Review of Celluloid Crime of the Century

Several cast and crew members involved in making the notoriously sick and disturbing '72 horror cult shocker "The Last House on the Left" candidly discuss their participation with this still brutal and upsetting gut-kicker. Writer/director Wes Craven openly acknowledges that he was inspired by Bergman's "Virgin Spring" and made the movie as an angry response to the atrocious violence of the Vietnam war. David Hess brought an incredible energy and conviction to the role of lead psycho Krug Stillo; other cast members state that Hess stayed in character throughout the entire shooting of the movie (of course, Hess also composed the score, which is used in this doc). Porno veteran Fred Lincoln showed the filmmakers how to do all the acts of appalling violence in a believable manner and openly confesses that he doesn't care for the flick (he calls the movie a "piece of s**t"!). Jeramie Rain still looks quite lovely and says she has mixed feelings about the whole thing. Other aspects of the picture that are addressed are how the original script was even more vile and sexually explicit, Craven's shooting the film in a gritty verite documentary newsreel style, the Stillo gang was basically conceived as a severely messed-up anti-family, the difficulty of coming up with an effective title, and the flick's substantial box office success and still considerable controversial reputation. Craven says it best when he points out that the movie's staying power can be attributed to the fact that it doesn't ever flinch in its savage depiction of foul and sadistic violence. Essential viewing for fans of the film.