SPEAKER_00 0:04

Emergency Preparedness Plan. This is their emergency preparedness plan. She's out here chomping things off.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Greetings and salutations and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. We are flattered truly. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, total joke, waste of time, or a slash. Totally killer, pun intended. My name is Chris, and I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week of all weeks, I am joined by the gore lover Alexis. Hey everyone. The cowardly creeper Ryan. Hiya. And the Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

Hey sweets.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Before we get while the getting's good, let's get into some follow-up with Paris.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

A few weeks ago, we asked everyone about the movie Contagion, uh, whether or not you guys thought it was a hack or a slash. The results came in at 23% thinking it was actually a hack, Team Paris, and 77% agree with the rest of the team and said it was a slash. We have a comment from one of our listeners, Candy, who said that it was very dull, but I do love Kate Winslet. So it's hard to say what she voted on that one, but stay tuned this week for another poll about the two movies we're reviewing tonight.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Candy, I do agree with you. You guys may hate Gwyneth Paltrow, but I think we can all agree on Kate Winslet, yeah? I agree.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

As always, I have no strong feelings towards actresses or actors.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

This week we're probably gonna have some strong feelings about a lot of things. Uh, we are checking out a 1972 film helmed by the late great Wes Craven in his directorial debut and the remake of the same title he produced in 2009. Now, we're no strangers to Wes Craven. A couple of his films have been reviewed here on the podcast in episode 64 and 24, where we checked out both versions of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the first installment of Scream, respectively. I remember our Scream episode was Alexis' early days, so those are some fond memories. Wow, brings me back. Yes, and here we're back at it again. Now, this week is about the film that came before it all though, and depicted a level of brutality that was undoubtedly shocking for its time. Even now, key scenes in these movies are difficult to watch and may be upsetting for some of our listeners. So, for reference, Wes Craven's inspiration for this film came from the 1960 movie The Virgin Spring, in which a man struggles to reconcile his faith with the revenge he takes on those who raped and killed his daughter. So that gives you an idea of where we're headed. Now, this week we're talking about The Last House on the Left. Now, who had seen either version of this movie before?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

I saw the uh 2009 version a few years ago.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Same.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

So I'm I'm kind of in the same boat.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

I think I saw this as soon as I could when it was out of theaters, because I wasn't 18 when this would have came out, the 2009 version. So I'm pretty sure I saw it as soon as I could, and then I've never seen the original. I knew the original existed in the world, and there are some arguments of whether or not you needed to ever see it. And I could have lived the rest of my life without knowing about it, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Wow. Um, I'm with you guys. I actually saw this in theaters with my mom when it came out. Uh hi Gwen. I remember liking it, but knowing me, I actually completely forgot everything about it except the very final scene, which was just like a f like burned into my mind for some reason. Uh, and I wasn't even sure if it was actually this movie when Chris told me we're watching this. I was like, I have this memory of these like few key words. Uh, is that this movie? And she's like, I guess you'll have to see. Just like you guys, I had never I didn't realize it was a remake, I'd never seen the original. So it's not something I had been on my radar before that.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, and I'm really surprised that the scene that you told me about remembering, I'm surprised it was that scene because it was one that I found the most forgettable. Right? Yeah, one of the most forgettable, at least, in that in that movie.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Really? Yes, I didn't remember that.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

But you know what, Paris? That's that's good perspective. I have seen both of these movies in the past, but I will admit I stayed away from them for a really long time uh because I knew how intense the original was. Now, this was a classic case of fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. So here's the thing. Listener, if you're new here, then you should know that sexual violence is not my jam and a very easy way for me to disengage. If you've been around for a while, then you've heard this whenever a movie like this comes up. Now, let me give you guys a little bit of background here. In 2006, I saw the remake of The Hills Have Eyes, which was also produced by Wes Craven. Have you guys seen this? Yep.

SPEAKER_05 4:27

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Mm-hmm. Now, like this movie, he was the driving force behind the original, and there's a horrific rape scene in that movie. And because of that shock, I I honestly just have no intention to watch the original until it comes up specifically for this podcast. This is literally the only thing that will get me to watch it. And it kept me from watching these movies until just a few years ago. My first taste of West Craven was the, you know, obviously a nightmare on Elm Street franchise and Scream. So great work there. And uh when I saw the last house on the left, I was shook. Uh, but it made sense because I mean, in retrospect, do you guys know that he actually got his start in porn? Wow. No, did not know that. No.

SPEAKER_03 5:07

That's actually a gag.

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Well, here we are. It makes sense now, like looking back, because I feel like I grew up seeing a different Wes Craven, and then I got introduced to his early work that is really sexually charged, and it's a very different taste. Now, those factors built me up to this expectation that I just straight up wasn't gonna like either movie. Uh, the very first time I watched them, at least, which is probably blasphemy considering how iconic both he and this movie are. But what did you guys expect for the original version since none of you had seen it? Ooh, not what we got is my best answer.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

I was expecting a pretty similar remake. Like I was expecting a very similar storyline and stuff like that, which I I think we did. It's definitely not like one of those line-for-line remakes. I was expecting it to be very similar, but not quite what it w ended up being.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

So you're expecting a same, same but different situation.

SPEAKER_02 6:01

Yeah, and I do think that's what we got, but I don't think there's any way you could really expect the things that happen in the original movie.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with that. I did think it was gonna be more of a slasher than it would be, you know, back then there would have been a I guess there was a lot of sexual tension and everything like that in the 70s, and a lot of people were just, you know, loving on each other. So I thought there would be more love in this one than brutality in the first one. So I was surprised by that. We got a couple of hippies in this.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

I agree with you, Alexis. I actually thought this was gonna be more of a slasher as well. When I was watching it, I actually thought I had seen it. Um, but then I realized like halfway through that I was thinking of the movie I Spit on Your Grave. And it's very, very similar in its uh I guess content as well as sort of its pacing. Um, in my opinion, the movie spends like a lot of time on certain subjects and not enough time on other things. But yeah, going into it, also having completely forgotten what happens in the remake, I had pretty low expectations, but I did expect a lot more blood than we got.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Hmm. I don't know. I feel like I feel like the original had quite a bit of blood, but I think I'm I'm probably honestly I'm probably just imagining it because of how intense it was. The first one for me, I didn't know what to expect beyond just like the obvious of um I'm not gonna like it because there's this thing, but I I know I I walked away feeling super heavy. So heavy, in fact, that I think it took the edge off uh of the remake for me. Did it have that same effect for you guys?

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Yes, yes, because I watched him back to back and I was like, Jesus, why did I spend my Sunday watching all of this?

SPEAKER_02 7:38

Yeah. I got a Facebook church sermon in in between watching these two movies, which was a strange mixture of things for my Sunday afternoon. I'm not gonna lie. Oh my gosh. I needed it after the first, the original watching that, I was like, oh gosh. But yeah, I definitely think that the first time I saw this, I remember it being seeing the 2009 version. I remember it being like heavy, tough to watch, all that. And then after watching them consecutively, it's like the easiest movie I've ever seen compared to the first.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Yeah, for sure. Why do you think that is? Um, I have to admit there were certain scenes that I was like, I don't need to see this again. And I fast forward it. It's cool.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

I was looking at my iPad for a significant portion of some of these scenes.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Wait, are you guys saying that the second one was easier to watch than the first one?

SPEAKER_02 8:25

Yeah. If you watched them, if you watched uh 1972 and then 2009, it made the 2009 remake so much easier to watch than the way I remember feeling the first time.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Ah, okay. I was gonna say because I watched them back to back as well, and I felt like the second one, everything was the same but harder to watch for me.

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Really? What? Uh it's because you're not a woman.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

I maybe. I just felt like it was much more realistic and much more graphic than the original one. The first one to me kind of had almost like a like it felt like they were taking like a comedic approach at times, like with the musical and sound effects choices that were happening. So it wasn't actually very intense for me seeing it. Uh and then the second one was like just completely serious, realistic, and just brutal. And I was like, oh god, this is exhausting having watched these consecutively.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

So, a question that I want to explore with you, Paris. I know we kind of discussed this a bit with Ryan and Alexis over the course of our show. This is your first time comparing an original movie to its remake with us.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Oh, yeah, I guess it is.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

So, for you, what would it take for a remake to outshine its original? What would have to be done differently?

SPEAKER_03 9:34

That's a really hard question. In general, I struggle to like enjoy things that are from the past just because a lot of times, like the language doesn't translate, the behavior isn't the same as what we would do in these days. But I think you would just have to really commit to one direction and just like wow me with that. Because there are some older movies that I actually really love, uh despite their age. My Bloody Valentine. I actually enjoyed the original My Bloody Valentine more than I like the remake.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Okay, alright. That's pretty telling. That's pretty telling. For some people, uh, they would definitely like the remake no matter what. And for some people, you either have to either live and die by the source material from the original or you have to do something completely different. So I was curious about where you stood on that.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

I mean, you can do a direct remake the way this movie did it and still add something new. But for example, with my bloody valentine, I feel like the elements that were unique to that movie, like the mine and the like the killer's costume, I feel like they took better advantage of those things in the original than they did in the remake.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Okay, noted. This is gonna give me a good uh frame to work within as I kind of try to anticipate and figure out your statements as you go. This is gonna be good.

SPEAKER_04 10:43

Oh god.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Hey, I just you know, it's part of the guessing game here, is about what you know, which way are we gonna go? Which way are we gonna go? I think what stood out to me the most was the overwhelming sadness uh that I felt for Mary, uh her family, and Phyllis. And and I think I attribute that most of all to how West Craven executed these insane juxtapositions, right? Like Paris, you're talking about how you weren't sure how to feel because it felt like there was supposed to be some comedy mixed in there, right? Uh when in reality, that's just this toting family compared against girls going through trauma, going against bumbling cops just trying to hitch a ride. So that shows you that even when someone's having the darkest moment of their life, everything's normal for everybody else. And I think that's why this movie was so cool.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

And that's where Chris gets real deep in this FYI, everyone.

SPEAKER_03 11:32

Yeah, that's definitely an interesting perspective.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

That's that is the Chris perspective there.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

I mean, I get it, I get it. Sorry that we're missing Mac to like echo his agreement with you. Because that's what we're that's what's not here tonight, is Mac going, yeah man, I totally agree.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

That's okay. I'll handle it for both of us. So I would love to know. Yeah, I I know Ryan, you said that you didn't get you didn't expect what you got with the original. Um, but from either movie, what surprised you most?

