New on DVD

The Last House on the Left
Rated R for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Warning: This review contains limited spoilers.
This remake of the not-so-great 70’s John Carpenter film follows an escaped convict and his gang as they kidnap two girls when they don’t know what else to do with them.  Upon believing that both girls are dead, the gang ends up at one of the girl’s houses where the parents must systematically find a way to take them all out.  This is a violent, disturbing, and sickening film that didn’t have to be what it was.  The acting here is first rate with terrific performances by Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter and Garret Dillahunt, but the acting and believability are not the problem here.  First off, the rape scene could have merely been implied rather than graphically shown.  This would have still added the emotional punch in the gut intended without the need to vomit during the film.  Secondly, the tail end of the movie was out of place and a little silly.  Sorry, but I’d prefer a good climactic death scene to torture any day of the week.  If the filmmakers weren’t so determined to make the audience uncomfortable, they might have had a bigger one to watch the movie to begin with.  C+