Can I ask a brain question of you on this fine day? When there is both an original and a remake of a movie - does the viewer generally end up liking the first one they see the best? As in, if I see the remake first, I like it better than the original. And vice versa, if I see the original first I like it better than the remake. For me it seems that this might be the case. I was going to write more about this thought at the end of the post, as well as give examples - but I've decided to write an entire post on this topic instead. So, go here ________ for that write up. I will basically list a bunch of examples and state whether I liked the original or remake better - and then also mention which I saw first. Then we can begin to see if the phenomenon is real.
Now on to the movie. As you can probably tell from the first paragraph, I've seen the remake of The Last House on the Left already, somewhere within my past movie viewing experience. I ended up liking it 4 stars worth in Netflix (c), the same as this movie. And I probably would give both an overall rating of somewhere between a C+ or B- (it's close). And yes, for the record I would rather give them 3.5 stars to be more fitting. Regarding which I liked better, I think I liked the remake a tiny amount better. I feel like it was more modern with better finishing moves. I recall a nice scene involving a sink.
The original was good however and the acting was clutch - but I guess it just lacked based on what it was able to show, which could have hurt the movie. Since it was from the early 70's, they really couldn't show too much of the action. Still they did a pretty good job considering the rules back then. In the last sequence within the house, when the parents caught on and started to booby trap the house (a la Home Alone), it got a bit cheesy. That final fight with the main bad guy and the Dad was pretty ridiculous. I bet in the 70's they could still fight like a normal person, versus having it portrayed almost as if they were snapping their fingers as they spun in a circle, getting ready to battle 50's style. The bad guy would punch the Dad in the gut and they would stand there and talk about it for a 20 seconds, all while his fist is still in his stomach. And then the Dad would offer the same back....just slow and not the best scene for me. Comical almost? I should not be so harsh, because then the Dad gets a chainsaw and chases the rest of the baddies around and it is pretty good overall. And that one guy just forces the other one to blow his brains out, just because he has so much power over him in his posse - that's pretty crazy, because he did what he said all the time, including ending it all.
But, in the end I am thankful for having watched this movie. Wes did a good job in his first directing attempt. I think he will have a successful career. LOL. (Craven for those that think I meant Anderson) I also loved that essentially the entire film took place outside and during the day. That is always the best for me, versus hiding a good portion of the flick in the shadows. Turn on a light and still make it scary...challenge on directors out there.
I also need to ask, why do they make a mockery of the two police officers throughout the movie? They even go as far as playing circus music as they are fumbling around. Just not sure why they added this aspect, but oh well. The music was actually well done throughout. Maybe in the end I liked the original better :)
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