SPEAKER_02 12:03

I think since we're talking about it, the in the original, what surprised me the most is how much they focused on my least favorite aspect of the remake, which is some of the stuff that happens in the woods. And so, like, this is actually the 2009 version of this movie has a scene that is the first and like most impactful rape scene that I can ever remember seeing in a movie. And apparently, yeah, it's always stuck with me. Like, if you say Last House on the Left, there's only one thing that I think of.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 12:35

And then I wasn't expecting to go back and have so much of the focus in the 70s on that. And I don't I don't know. I mean, it's not like they were tiptoeing around everything in the 70s. I'm not expecting that or anything, but it was just like so intense. Like they were such sexual predators and not just like crazy people. I mean, they were crazy people, but like it it was so specific and down that path so much for this movie in the original. Like they were only in the house for like a third of the movie, and they spent so much time in this place where I did not want to be. And that was what like it completely caught me off guard. Also, the creepy dad boob conversation at the beginning. Right.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

That actually surprised me too.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

It was I was sitting on the couch, like, why? No one has that conversation. At least I never had that.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

Oh, if you did, you have a weird family. Like, there are definitely people that have these relationships. Like, I went to school, I went to high school with somebody that um their family was just like naked in the house all the time. And like, uh it's sure, you can live that life, but it's not normal. And this conversation, not normal.

SPEAKER_03 13:43

Yeah, the dad, it's one thing to be like, oh, you're not gonna wear a bra, but then it's another to have like a full conversation about your daughter's nipples, and then like even like grab at her shirt and be like, look, you can see your boobs right through this. And then she's like, blah, blah, blah, tits, and he's like, language.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Oh, tits, what's this tits business? I feel like I'm back in the barracks. Okay, that's what gets you dead.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

Yeah, like that was out of line.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

It was so uncomfortable. Cringy at its finest. What surprised me as soon as I turned on the uh 1972 version, I was like, is this the first found footage I've ever had? Oh my gosh. The grainiest footage you've ever seen in your whole life? Yes, I was like, I swear we've seen movies from the 70s in you know, House of Wax was better than this. I was just gonna say this was worse than House of Wax, which was what, the 1553 version of House of Wax?

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yes, which I think it was kind of uh done intentionally a little bit. The first one just surprised me. Like everything, like everything about it was surprising, seeing as I've already seen the remake before, and then I'm going back and watching this again. So I don't know. And then I was surprised actually watching the first one and seeing that they're they were kind of mirrors of each other. So um, I do like remakes if people can do it right. Um, I don't like a psycho remake. I don't need line for line, thought for thought, move for move. Um, because aware is the creativity of that. So, but yeah, so I just like the way they had a connection between the two.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Man, I just gotta point out almost coming up on two years later, and Alexis is still burned by the psycho remake, folks. That's how bad it was. Waste, total joke, wasted time. What about you, Paris?

SPEAKER_03 15:19

I was surprised by a lot of the choices that were made for both of these movies, both from like a production standpoint as well as like the actors. Like, like I already said, the a lot of the musical and sound effects choices that were made in the first one were a little bizarre to me. Um, I'll get a little more into that because there's a specific death scene that was I was really almost on the verge of laughing because of the sound effects they chose to add in. And then actually in the remake, there were a surprising number of little references and Easter eggs, I think, uh, in regards to the original as well as like foreshadowing what would come. So I was pleasantly surprised by some of those things, and then a little more, uh, I guess disappointed by, or I guess maybe just confused by some of the other choices that were made.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

I think the music was definitely unsettling or at least surprising to me as well. Uh, but I think one of the things that I found even more surprising was what this movie, at least the original, is like after you watch it for the first time. So, you know, when you watch it, and it's really easy to be swept up in like the 70s slang, the film grain, the shocking violence, the confusing comedy. Uh, it's really easy to just like focus on all that. But on a second or third watch, you can put the pieces together of why this kind of movie was made. Do you guys know what like our country was going through around this time? Flower Power question mark.

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Mass orgies?

SPEAKER_01 16:44

Yeah, so flower powers was like on the downside. Oh shit. Is this a film studies class? No, it's not, but would you guys go on this journey with me? Oh, we're along for the ride. So this time I was really able to step back and look at like the 1972 version with the context of its time. So one of the first questions that popped up was oh, how does this all fit together with the Manson family Tate La Bianca murders? And are you all familiar with those murders?

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Oh my god, I love the Manson family.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Yes. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 17:13

Yes, absolutely. Some of my favorite murders of all time.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Whoa! Nice. Uh dear listener, if you are not familiar, uh, then you can check out the show notes below. We're gonna have a link to a podcast by Heather, friend of the show. She does a podcast called Ohio 88, where she explores some of the most notorious people from different counties in Ohio. One of those people was recently Charles Manson, and uh she does a deep dive, not only into his life, but into the murders of those nights. So those murders took place in August of 1969, right? The trial concluded, and the perpetrators were found guilty in 1971. Okay. So we have the brutality of those murders, they are sentenced publicly, and they are sentenced to death in 1971. But then in 1972, the same year this movie was released, the Supreme Court of California ruled that the state's then current death penalty laws were unconstitutional, so it spared their lives. Isn't that fucking nuts? That is crazy. I didn't know all that.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

This also gave me a lot of Charles Manson vibes, too, now that you're mentioning it.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Exactly. So I'm gonna run you through a couple quick dates, all right, just for reference, so you can see how that all played out with how this movie played out in its time, right? All right, July was the marked the beginning of that trial. In January of 1971, they returned the guilty verdict, and in March of 1971, they were all sentenced to death. Sometime in 71, West Craven writes The Last House on the Left, and they start production late 1971. They finish around November, and then in February of 1972, that's when it's argued that it's unconstitutional to have the death penalty. So then in August, the Last House on the Left was released. The moviegoers start protesting, saying, take this out of the theaters, it's too nuts, it's too insane, it's too brutal. In September, they deny the protests, and later on in November of that year, so this is all 1972, the year this movie comes out, Proposition 17 amends the Constitution of California and they reinstate the death penalty. So you have this tumultuous time where there are these horrific, horrendous murders. A pregnant woman about to give birth was murdered brutally, and you have a lot of feelings and emotions with that. You also have the brutality and the loss of innocence of America, and then you have the realization that life isn't is never gonna be the same anymore, and this is like a new reckoning in history, and then you have all these things playing out in the Supreme Court, but can we kill people? Should we not? And this movie just is a commentary on all that and takes it takes it into your own hands, really.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

It's very interesting. I mean, I I didn't know any of that information. But it's a weird time back then, you know? Like it's hard to it's hard to imagine the things that were like I think we grew up all knowing about the Charles Manson murders. Like it's just a thing that exists, but it wasn't for the people that were alive then.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Yeah, I guess if I heard about that on the news, that would be pretty crazy. Um, and it makes a lot more sense that something like this would get made because earlier, Chris, you said that it had a low budget, and I was like, Oh, that's not surprising. Who would want to fund something like this? Um, but I guess it was a topical kind of commentary type of film at the time.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

I'm just in shock at all of that. I'm like, ooh, this is interesting. So there's things you gotta like sit there and think about, like it's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

I mean, that's just like I think that's what's so cool about this movie though, and what is why it surprised me the most is just because it's so rich with context. And the first time I saw this movie, I was like, this is just exploitation for the sake of exploitation. But really, I should have known better because it's Wes Craven, and there's always more with West Craven, but one of the things it does obviously is shine a light on the reality that's so many people are fearful of. So, did you find anything in these movies frightening? That's a joke, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:03

All right, well, I will give you my tidbit really quick because you know how you feel about movies with torture in it. I love them, but I don't really like it when it's on like human beings and stuff like that. Like, that just kind of turns me off.

SPEAKER_04 21:14

What else would it be on? Like animals? You prefer that?

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Okay, so I'm talking about like gore and all that sort of stuff as it relates to like kind of like sci-fiers. I'm like, okay, like we were talking about this earlier of terrifier. We rather watch that 20 times over than watching them. Because it just seems very silly. Like, I mean, yeah, that could happen, but this like is brutality that happens all the time. And so you know how I felt like the perfection, it brings up all these themes that you know is horror, like is people's everyday horror. And to me, I don't like that.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Lexus's quietest episode was the perfection.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Yeah, I mean, it's a good movie, but I don't like it. There's a lot of banter happening there.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

But yeah, I just I don't know, like I love horror, I I just love it for like the escape I can. Get from reality. And with this, there was not really an escape. It's like people are like shitty like this in real life. And this sort of stuff could happen, has happened, will happen, unfortunately, because there's shitty ass people out there.

SPEAKER_03 22:12

So it was too real.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

It was too real. So it was definitely eff and frightening.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Yeah, I think there's like a lot of uh fear that comes from this movie that's not like you're scared of this after the movie. Like you don't keep your lights on at night, like you're not really worried about these people being a part of your life or or anything like that. But it's like there's a lot of people in the world that already live with these fears, and to just like see it on screen, like this is the kind of movie it's scary to watch because it's uncomfortable. But it's not like a scary movie, like what I love, and I think this kind of is similar to what Alexis was saying, is like when you watch a scary movie like um, you know, Friday the 13th, there's like this character and it's unrealistic, and it's like, oh my god, I'm I'm so afraid of you know, some monster coming at like these these things aren't gonna happen, right? There's nobody creeping around your neighborhood with a mask on, hopefully. Um, there's no ghosts coming to get you, there's no like these spirits and stuff. Like, you can believe whatever you want, but generally speaking, these things aren't gonna happen. This movie or both of these movies, uh, you could be in the wrong place at the wrong and you have full the like this is all reality. I think maybe the final scene in the 2009 version is maybe not quite reality, and that's probably like Alexis's favorite part because that goes back to the like f fun fun torture. Yeah. Is fun torture a thing? Where it's not like psychological, and this stuff is all very heavy psychological fear.

