on a narrative level, but if you like the talent involved, it’s probably worth a look.

W A T C H I N G

August 30, 2022

Happy 50th Anniversary to one of Wes Craven's first flim he ever directed

The Last House on the Left

Sandra Peabody as Mari Collingwood

Lucy Grantham as Phyllis Stone

David A. Hess as Krug Stillo

Fred Lincoln as Fred 'Weasel' Podowski

Jeramie Rain as Sadie

Marc Sheffler as Junior Stillo

Eleanor Shaw (credited as Cynthia Carr) as Estelle Collingwood

Richard Towers (credited as Gaylord St. James) as Dr. John Collingwood

Directed by: Wes Craven

Produced by: Sean S. Cunningham

Release Date: August 30, 1972

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT Wes Craven's notorious nasty!

‘Can a movie go too far?’ The Last House on the Left is a 1972 American horror film about two teenage girls who are kidnapped and brutalised by a gang of psychopathic criminals. The movie was written, directed and edited by Wes Craven (Scream; A Nightmare on Elm Street; The Hills Have Eyes; et al) and produced by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th). The story was inspired by the 1960 Swedish…

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The Last House on the Left (1972) dir. Wes Craven

i chose the deaths that affected me the most and I even forgot some so I'll do a part 2 eventually!! I didn't include allison because she won my last poll I think plus the movie brought her back so lol

ICYMI, the Lincoln Project made excellent use of AI in this vid.

Doodle of B-list villains with their civilian clothes. I like to put fashion on characters

The Superior Foes wanted to go to Madripoor but ended up in Madrid instead.

Amazing Spider-Man #7

Put On Your Raincoats | Oui, Girls (Lincoln, 1981)

Because it is Noirvember, I figured I should watch some films in the Film Noir genre. And this is a film in the Film Noir genre, so I watched this film for Noirvember. The month in which we watch films in the Film Noir genre such as this Film Noir. Now let me repeat that again slowly for the jury. Any other reasons I watched this are none of your damn business and I’m pleading the fifth.

Anyway, the noir framing is pretty bullshit and gets dropped by the halfway point. Actually, Anna Ventura starts to catch on earlier that the residents of this swingers colony seem unlikely to have committed the murder that Paul Thomas insists happened, although Thomas retorts, “Murderers don’t advertise.” But really his scheme was to bring her down to this swingers colony and get her to have sex with him and presumably introduce her to the joys of swinging. You might be wondering why they didn’t just make that the plot of the movie and why they bothered to throw in the phony detective framing. And to get your answer, you’ll have to turn to director and writer Fred Lincoln and co-writer Tiffany Clark, the latter of whom also wrote some lyrics in the theme song, which is technically multilingual thanks to the presence of a single French word. She also plays a supporting role in the movie as the wife of someone best described as Porno Al Bundy, and has a weirdly classy and goofy dance-infused sex scene.

Anyway, as a swingers porno it certainly delivers the goods and is worth a watch if you like the cast. I watched it primarily for Anna Ventura. And if I can tell you a secret, I think she’s one swell looking lady. I cannot say if she is a great actress in the conventional sense, but will note that she gets cuter the more indignant she gets, and looks looks especially ravishing in the red dress she wears during key scenes, and is plenty enthusiastic when she gets to delivering the genre goods. So I was unsurprisingly not immune to her charms. I mean, she made a rapey sex scene with Ron Jeremy in Bad Girls not just tolerable but actually pretty hot, so I will say that she’s a great actress in at least one particular sense. Also, as a portly man with a fondness for cowboy shirts, I was moved to see Michael Morrison in similar attire generally be a chill dude and having a loving marriage with Lisa De Leeuw. I think this is what people mean by onscreen representation. I would have liked to see him get a scene with Ventura as well, but I suppose I’m projecting at this point. I did find it weird how nonchalant he was after De Leeuw gets sexually harassed by Joey Silvera, so he is not a perfect man.

I also found it weird that the movie caps off with a succession of sex scenes where the different couples reaffirm their love for each other, but I guess it’s a nice message to end the movie on. There is the requisite orgy scene, which didn’t do much for me but has a hint of style thanks to the mirrors and red lighting. So as a swingers porno it will probably do the trick. As Noirvember viewing, you’ll probably end up here with as a co-conspirator with me.

“Boomerang and some of Spidey’s deadliest baddies prove that with terrible powers come terrible responsibilities!”

The Superior Foes of Spider-Man (2013) written by Nick Spencer and artist Steve Lieber

La Dernière Maison sur la gauche, 1972

Pour fêter son dix-septième anniversaire, Mari, accompagnée d'une amie, décide de se procurer de la marijuana. Lorsqu'un jeune marginal, Junior, se propose de leur en procurer, elles acceptent, ne se doutant pas que le dealer fait partie d'une bande de sadiques meurtriers emmenés par le terrifiant Krug. Leur calvaire va bientôt commencer.

Un film CULTE, tout comme Massacre à la tronçonneuse, l’atmosphère et l'ambiance y sont identiques pour moi, c'est glauque, malsain, filmé avec une image sale, on y sens réellement la souffrance des personnages, et ce qui est intéressant avec ce film est le retournement de situation à mi film ou les chasseurs deviennent les proies.

The Last House on the Left (1972) ORIGINAL TRAILER

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