SPEAKER_00 23:43

Yeah, it is. And I mean, not to like go on another banter, but I just watched the other day um platform on Netflix. Um, I've been tweeting a little bit about it, but um anyway, it's kind of just talks about you know the realities of like people at the top take what more than what they need, and then like as you go down in these levels in this prison, people get the leftovers of all the people on top, and it's kind of a reflection of how well, probably kind of what we're going through now with everyone just taking everything that they need in the grocery store. Damn it, we need our chicken because we're trying to eat healthy and not have red meat, and that's all that's left. I just think those kind of things that you know um mirror like situations now and stuff like that, that's truly terrifying for me and usually offsetting for me when I watch a movie. Super, super uncomfortable where you're watching this.

SPEAKER_01 24:29

I think one of the most frightening elements of I mean, I guess even either of these movies, but more so the original, was how close they came so many times to getting the help they needed. And if it wasn't for incompetency, they could have been okay. Um, maybe if one other person had uh tried making a move, then maybe they would have been okay. And I think that's what it really comes down to for me. Um obviously, you know, I love slasher movies, I love you know, the creepy dude in a mask who's talking people and and kind of represents the monsters that can live inside people. And when you take the mask off and you show the actual monster of the human down the street, it can become less frightening until this movie slaps you and confronts you with the idea of again, you know, these women are going through something horrific, and yet her parents have blissful, a blissful lack of awareness. And I think that is what's was scary to me. But I want to take a second to break down some different approaches that that the remake takes. Obviously, it wasn't a shot-for-shot remake, Alexis, I know you're gonna be happy. How did you guys feel about the original elements that that version put in?

SPEAKER_02 25:42

I really liked the callbacks from the original in the remake. I felt like there was a bunch of little things that were not exactly the same.

SPEAKER_03 25:52

I agree with you, Ryan. I was watching the second one, and it felt like they had taken all of the feedback that was, or like all the criticisms that were made of the original, and they learned from it, used it, and then improved upon it for this for the remake. Uh, so I found that really satisfying to watch because it sort of looked like the original was like a rough draft, and then the remake was almost like the final finished product. Um and it was yeah, it was nice to see the the differences and the changes that were made while still sticking really closely to the original source material.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Yeah, um, I think I'm gonna mention it, but like the odes to the original, even like the small things, like storyline changes a little bit come in the beginning. Um, I think the character development was way better in the second one. Um, but just even things like the small like necklace they used.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

Do you guys think you're gonna watch either of these movies ever again?

SPEAKER_00 26:43

It's like the time I forgot this movie but knew what happened, but had to watch it for the podcast, so probably not. Yeah. That made any sense. I'm thinking no. I appreciate what it what this movie is, but I just the elements that are in here are just it's gonna put you in a mood. It depend if you want to be in that mood, then go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 27:02

Yeah, it's like if you've ever read a good book and like you get through it and you're happy you read it, but like you don't ever need to read it again because it just took you through too much like turmoil and like emotional stress. Like that's how I feel about both of these movies. Like, I'm happy that I've seen them and I I don't really need to see them again. I don't, I don't, it doesn't serve me enough benefit, I think.

SPEAKER_03 27:26

So I'm a little bit different in this regard. Uh Rape Revenge is actually one of my favorite genres when it's done right. So I may actually revisit one or both of these films on purpose.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

It's actually let's maybe my least favorite genre. That was like my teeth thing. Oh my gosh, yeah. It was my argument on teeth. Okay. Yeah. I thought about teeth a lot during this movie.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Some parts of these movies are very satisfying.

SPEAKER_00 27:51

I mean, it was the end was satisfying for sure on this, on both of them. But I it's just I remember certain scenes that I'm like, do I really want to watch this movie and go through that scene again?

SPEAKER_02 28:01

I think for me, there's no I'm not like a revenge satisfaction type of person in life, like in general. And so it doesn't do anything for me. It I'm like, please turn this off. It makes me feel no better that now two people are dead instead of one.

SPEAKER_03 28:15

See, I'm I feel like I'm also like that, where I don't have any like inklings for revenge in my own personal life, but seeing it happen on someone else's behalf or like watching other people get revenge is very satisfying to me.

SPEAKER_02 28:29

Yeah, I don't believe you. I think you're a revengeful person.

SPEAKER_04 28:32

Oh no, I I can't even be bothered enough.

SPEAKER_02 28:35

We both are. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Oh yeah. Alexis leans into it hard and freely admits it. Just own it, Paris.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Oh, I'm in your corner. I'm in your corner.

SPEAKER_03 28:43

Oh, see, I wish I was like a petty, vengeful person, but I just like can't be bothered. Usually I'm just like, well, you're gonna have a miserable life anyway. I don't need to do anything.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

Yeah, that's how I feel about everything all the time.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

I want to read you guys a couple things because I think it's gonna it's gonna speak to what Paris is saying a little bit. When this movie came out in the fall of 72, uh, they protested it a ton, right? And there are people just like wanting this movie to be removed from theaters. And um when the management from one of the uh theaters said, after carefully considering all the circumstances, management has decided to continue to show the movie. This difficult decision was predicated on the following considerations. The film relates to a problem that practically every teenage girl and parent can identify with, yet does not pander to the subject matter. The story does not glorify violence, nor does it glorify the degenerates who perpetrate the violence. We feel the movie is morally redeeming and does deliver an important social message. Did you guys see any uh moral redeeming in that? Yeah, I don't fuck with people.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

I think I get the concept, but uh it's like I think that you're either one or the other type of person in the situation where you like to see movies where people are in realistic situations that suck and then they come through and it's a good story and it's worth watching. Or you're me and it's like not worth the pain of watching it. And so I understand they're definitely I'm totally in agreement with that. They're not glorifying it, they don't make the the evil people seem like they're better than they are, or like there's something admirable about them, they don't seem cool, it's not any of those things, but I still don't want to see it, like it just sucks. It sucks, it sucks.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

I don't want to feel that I feel you because I'm right there with you, I feel the same. I mean, like I I respect it, it's it is what it is, it is not as gross as uh the Hills Have Eyes was for me. Um, but it's definitely not something I ever feel like I need to see unless I have to watch it for this podcast or for the podcast. Or somebody wants to watch it really badly and wants me to be there for that.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

That's and to clarify, I'm also not saying that this movie should have been taken out of theaters because I'm not on that side either. That's a little different, but I'm just saying, like, they're not wrong in their statement about why they chose to keep it, and I think they should keep it, but it just doesn't, it doesn't make me feel better that someone lives at the end. It does make me feel better.

SPEAKER_03 31:14

I think that's fair, Ryan. If you take the the what happens to the antagonists in the end of this movie, if you take that and show it separately, it's like not too impactful. But when you put it in the context of what those antagonists have done and like how truly evil they are as characters, it makes those kind of run-of-the-mill deaths have so much more power and weight to them, which for me makes it worth almost worth uh going through what you have to go through to get to that ending. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 31:46

It's so funny because I don't feel that. I feel like the uh at that point, there's nothing that you can do that it like there's nothing that balances the scales to me. I'm just it just doesn't, that's not how I am. That's not how my brain is. I don't know, but like the the deaths mean less to me based on what they've done because it doesn't make me feel better for the people that they did things to.

SPEAKER_00 32:08

I guess we can all agree to disagree.

SPEAKER_02 32:11

Yeah, it's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 32:13

So a question, Ryan, do you think if a version of this movie existed without the intensity of what you see happen to the girls, do you think, like like you know that it happens, but you don't see it, do you think that's a movie you could be able to rewatch? Less on screen.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

Yeah, I I do think if less of this was drawn out scenes on camera, like you see a lot of stuff going on. Um I'm not saying it's like you know, it's not quite uh a West uh Wes Craven porn, but there's a lot going on that you see, and the the scenes are longer than you want them to be, and they're they hurt they just they suck. So if they were more implied, I think I would want to watch these movies more. Because I actually like I I really liked the second one. I've always thought about it, but I just never want to see the scenes again. So I'd have uh so I don't rewatch it.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

Alright, guys, we need someone out there to make a fan cut for Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

Yeah, please. She should go back and give teeth a slash.

SPEAKER_02 33:18

No, I'm rolling my eyes so hard. That was the most on screen that could possibly be. There was no implication. There was nothing implied. They wrote it. What if it was implied, but it was still revenge? I just but the revenge isn't what makes me happy.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Well, there's definitely gonna be a lot to say as we get to the spoiler section, so let's go ahead and start making our way to our ratings. Uh before we do Alexis, how many people died in the 1972 version?

SPEAKER_00 33:42

The same that died in the 2009 version. Six.

SPEAKER_01 33:46

Oh, look at that. You would expect a remake to up the body count a little bit, but it looks like they stayed true.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

They say true. Uh, there's a little variations in the deaths, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

All right, Ryan, we know that there's gonna be some heavy topics in both of these movies. Please, please let us know. Are any of those heavy topics animal deaths?

SPEAKER_02 34:05

Dude, I'm so happy to tell you that none of them are animal deaths, because I I genuinely don't think we could have handled it. Neither of these movies have. There's there's one mention of an animal death, but nothing on screen, nothing to worry about.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

Excellent. So at the end of the day, folks, in all this darkness and torture, at least no animals die on screen. That's your silver lining. Let's go ahead and get into the ratings. The last house on the left from 1972. Was it a hack or was it a slash?

SPEAKER_00 34:33

I guess I'll go first, and I'm gonna disappoint everyone and give this a hack. It just so grainy. I think there was a piece of hair in the film.

SPEAKER_05 34:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 34:42

Okay, there was. It was a little inchworm going, which I could care less about. Let's talk about that. But it was just weird watching this, and maybe that was the intention um of Wes Craven, of the whole team to do this to make you feel like this weird, trippy vibe. Uh, then you have the two cahoots, uh, cops, and none of this just made sense to me and just made me feel really weird. Um, I wasn't sure whether I needed to be shocked, upset, laughing, crying. Like I just wasn't sure. And to me, it just left me kind of jumbled. Um, also, I just think the character development in this compared a standalone, it's okay, but compared to its predecessor, I think they could have done a lot more character development, and it probably had me more emotionally invested than I was. So for that, it's getting a hack.

SPEAKER_02 35:32

Yeah. Um, I'm gonna have to say the same thing. It's it's a hack for me. This movie I I've said on this podcast many times, it is so hard for me to connect to a 1970s movie that applies to like a few different decades, but like older movies, and I don't know if it's because of the acting and writing and filmmaking, or if it's literally just because I can't connect to those times because times were different. I I don't know which one it is, but it's so rare that I see a character in a 70s movie and I like feel any connection to them. Like, especially the way they came out the gate with this family and the boob conversation, and like it was so uncomfortable. So then from there on, I'm just like, like these girls walking through the woods. I'm like, their dialogue is weird, everything that they do is weird. The the goofy cops that I don't even really want to talk about how much I hated that. Like, it there is this like I feel like all these old movies are trying to put in this comedic element, and I don't understand why that that would fit with the the heavy parts of this movie, and it doesn't lighten it, it just makes you confuse and makes you feel weird about it. I don't know. I think there's a lot to say, but this movie is a a a total hack for me. Like, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to see it for the sake of seeing it, but it's not very enjoyable to watch to me. And maybe you don't see the gravity of these situations the same way I do, and so you wouldn't care. But even then, I feel like it's every part of it is just like, what are you what what are these people doing right now? Where are we at? Where are we?

SPEAKER_03 37:13

I agree. This movie is a hack. On paper, the rape revenge genre, like I've said, it really can be done very well. Um, but I think part of what determines that is the ratio of rape to revenge. In the original, it was, and I actually check the time step, it was almost completely over before we actually got into the revenge segment of the film. So you spend an uncomfortably long amount of time watching these characters really suffer through a litany of like horrible things that could happen to these girls. Only for a little bit of payoff at the end. So for me, it was not it wasn't nearly as satisfying as what it could have been had the ratio been skewed a little bit. So I'm gonna give this movie a hack. Now I will say the one thing I think it did better than the remake is the main antagonist Krug. I feel like the actor that played him was more compelling and much hotter than the actor that played that character in the 2009 version. So shout out to that guy, uh, if he's still alive. Interesting. He really sold that character to me, and I was afraid of him and a little bit turned on at times. I was like admiring his craft and his bone structure mostly.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

Oh my gosh. I like the hair. The hair was cool. I'll go for that.

SPEAKER_01 38:28

We got Krug and Brahms. Alright, we're gonna start keeping the scorebook. Please, let's do.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Oh god.

SPEAKER_01 38:35

We need Paris' top eight. At the end of our end of your recap is gonna be top hotties that uh Paris identified.

SPEAKER_03 38:42

Oh, damn. Okay. I think I can work on that.

SPEAKER_01 38:44

So this movie is very difficult to watch. It's one that I avoided very, very intentionally for very many years. It has a lot of subject matter that I'm not okay with. And, you know, like I said, the hills have eyes, that's all that wants, backed away from it. Teeth showed, you know, rape on screen, backed away from it, couldn't do anything in his in in its power to redeem it. But I will say that this movie is full of subtext. It's full of it's rich with context. And at the end of the day, the weird cutting moments that you guys see felt to me more like exhibit A of how times were changing and how things can be happening in people's lives while the darkest day is happening for someone else, and nobody has any idea what's going on. And it shows how harrowing it is that two cops incompetence can cost someone or people their lives, and it shows that you know you can be a moment away from your home and still no one's coming there to get you. And that is the most heartbreaking thing to me. And I felt so many things are in this movie, notably heavy, but really at the end of the day, this movie is about revenge, and really it's about the revenge that maybe we want to take on the monsters that were rising at the time that this movie was made. And I think you can't ignore the historical significance of this movie, and it's shot really well. It's shot in like this really cool gorilla documentary filmmaking kind of way. Uh, the film grain, I personally love it. There was better film stock as years went on, but this is this predates Texas Chainshall Massacre. This predates my favorite slasher, Halloween and Black Christmas. This was a solid entry and an incredible film debut. 1972 is a 100% a slosh.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Oh god bless. Can I say that is so on brand for you because you love some context for a movie? That's what makes you love this movie. It's the context, it's not the actual movie.

SPEAKER_01 40:42

The reason why that is so important to this movie is because it shows the fine line that filmmakers walk when they choose to depict something like rape on screen. So, like the young girl who played Mary fucking terrified and felt harassed because the guy who played uh Krug was super method, and Wes Craven had to console her in between takes and he can coax her back into coming to the performance. It shows the the level of care. And I think the end product you see is something that makes you feel uncomfortable, but it did its job, it didn't make you laugh at it.

SPEAKER_02 41:17

All I'm saying is you're on brand.

SPEAKER_01 41:20

As always. Now it's 2009 remake. We'll go ahead and switch gears and get into rating that. Uh, I have some mixed feelings, so I'd love to hear from you guys. Last house on the left, 2009. Was it a hack or a slash? 2009.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

This one's a total slash for me. I think the 2009 film is everything that I wanted the prior one to be, with still some of that weight, still some of those really intense moments, still that revenge, if that's what you want. But I feel like it was done so much better. I feel like they didn't exploit these young women in the same way. And and it, I mean, a lot of my feelings about these movies weigh on those two things. Didn't have the silly comedy. I think they called back to the original movie really nicely without going line for line. I think there was a lot of things that they improved that were better in this movie. And it's definitely not my favorite scary movie because of the feeling that it has when you watch it. But I think The Last House and Left 2009 is a slash.

SPEAKER_00 42:19

Well done. Good explanation. Okay, I know previously I'm probably gonna be get some criticism for this, but um, mostly when I've watched movies, I'm like, okay, what's the rewatch value? If I'll watch it again, I'll give it a slash. I think this one's a little bit different. The only reason I wouldn't watch it again is because of such a graphic scene that's like straight head on. There was the Netflix show that they did with a girl committing suicide, and they did something where they purposely focused on that scene. And to me, that ruined my month, I'm pretty sure. It's just because it just gives you this horrible feeling. Um, besides that, I think they developed the characters so well in this. What helps me is that there's character development to balance this horrific kind of atmosphere. So I'm like, okay, wow, I see this whole portrayal of this family. Like, I understand what the parents are going through. I actually feel kind of the rage that's coming from their family that I didn't get from um the 1972 version. Um, hell, I love the freaking gore and I love the revenge gore in this, and I can't wait to talk about it. So even if it was just that, I'm gonna give it a slash.

SPEAKER_03 43:34

Okay, so you guys kind of already took all my good points. Uh, this movie, the 2009 version, is a slash from me. Uh, like you said, Ryan, it feels like it took all of the missteps of the original and improved upon them or eliminated them in a way that didn't change the source material in too much for me. So it ended up being a more compelling story. I was actually more scared. For the second movie, um, partially because of the performances from all the actors. In the original, I felt like the actors were a little bit uh stiff or kind of awkward, and that might just be because it was an older film and acting was very different back then, but I found all of these characters, both the antagonist and the protagonist, to be much more compelling and relatable, especially when it comes to like the protagonist, like the whole family. Um, I also felt like a lot of the same scenes that were replicated were done so much more artfully and with a careful nurturing hand almost than in the original. And then finally, it was just the element of the it was just the element of how much pain you have to go through to get your so to say reward, which is the revenge, and they handled that in a much more palatable ratio, so to say, in the 2009 version, in my opinion, where the original had maybe like 75% rape, 25% revenge, the remake had about maybe 40% rape, 60% revenge, which made it a much more easy-to-watch film, in my opinion. So it gets a slash, and I would probably watch this one again.

SPEAKER_01 45:18

So the the 2009 remake does a lot of things right. As you said, it does balance that ratio really, really well. It was also produced by Wes Craven, so the same, you know, the originator of this content had a hand in a similar way that John Carpenter did as he came back for uh the 2018 Halloween, right? There were some interesting decisions made, like the way they approached Krug as a character and some of the subtle differences that they make with you know getting an actor who's super likable and really charismatic and charming to play a character of that kind of range. It's a little bit bizarre, but really effective. In the end, though, I just feel like so many of the characters are actually way more hollow compared to uh what we see in the original. 100%. Paige is the stand-in for Phyllis, didn't really care for the mom, didn't really care for her. While I appreciated the dad a little bit more in this movie, this movie it doesn't do it, doesn't make a lot of missteps, it's just not quite the same. And I think that's what's disappointing about it. We're gonna get to a lot of reasons why in the spoiler section. Don't worry, this movie still gets a slash, but it is legitimately the softest slash I've ever given on this show. What just happened here?

SPEAKER_05 46:31

We need to talk about it what is this?

SPEAKER_01 46:33

It is the softest slash because here's the thing this movie, so the rape scene in the second movie felt way longer to me than the first one. Felt way longer, like runtime.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

Much more gratuitous, in my opinion, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 46:46

And then the rest of the movie, while the ratio was better in terms of like spending more time in the house, uh, the rest of the movie so felt so stilted and hollow that it didn't make that lengthier runtime feel worthwhile. There it is. There it is, but there you have it, folks. Uh, I was the only person out of four tonight who gave the 1972 version of The Last House on the left a slash, uh, three of them ready to hack. While the 2009 remake got a semi-unanimous uh universal slash. Now, we do have a lot to get to. There's a lot of things to unpack, especially since there are so many uh intricacies that go into kind of the themes and messaging of these films. So uh they're both available for rent anywhere you can find them. Uh so check them out and join us in the second half of this episode. We'll see you in a bit.

SPEAKER_03 47:41

Are you lonely? Do you need a friend? Have you recently escaped from prison and require a band of followers with undying loyalty? Come on down to Krugen Co. We have a wide variety of hardworking henchmen who will carry out your most criminal of commands. Selling drugs? No problem. Torturing and tormenting teenagers? Sure. Suicide? Without question. Krugen Co. You've got a friend in Wii.

SPEAKER_01 48:11

Alright, welcome back. The 1972 version and 2009 version of The Last House on the Left got very different results despite being so iconic. Three panelists did give the original film a hack. Uh, I was the only one to give it a slash. Typical. Uh, and then the 2009 remake barely got a unanimous slash, so there we have it. Now, before we get into why these scores shook out the way they did, Alexis, what's up with the gore score for the 1972 version? There was no gore.

SPEAKER_00 48:39

No, I'm kidding. There was plenty. There was still a lot of gore.

SPEAKER_03 48:43

You're not kidding.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

There was still a lot. There are there was a lot of blood being slaughtered in this movie. You know, I think when I think of gore, you know, I just think of blood, guts, like all this sort of stuff. But this like is like a very sadistic, gory torture like film. Um more in the 2009 version than the 1972 version, but this one definitely for sure. I think what really comes to mind um is that first scene um or the first kill that you have with Phyllis, and they're just stabbing her everywhere. And I'm like, oh my god, these people are freaking nuts. In the back, like, I mean, you can hear the crunching, you can hear all this, and on top of that, then they cut her hand off and show the hand to her friend. Like, that is just like I mean, just the brutality in this is just crazy. Like, I'm focusing more on that than I would ever the gore and the blood and guts than anything.

SPEAKER_01 49:33

What about when they were picking at her intestines from her stomach?

SPEAKER_00 49:36

No.

SPEAKER_03 49:37

That was cute.

SPEAKER_02 49:38

It was like, I thought that I missed something because that happened for uh one second and then didn't go back to that at any point. It was just like this random detail that was so intense.

SPEAKER_00 49:51

Like I forgot it.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

It was like maybe a little too much, didn't relate to like other things, I feel like.

SPEAKER_01 49:56

So that shot was originally maybe way longer, but they actually trimmed it down. But the way that was supposed to play out, you guys remember how like they kind of stopped after a while, like once what happens to Mary happens to Mary, and then Crew kind of just looks at her, and then Sadie's kind of like wiping her hands on her pants. Yeah, but he's kind of like uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_03 50:16

Yeah, that was very weird to me.

SPEAKER_01 50:18

Right. So it's supposed to be like this little flicker of like they're really realizing the emotional gravity of what has just happened, like this entire day. But that with the intestines, that was what that original scene was supposed to be. Sadie was supposed to be playing with her intestines, and they're supposed to be like, oh shit, what did we just do? Like, like almost snapping them out of it. But I was happy that they kind of kept it down. That would have felt like some saw level shit in terms of gore.

SPEAKER_00 50:43

Yeah, and a little too much. Like they're more, I mean, I get these people are crazy, but they're just brutal, like crazy people, but they're not like that crazy. That brings it to another level, and it's kind of like an imagin, not I mean, I know there's people that do that, but like that's just like another, like different level.

SPEAKER_02 51:00

And also from like uh, you know, anatomy perspective, not very easy to get to people's intestines. Just want to say there's a lot of things in between, some stabs and some intestines.

SPEAKER_01 51:08

I was watching this movie, eagerly awaiting your medical expertise.

SPEAKER_02 51:12

Yeah, my medical expertise is uh you have to slice a lot to get to intestines, and there was no need for it in this movie.

SPEAKER_03 51:20

I felt like this one could have used more gore, honestly. The brutality and how violent it all was. It felt like there was not an adequate amount of bloodshed to kind of warrant all the things that happened.

SPEAKER_02 51:32

Are you guys forgetting the chainsaw?

SPEAKER_00 51:34

I'm gonna talk about the chainsaw because this guy was like didn't I felt like I was in a haunted house and I've never really even been to a haunted house. But if they yeah, I'm gonna jab at you. I'm gonna jab at you. I'm gonna come back to you.

SPEAKER_03 51:46

Yeah, his technique left a lot to be desired.

SPEAKER_01 51:48

He's also an old ass man, so whatever. Like I'm okay with it.

SPEAKER_02 51:52

It looked really funny. Would you prefer like a slicing method over a jabbing method? Is that what you wanted?

SPEAKER_00 51:58

I want a like a shing, shing. Like, I mean, I have to admit, when I heard that chainsaw, I like about died. I was like, oh shit, things are getting real.

SPEAKER_01 52:07

You wanted the leatherface method, and let me remind you that Leatherface was doing that shit and he cut his own fucking thigh.

SPEAKER_02 52:14

Also, accidents happen. During the chainsaw part, I was just staring at it, realizing that part of the scenes were not a running chainsaw and part of them were a running chainsaw because I'm an annoying human in that way. I'm just staring at it like uh chainsaw's not a one. It's okay, nothing scary here. 70s effects.

SPEAKER_00 52:30

Yeah. How did you feel about the difference between the son being kill, um killing himself in the first one, and then um the the way it plays out in the second one, which it doesn't happen.

SPEAKER_03 52:42

Honestly, I actually would count the son's suicide in the original movie as my favorite death of all of well, of the original. Um, mostly because the actor that played Krug would like that was his like peak, the peak of his performance was telling the son to kill himself. Like he really sold that, and I was like, that was the one moment in the movie where I was like completely still and like paralyzed. I was like, oh shit, he really wants his son to kill himself. Fuck.

SPEAKER_02 53:07

Totally agree with that.

SPEAKER_03 53:09

Yeah, so I was like, this actor is really committing to this role, and like you said, Chris, I could definitely tell that he was going for like a method approach because it was very convincing in how like you could see the veins bulging out of his neck, and he just kept repeating the same line over and over again, and it was just like more chilling every time he did it. And then the son was just like, Yeah, I should probably fucking kill myself. And I was like, Oh, well, he did that.

SPEAKER_02 53:29

It also made a lot of sense for the things that the kid was involved in, and like that level of control that his that they had over him or his dad had over him, it made a lot of sense there for that to happen. I think the forgiveness in the second one in the 2009 version didn't really make sense to me. Like saving him, bringing on the boat with it with them. I I get that he revealed to them who they were and he helped save them and everything like that. But the forgiveness just didn't quite work with the way they hurt everyone else so intensely.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

Is it necessarily that he was forgiven and not so much that he didn't actively participate and maybe they're just gonna turn him into the cops to not just show that they were the crazy murderers? But what do they know?

SPEAKER_02 54:10

He's with the people that killed their daughter.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

But her the daughter has gained consciousness now.

SPEAKER_03 54:14

Yeah, I feel like it was implied that the daughter was like, oh, he actually helped me, or like he didn't do anything. Don't kill him. She didn't actually say that, but I felt like that was that message was conveyed. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 54:25

Yeah. I also just don't trust his face since he was also in the town of the dreaded sundown.

SPEAKER_02 54:30

So true.

SPEAKER_03 54:31

Oh, I hated his face for sure.

SPEAKER_00 54:33

With the pair, like that's crazy that you mentioned that because I think there I have a favorite death that's like super gory, because clearly that's me, gotta stay on brand. But then I also have one that was super impactful, and I really do think it is a son from the first one because you get like you just see this struggle with him, and I honestly think, at least from watching it and watching a whole bunch of like, you know, um, bad guy, good guy sort of movies, sometimes they focus on the protagonist throughout the entire movie, sometimes they switch um in the first one, which is probably I just felt like they focused on him a lot, and it was kind of like not through his eyes necessarily, but it was his struggle throughout the movie, which I was like, this has nothing to do with him, but that's where I felt a little disconnect. Um, but I do think it was super cool that like I mean, not cool, that sounds really weird, but it was just very impactful to see how much control this dad had over his son, and then I don't just see that all that happened. You see him going with through withdrawals, and like what would you like how far can these guys go? Clearly, they don't care about other people, and clearly he doesn't even care about his son either. He's super brutal. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:43

I hate I hate that I'm about to say this, uh, but my favorite death that didn't feel super hokey. Uh I don't know, I feel like Weasel's death uh was a little like uh it was a very teeth moment, so I was I was okay with passing on that. Uh Sadie's death was just kind of very sudden. I love the grapple between uh her and the mother. And Krug I kind of wanted to see more of it, but Mary's death, I think, was my favorite and my least favorite just because of how much it hurt, and just seeing her kind of walk out into the water and then seeing like the way they shoot from below and they show Krug just watching her and then raise the gun again, and you know that he's gonna just finish her off. That was just devastating, but it was also just the most impactful. Alexis, please take us through the gore score for the 2009 version.

SPEAKER_00 56:36

Let me tell you. It starts off really great. You know, there's two, um, the difference of the kills from the second one, um, from the first to the second one would be so there's still six, which there's two cops killed in the beginning. And I think this is it's a cool part, I think it has in the beginning because it's not just you're hearing through some sort of the radio, the radio, how oh my gosh, these they're crazy. This, that, you know, especially news media today. You don't really listen to it. But uh y'all listening to it for that coronavirus though. Oh, I'd be listening to Facebook on that shit. Someone's great grandma's cousin's sister posting stuff. I'm like, oh shit, did y'all hear? But um just I think you actually full on see. I mean, they're just like, let's ram the car, let's do this. The guy is choking him with a seatbelt, like bare hands with the seatbelt. I mean, you're just like, okay, this guy is he he's brutal, he could care less. He did ask for about his son though, which I appreciate. So it's just crazy. Like, you get a little break, and then you get, you know, Paige, who's brutally stabbed, and there's so much done to her, too. But I think um I could go through every death, but I'm gonna hit you up at my favorite microwave head. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 57:56

I knew you would love it. I knew it would be your favorite.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

Hell yeah, because you I thought it was I was like, what's going on right now? I was like, oh shit. And then let me tell you, that's that's I don't know how I didn't remember this, but Paris remembered this. Yeah, I totally forgot this existed.

SPEAKER_04 58:09

It really stuck with me.

SPEAKER_00 58:11

And I think it really it's so cool because they've wrecked all this havoc, these parents who are the most badass people. And for them, I don't know. I could I could totally see myself, I don't have kids. I mean, I don't know if I'd go that far, but uh that's a little far. But I could totally see it, and the thing is, Krug, you think you're like, okay, well, what's about to happen to him? And he's like, dad gets in the scene. I forgot what he says, but it's pretty crazy in the beginning, and he's strapped down. And I mean, just to see that, I think it's like, okay, perfect. I think that they feel like they got some closure, and I think it was good closure for me too at the end to be like, F that guy, he got what he deserved. Wish he would have suffered a little bit longer, but I don't know what a microwave like feels like on my head. I'm sure it didn't feel great.

SPEAKER_02 58:59

Yeah. To me, I thought it was just so random and so like they used what they had.

SPEAKER_00 59:05

Actually, he wanted he's a doctor, he probably needs some shit we didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 59:09

Yeah, it was just like a random, intense level of like saw that came in to the end, and like it was really wrapped up on the boat. Like that was really that was really the end. And then this was just like, hey, this is for Alexis.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

It was made for me. It's like a post-credit scene. Yeah, it really is.

SPEAKER_03 59:27

I actually think it might have been a post-credit scene. It felt like it when I was watching it, I was like, Oh, is does the scene I'm thinking of happen after the credits? But it's actually not as random as you guys might think. And this is something I noticed right at the very beginning because I was thinking about this scene going into it. Um, but when they're giving the like the backstory for the parents and it shows the dad in the hospital, he has like a quick throwaway line where he's just like at his job and he says, Where's that head CT I ordered? And then it just like cuts away.

SPEAKER_02 59:52

Oh Lord.

SPEAKER_03 59:53

And I think that was definitely foreshadowing the the microwave on the head.

SPEAKER_01 59:57

Oh, I hate it even more now. So here's the thing that kill was it was it was interesting, first off. Uh, plus 10 for using the surgeon's skill to paralyze him from the neck down. That was great. Minus five for just the microwave and then barely putting his head in it. I don't know. I almost would have liked the idea of them shuttering up the house for the summer and just like maybe gagging him, leaving him there paralyzed to rot. Maybe I would have liked that better. I think it's because the effects of the microwave, like the head exploding, just looked so like ugh, like it was just much to be desired. I wasn't a fan of it. It must have looked real though, if you were like, ugh. The skin? It does look real. So everything up into the explosion looked fine. But the explosion, I was like, I've seen better.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

You've also seen worse though. That uh how'd you guys how'd you guys feel about that nose getting sewn up? Oh my gosh, that was crazy too. I have that in my notes. And then they keep showing it and showing it and showing it.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:59

I was like, all right, I get it. And then he squeezes it. It's a great, great, just it's like one of those things like um House of Wax, the Achilles snip. It's like you feel it and you're just like, oh, and they kept going back to it. I love it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:13

Yeah, and then when he stuck the the hand one in there, I know someone's gonna bring it up, but that's my like super scared of when I put my hand down, like I'm like something sucked down there and unplug everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:26

Yeah, the disposal. I thought that was like a good callback to the chainsaw. That's how I saw that. Like, I thought that was like, hey, we're not gonna use a chainsaw here again, but we're gonna stick his hand on the dish disposal, which I it it's just the scariest thing ever, I think. We'll give you something else motorized.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:42

That was very nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:43

Yeah, we'll give you some more motorized blades.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:45

What made me really upset when they were showing the nose scene when he's originally like stitching it up is when the power goes out, the dad leaves the needle like mid-stitch in the guy's nose.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:55

Why not?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:55

And I was like, if this was me, you would not be leaving that needle in my face. You would pull it out or I would pull it out. We're not just gonna be like, oh, go switch over the circuit breaker and I'll just keep this needle in my face. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:07

If you consider the alternative, if you're mid-stitch and you pull it out, it's just gonna hang by the thread from your skin.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:15

Ooh, that weight.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:17

Yeah, but like the thread is like thinner, it's not all stretched with that needle hanging from it.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:22

Just just just think about it.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:24

Yeah, well, you can you can hold the needle. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:28

I don't want to think about it. I hate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:30

I just I'm getting chills up and down my spine thinking about needles and sewing.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:35

I was actually thinking, I was like, if this happened to me, I'd be like, don't even sew it up, just let it heal on its own. I'm not gonna let you stab my face more times than necessary.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:42

So, Paris, what was the microwave kill your favorite kill in that movie?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:46

Actually, no, not even like top five. Wow. I guess it was just the most memorable.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:50

Not even not even your top five out of six. So it was your number six kill.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:54

No, yeah, yeah, I'll stand by that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:56

All right.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:56

Because there were a lot of really good kills in this movie. But my favorite for the 2009 was actually Mary's death, even though she didn't actually die. But I felt like her death scene was shot so beautifully, and it felt like it had more weight in the context that it had in the remake than it did in the original. Like you said, Chris, in the original, there's like this weird moment after she's raped where everyone is kind of like thinking about what they've done and like showing remorse for the first time, which I thought was very bizarre. It was like, oh, now you feel bad about all the insane things you've done to these girls. Like it was very strange. And then they just like let her slowly walk away and then follow her. Uh it was, it didn't make any sense to me at all. But in the 2009 version, she kind of like slowly gets up, kind of says something to get their attention, and then bashes them with the rock to create a distraction, and then runs away in a much more natural turn of events, in my opinion. And then you kind of get to see her do her thing because she's a swimmer and she starts swimming away, and you're like, Oh, she's gonna get away. This is fantastic. And then he shoots her, the blood splatters out, which I thought was very beautiful. And then when they show the wide of her just bleeding out in the water, I thought that was like a gorgeous shot. That and then the shot before where it showed her hand like floating there as the rain started to come in. I thought that was very morbid, very beautifully done, um, and gets my vote for best kill of the movies.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:16

Paris, have you seen Crawl?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:18

No, but I planned to.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:20

This was the moment, this was the apex predator moment of our dreams, okay? That's all I could think about when she was swimming. It you have to see the movie to understand it. Listeners, if you've seen our if you've seen the movie and heard our episode on it, it's such an apex predator moment. And I was like, where's Chris? I know she's thinking about this right now.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Give me a white girl swimming somewhere, apex predator. Yeah, anytime, no matter what. Also, she really looked like Misha Barton in some moments.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:47

Wait, this wasn't Misha Barton?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:49

No. I don't even know who Misha Barton is.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:51

Are you gonna say that the mom wasn't Lana Del Rey?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

No, no, no, she definitely wasn't. So I think my favorite kill has to be uh the first one, Francis. The intensity and the tag teaming of the mom and dad. There was that moment where, like, you know, she comes in and she bases bashes him on the head after he realizes Mary's there on the table, but then she's kind of run out of sorts, and there's that moment where the father walks in and puts his hands out and helps her up, and I just got for some reason Bonnie and Clyde vibes.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:28

Yes, I know exactly the shit you're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:30

Like, I could see a different movie of them just fucking shit up.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:33

Cause you see just like a silhouette step into the frame and you're like, oh fuck, who's that? And then you see the hand reach out and you're like, oh, they're in it together. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:40

I'm gonna have to agree. That is also my favorite kill of this movie. I think that scene versus the same it wasn't a kill in the first in the original, but that same character and the the situation that happens with the mother in the uh 70s version versus the 2009 version, it's So much better in the kitchen with the dish disposal. Drown them in some dirty dishwasher, stick that hand, you know, crunch it up. That was so much better. Every minute of that was yeah, axed to the head. It was all so good. Versus the the original where we get a bitten off dick and it was insane. Nobody needed that. Nobody wanted that. Nobody asked me.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:23

I did not understand how he died from that.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:25

I have a is it a good or no, it's a terrible gag reflex, right? I think that's what it is. If I like brush my teeth too far back, I throw up immediately. I can't imagine the logistics of how she was able to pull that off.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:39

Literally, it was just like, first off, well, you wouldn't have to worry about the toothbrush because it was tiny.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:45

Yeah, little. But to just to go okay, to act like you're into somebody, right? To to to lead them on, to get them to do what what you're taking them where you need to take them to to attack them, whatever. He's done a lot of terrible things. I get it. I'm talking about specifically in the context of this movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:01

Okay, because that's like you act like you're a pro at this point. No, no, no. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:05

I'm saying, like, for her for the mom to be like, look, you know, pretending like she's into him and all of that, cool, I get it. Take him out back. You've always wanted somebody to do you with their hands tied behind their back. Cool. The quotes from that were hilarious. Yeah, it was just ridiculous. And then to go through with that in particular act and then get to the end and bite it off, first off. Don't think that's how flesh works. Get to the end. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the part I'm like, I would have been biting that way before. Here's my question. Did they discuss this as a couple beforehand? Like, does she know this is something that she has permission to do? Like her husband's not gonna be upset. Like, did they have a house meeting, right? Did they have a family meeting one night in the living room? Hey, if there's ever an intruder, emergency preparedness plan. Yeah, this is their emergency preparedness plan. She's out here chomping things off. Is this what they planned for? She wasn't concerned.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:02

Honestly, Ryan.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:03

Honestly, he was pointing out his daughter's nips, so they're probably a lot closer than you think. They're probably very open-minded and progressive. You're probably right.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:10

But I'm just saying, why did it go there? I don't understand why. Just like I didn't understand the intestines thing. Why did it go there? It didn't need to go there. We could have just stabbed him. There's so many things. His hands were tied behind his back. Anyway, that's my that's my hill to die on there.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:26

For me, I honestly, Ryan, don't think that they talked about this beforehand, and I don't think they talked about it after either. They probably like read the police report in front of the couple, and they were like, Oh, and then this guy had his dick bitten off. And the husband was like, Wait, what? What did you do?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:40

I think she really had a like a great time with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:42

Yeah. I think she went rogue. She was like, you know, I really have always wanted to do this. Um, because she did not have to get him to the point of almost completion. Like she could have just got it in her mouth and bit it off if that was the plan, but she like put some time into it. So I think she wasn't too mad about what was going on.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:00

And very good time, might I say. Yeah. Her timing was impeccable. We could have thrown him in the lake, dude. He was tied up.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:07

He tied himself up, basically.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:09

Yeah, but you could you could have swam.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:10

I'm just saying there's a lot of things that could have happened. Uh a head smash into the one of the one of the pieces of wood. Anything. There's so many things. There's so many things. This did not need to be the thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:22

It did not, but it was.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:24

Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:25

I think the worst part of all that. Well, I guess not necessarily the worst part. It was the cringiest part, but also the most hilarious. Baby, believe me. I can literally do that. I am so super. It just gave me like this really seedy, like old school porn vibe. Wasn't a fan of it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:46

Such a douche. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:48

But also perfectly in character for him. Yeah. I guess it's kind of like, why is sex the downfall of so many men in movies? It's kind of like the villain who just can't help themselves from monologuing in front of the good guy while the good guy ends up escaping. That's what that felt like to me. Aside from these deaths, aside from all this violence, aside from all this gore. Do you guys have a favorite moment that stood out to you aside from that?

SPEAKER_03 1:10:13

Beyond not Misha Barton's death, the scene where and it's the sequence, I guess, where the parents hear the rocking chair on the porch, and you're like, oh, it's just the wind blowing the rocking chair, but then you're like, no, wait, it's not the wind, it's the daughter. And then them kind of piecing together everything that actually is going on, like with the mom in the kitchen and she sees the necklace, realizes that the culprit of whoever put her daughter in this state is in the house next door, in the guest house. And then the dad on his examination, realizing that the daughter had been raped, and then the two of them like coming together and being like, She was raped, and it was done by the people that we just had in our home. The performances by those two actors really made me feel like they were actually the parents in the situation. And I felt like that really sold the rest of the film to me because it was so believable that this is how parents would react given such an absurd situation being thrown in their lap.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:08

I'll agree with that. Uh one really good moment from there was when he's trying to console her, and they're talking about how like mommy and daddy are here, and just imagining the also like the pain that she must be in, but also the sense of relief she must have somewhere deep inside of her the know that like she's with her parents now.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:26

Yeah, I can totally imagine because I was super relieved when they finally found her, and I was like, okay, cool. And then once the action started from the parents, I was like, Yeah, they're gonna kick their ass. That's how this movie's gonna go.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:38

I think for me visually, Paris already kind of spoke on this. The shot where Mary gets shot in the water as she's swimming away with like the blood squirting up and everything, it was just so good. Like, I think her whole scene there with like escaping through the water, swimming, they definitely looked like completely lost trying to shoot at her from the water, I mean from the edge of the water. I just thought that was so good. And the the blood spatter there was magnificent. And the equivalent scene in the previous version was so unsatisfying, like it was just like a floating body. I thought actually she was pretending that she got shot and she was gonna float away in the river, and I thought she was fine. And it it wasn't, it didn't give me that that hit that I needed, and this in the 2009, it was it was there for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:27

Completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:28

There is but one satisfying moment that I had, and it was really just a collection of moments. Did anyone realize in the original it's not actually the house on the left? And that whenever anybody approaches it, the house is always on their right-hand side. I had questions.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:44

I was I I thought I was being too skeptical or something.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:47

Yeah, no, it wasn't even a house on the left. I don't I don't I don't get it. Maybe there were some other shots where it's a dead end road and it is actually like on the left from a certain point of view, but I appreciated that most of the time they showed it in the sequel in the remake, it actually is the house, the last house on the left. And I'm like, thank god, finally, this logistical nightmare is over. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:11

I mean, if you walk past it and stand and turn around, technically it would go from right to left. I mean, maybe that's what it is. They just still in the wrong end of the street.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:19

But then where do you get the last house on the left? It's like, hey, hey, I'm your Uber driver. Where am I drop your? Oh, last house on the left. Oh, last house on the right, but then you gotta go past it, turn around, and then it'll be the last house when you left. Yeah. I love that.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:35

I mean, then it would be the first house on the left, no?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:38

I mean, yeah, see, it doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it. Very true, very true. Two things that drove me nuts in the remake. First of all, there was a factual error in this movie, and it involves the hotel room uh with Francis. We all know those fucking Nokia phones that are out around that time were indestructible. One little stomp on it, one little toss at a bed at a bathroom wall was not gonna rock those bad boys.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:03

I see flaws. Also, in that same scene, you see like the cops not necessarily being useless, but like you see in a lot of other movies kind of cliche where the scene where someone's yelling out the window, and then there's the cops going by. Like, I'm sick of scenes like that. Like, they're hopeless and they're overdone.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:22

So they are hopeless. I did think that was the only case of like helping so close in that movie and yet so far away that was actually relatable because I mean, obviously, nobody can hear her. You know, like they're behind their panes of glass in their car with their engine running, she's banging on a really thick piece of glass in the back of a hotel that's like one of several rooms. I actually enjoyed that. I didn't like it in the original uh with the cops who are just like, oh, we're not gonna stop to look there. That's not gonna let us find Mary.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:53

The dumbest, I mean, just the most inappropriate scenes in this movie are all the ones with the cops and like the chickens, oh, everything.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:03

Oh, what was that?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:04

First, they are gonna ride on top of the truck, and then they can't stay on top of the truck, and they literally fumble, roll off the front of the truck. It's so goofy. They keep cutting to these scenes where it's like we gotta walk 10 miles. And let me tell you, I called it and knew it was gonna happen. As soon as they were in the car and they ran out of gas, the first thing I said was, This is dumb. This is what I have a problem with in 70s movies. Two cops run out of gas. Are we we don't have any way to gauge our gas? You don't drive this car every day, you don't know how much gas is in it, you didn't know where you were going. Like, that's so silly. And then they just kept going, Oh, we gotta walk 10 miles. I'm like, where are you going? I'm angry.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:43

So many parts of the original movie made zero sense to me, just from like a logical behavioral standpoint. The scene where the son is throwing up in the bathroom and the mom like gets up to investigate, she puts on a full blouse, a floor-length skirt, and heels in the middle of the night to go check on him. Which I was like, what? Who has time? It's the 70s. Yeah, I don't know if it was just the 70s, but selling an ounce of weed for $20 is a ridiculously good price, and I easily would have gone inside that house too.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:13

It was a different time. My second issue with this uh 2009 remake was the unnecessary way they're trying to sh like smash Ben into this storyline. Like they're adding emotional depth and tragedy where there doesn't need to be any additional tragedy.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:31

You don't think that added anything? Like with the mother being like so worried about her going out. Absolutely not. Are you joking? Oh wow, Chris. Oh man, because I've been, you know, there's this, there's something that happens where like if your family goes through something, then like right-I mean, it everyone feels this in some way, I'm sure, but right after everything is so sensitive. It's like you can't do things you used to do all the time because your mom's worried because of something else that happened. Like, that makes so much sense to me, and that also is makes her have all the emotion that she has because she's already lost one kid. So it's like when it comes to killing these guys, they're going to because she's not gonna lose another kid.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:08

I agree. So here's my problem with this: if that was that way, then the dad should have cared a lot more. Uh and should not have been like, here's the keys, here's like $80. That didn't add up to me. Additionally, all the concern and worry. My mom had five kids. I'm the youngest of five kids. That's how my mom talked to me. None of my brothers and sisters died. I'm just saying, seems like a concerned parent, you who shouldn't just be letting their kids run off uh all reckless like.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:32

I don't think so, Chris.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:33

But you should definitely I mean, she's a teenager, she can go out and do stuff, but there's uh and and the mother and father having a different approach to it. Ah, this is so interesting. I thought you would enjoy that line.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:45

That's just not how I grew up. That's not how I grew up. Like the way that sh that she spoke to her daughter to Mary, that is the same level of concern that my mom would have given me if I tried doing that shit. And absolutely calling being worried.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:58

But she was just going uh she was going to see a friend. You can go see a friend. Yeah, sure, go see a friend. We come here every summer, you go see her all the time.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:05

Yeah, but you don't know what's gonna happen. You don't know what's gonna happen leaving your front porch to getting to that friend. You don't know. Oh, this is so interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:13

Deal about her sleeping over too.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:15

Yeah, because they lost a kid. Like, yeah, it's gonna be a big deal. Maybe it's not just about being losing a kid, though. Maybe it's about the fact that it's her daughter and that she's a concerned parent. Ooh. That scene, that dialogue still works without Ben.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:29

Definitely true. But I think there's more weight to it. I'm not saying it's only because of that, but I think there's more weight to it.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:36

Um, Team Ryan here.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:37

This is so interesting. I really, really didn't, I wouldn't have thought this.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:41

The dad's pathetic, like, I'm gonna grab this sailboat and just keep rubbing it. Like, what is unnecessary? It's just trying to pack more.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:49

That part was unnecessary, but I definitely agree with Ryan because the added element of them having already lost a child adds to the justification of their reaction to what's going on. And Ryan's completely right. The two parents show completely different approaches with how they're dealing with their grief. The mom clearly is trying to control everything, but she realizes it's too much, so she's like, uh, you know what? I'm gonna let you have fun, but know that I'm completely worried sick about this because many different reasons. She's a daughter, she's already lost a son, and then the dad's like, you know, life is too short, take this money, go have fun. Like, we can't put all these rules on you when we could lose you at any moment. I feel like it was completely justified. It didn't take anything away adding that dead son. And what it did do for me that was very satisfying is it made the identification of that damn necklace more specific. Because in the original movie, it was a basic ass peace sign necklace that the mom saw and was like, oh, this is my daughter's peace sign necklace from a 25 cent machine. Yeah, exactly. I was like, that was like a common ass necklace. You cannot jump to conclusions based on that basic necklace and then some bloody clothes in a bat in a in a fucking suitcase.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:57

If some people came to your house late at night, you know, asking for help and they had bloody clothes, and then that shows up. I I would be like, all right. Yeah, I think it worked in the first, but it was more successful in the Oh, yeah, something more successful in the second. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:11

They offered them bacon and eggs when their daughter was missing. Their behavior made no sense in the first one.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:15

Oh, they literally were just like, oh man, this is such a tough time. Do you guys want to stay? And like you just you can just kick it in our house. We'll make you breakfast in the morning, I'll get some clothes, I'll put some towels. Yeah. In the sequel, there was at least like a series of events where it was like, Well, I guess with because the power is out or the there's a storm and none of us have a car and blah, blah, blah. I guess you could stay in a separate home here. That made much more sense.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:42

Yes, 100%. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:44

It's also a different time though. Like people are generally more hospitable in certain areas, certain areas and certain times. Like that was a time when people used to not lock their doors at all.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:54

And they learned their lesson.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:55

They kind of noticed it in the beginning when they're sitting at the table eating, and they're like, Okay, these people are alcoholics, they're drinking a lot, like there was like marks on the hands. So I feel like they might have been a little bit aware then.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:08

Can I quickly mention my least favorite part of the original movie?

SPEAKER_01 1:21:12

Go for it.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:13

Logistics or or logic wise, they the parents walked out of the house, walked down the street, and then walked up to their dead daughter. Yes, that made no sense. Out of nowhere. Yeah. Just just just coming out the blue. Didn't like, oh my god, we found her. Not even, we didn't even pretend. We just walked straight to her body. Didn't make any sense. Made me very sad.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:35

Well, that's because the lake was on their property. And she the mom overheard it. And she was like, Yeah, I will dump you in the lake too. It went to the lake.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:43

Yeah, but it's it's nighttime. Like, I mean, I just think as far as making a film goes, you have to at least make it feel like you looked for. Like, I understand it's a movie, you're gonna find them immediately.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:54

They were running through the woods. And all right, so it's also not gonna show us in real time the journey that they go through.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:02

I know, but there has to be some feeling of searching because there wasn't. There was this feeling of like, we're walking to the end of the road, and we walked to the end of the road, now we're at the end of the road, except to their daughter's body, and it was nighttime and there they didn't know where it was.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:17

I wrote it down. I said, Oh, they know exactly where the body is. Because listen, you have three shots to convey either a search and then a discovery of the body, or uh, we know exactly where the body is and we're gonna beeline right to it, and here it is. And they chose the latter, which was jarring to I think most of us.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:34

So I think one of my favorite things, and I know the first one's comical, so it's gonna go along with the first movie or the the 1972 version, and it's gonna be um your dad over there doing the home alone tricks, yeah, who's totally rated our home alone. I mean, they were pretty cool. I was like, damn, that's sorry, he got the light on, and then like, but the thing is when he stood there, he didn't feel electrocuted, it was just like z like I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:02

It was like home alone.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:05

Or okay, he was just funny. That whole thing was he's coming up the steps, and I was getting shining vibes, all sorts of the door through the door. Also, pet peeve of mine is when like when I was a kid, my mom would be telling me to do something while vacuuming, knowing damn sure I couldn't hear over the vacuum. He does the same thing, he's he's literally talking over the chainsaw in this movie, and if it wasn't for the subtitles, I wouldn't know what he was saying. That's so funny.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:35

My joke that I made is that like writers in the 70s were like, Man, you know what would go really good after this rape scene? Some like humor from like the three stooges that we should throw that in there, and it's like, okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:47

Chris, did you feel like it was, or do you feel like it was just like uh a necessary balance that needed to be put in the movie?

SPEAKER_01 1:23:54

Again, I felt like it was the balance in the juxtaposition. I think you needed moments of levity in this to counteract all that heaviness that you got in the woods. Uh the three-stoogiousness of it, I agree. Like I see that and I feel that only uh with the cops. The cops are the cops are an element of goof that I could have done without, quite frankly. But I think everything else in this movie was well warranted and deserved.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:21

Hey, I mean, I think we all could benefit from learning how to like quickly make a tripwire happen in our house just in case something crazy happens because he whipped that together very fast. This is what I'm saying. They had a preparedness plan. They had a family meeting about this because he was ready. He had the tools. I don't know about the shaving cream. That one I'm not sure about, but like the front door. It was very, very effective techniques, small bits of work, a lot of impact.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:45

Yeah, but I don't know. It's just like it wasn't even the through stooges part of that. It was also like the music that they had, especially after, like I was very not that I was in tune to the rape scene, but like I had seen it already in the original. I mean, in the 2009 version. So I was wondering how it was going to be in the original. So I paid a little bit more attention, and it was jarring the music choice that happened after. Yeah, it was like a very light, airy. I'm like, nah, it should be a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:18

I it just didn't get that's they went also for this like almost clown noise as they were stabbing. It was so intense, and I'm not saying this was the negative thing about it. It was just very unique and specific in this movie, the way they use the music.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:35

That's what I was mentioning before the spoiler section, when Phyllis is getting stabbed, and like with each stab, there's like a honk, honk. I was like, what is this? Why did they why did they do this? And Chris, you mentioned the juxtaposition as being like a strength of this film. But one of the moments that like stood out to me the most where that wasn't successful was when the girls are being brutalized in the woods and it keeps cutting back to the parents like making a cake and like, oh man, we fucked it up while this like honky tonk ass like Randy Newman music plays. I was like, what were these choices that were made? And like what was I supposed to feel as a result of these choices? Because I do not know.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:12

If I can speak for Chris really quick, that is supposed to feel that is supposed to convey that feeling of you can be going through the worst thing in your life and everyone else's life is normal and they're not that far away, and they have no idea what is happening to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:25

Would you agree, Chrysler? Yes, that is exactly how that shit goes. Alright, folks, let's go ahead and round things out then with a little bit of a head-to-head matchup. Now, in terms of the 1972 versions versus the 2009, which one do you guys think had the better visuals? I gotta go 2009. 2009.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:43

2009.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:44

Ah, I'm a minority who's a sucker for that film green. I'm going 1972, but I don't blame you because the 2009 was shot well. What about a better story? Hmm.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:52

2009.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:53

Yeah, I think I also go 2009, but I w it's a hair. I'm gonna interrupt this bandwagon real quick. It's definitely 1972 for being the original story. But go ahead, Alex.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:02

I was gonna say it came from 1972, so I guess I'll all have to say that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:08

I mean, the stories are similar, I just prefer the way the 2009 one was done.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:13

The 2009 story was better because the characters were better.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:16

Ugh. No. No! I respectfully disagree. But takes us into the next question. Better performances, 1972 or 2009. 2009, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:29

Easy.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:30

Chris, I love you so much. Yeah. I just need to make sure that you know. I am comfortable standing alone in my comfort of knowing which one the better movie is. They can be good in different ways. Yeah, it's 2009 for me, also.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:44

Except for Krug. Krug, in the older version, was definitely a better actor, in my opinion. This Krug was more, I guess, more realistic, but it was more flat of a performance, whereas you could definitely tell how much effort the actor put into the original performance as Krug.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:00

I actually am split on this. I want to revise my decision here. I prefer the evil group of people in the original, and I prefer the family and the girls and everything in the remake.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:15

I agree with that. I I I I stand with that. Mere compromise for you, okay?

SPEAKER_01 1:28:20

No, you don't have to change your answer for me. It's okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:22

No, no, no. No, that's generally genuinely what I feel.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:25

The girls were way better in the 1972 version, man. Like that iron and steel business, my mom irons and my dad steals, like Phyllis, Phyllis was so much better.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:35

That was funny.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:35

Phyllis was probably better in the original.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:38

But the but Mary and the fam and the parents definitely better in 2009.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:42

Alright, look, I know that the father from the 1972 version may have looked like an older version of the dad from the Brady Bunch. However, they had a nice acute charm about them. And that mother poking through that suitcase and that terror, terrible look in her eye, and she overheard what happened to her daughter. It was heartbreaking stuff. And I preferred him. I preferred him. But there we go. 2009 makes a clean sweep, uh, reigning supreme in the head-to-head competition. Now, y'all ready for some fact or fiction? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:11

No.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Please teach us. Alright, number one. The blood in this film was a mixture of food coloring and corn syrup, as was quoted by Billy in West Craven's 1996 Meta Slasher, Scream. Is that the we're talking about 1972?

SPEAKER_02 1:29:26

We're talking about the original. Okay. I'm gonna go fact to fact.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:30

I've seen Scream about a thousand times, and I'm going to say this is a fact.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:34

So it's fiction. Uh the blood is actually a mixture of red and blue food coloring mixed with caramel syrup, as it was used for the fake blood, because that contrary to most fake blood, like the red coloring and corn syrup, this particular mixture used in this movie looks more real.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:50

Hmm. Hmm.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:52

Alright, next one. Despite the film's disturbing reputation, this is for the 1972 version, Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars, eventually causing him to receive angry letters asking him how he could possibly support a film like this.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:07

I feel like they would not give this movie that sort of rating. So I'm gonna say fiction. I'm gonna go fact because I have no idea.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:14

I'm gonna say fact because that has a lot of backstory to it.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:17

It's a fact. He really enjoyed it. Now, Siscoel did not. Sysco just tore it apart, but Roger Ebert supported it. I think they even said that the 2009 remake was a solid thriller. Nice. For the next one. Uh, this is going to be for the 2009 version. Despite the length that was shown in the film, uh Sarah Paxton, the actress who actually played Mary, revealed that the rape sequence only took two hours to film.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:44

Oof. God, that would be horrible. So horrible. Man, I just want to say fiction. I hope it was shorter. I want to say fiction because I think it was longer.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:53

Um I'm gonna say fact because I feel like they were probably very mindful of how shitty it was gonna be to film. So they were like, let's get this done right, let's get it done the first time if we can, so we don't have to drag this out longer than it needs to be. I would hope so.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:06

Yeah, one would hope so, except nah, it took 17 hours to film. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:11

I hate that so much. Sounds better.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:14

What the hell? Let's go for your next one. Uh, this is going to be for the 1972 version. Wes Craven uh died on August 30th, 2015. This date is also the 43rd anniversary of when the film was released. Fiction. Fiction. Fiction.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:30

Fiction.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:31

That's a fact. Oh gosh. We should have known. Hey, hey, you can't you can't complain. I'm not pulling Mac stuff over here.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:38

Yeah, I was gonna say you're a little bit uh harder to read than Mac. Yeah, very true.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:42

But also more factual.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:45

Next one, Fred J. Lincoln, uh, who actually played Weasel on the 1972 version, has stated multiple on multiple occasions that he regretted doing this film. He actually hates it. Uh, this is in part tied to his upbringing in a Baptist household, and he regrets how ludon lascivious it was. Fact. Fiction.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:05

I'm gonna say fact because he was like the shittiest character in this movie and did not come out looking good.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:10

I just pulled a Mac. So he pulled a Mac. It's fact that he hates it, but it is fiction in the sense that he actually uh does not have a Baptist upbringing. I'm sorry, I just macked you. He was a porn star before and after this film. Oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:23

Ew.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:24

Interesting. He looks like a 70s porno, dude.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:28

I don't want to see him do anything.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:30

One last one here for the 2009 version. At first the film was going to be shot in Westport, Connecticut, the location where the 1972 original was filmed, but the threat of hazardous weather caused the productions to seek another location. Fiction. Fact.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:43

I think fiction.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:44

It's a fact. Ooh. Damn it. Wow. Coming in hot. Sorry, guys. So who fared the best there? Not me. I think I got like 50%.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:53

I got one right, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 1:32:54

Short-term memory, very difficult. Alright, Mac and I are gonna have to conspire better here then. Well, there you have it. The last house on the left uh took an interesting turn, and it was neither left nor right. Only one of us gave it a slash for the 1972 version, while the 2009 remake did get a universal slash. Uh that being said, the 2009 version also made a clean sweep. Well, actually a semi-dirty sweep, uh, in the head-to-head match of performance, uh, story, and visuals. So, sounds like 2009 came out on top, despite that being the era of awful uh slasher remake. So, well done to you guys. Keep in mind that we also want to hear your voice on this. Obviously, the last house on the left is iconic in so many different ways and has a very deep, rich uh cultural history uh in this genre. So there are plenty of ways you can reach out to us, starting with our website www.hackerslash.com, and on our social media accounts, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:54

You can also hit us up on the Hacker Slash Hotline. You can text us, call us, leave us a voicemail, or an audio message. Our number is 757-606-0128.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:03

And if you or someone you know knows what Mac usually says here, hit us up at our email with feedback or hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:10

We'll see you next time. Bye.