Evil Dead, It and the 15 greatest horror movie remakes of all-time

14. The Last House on the Left (2009)

The Last House on the Left is a remake of one of Wes Craven’s original films of the same name. In all honesty, I actually enjoyed the 2009 version a little more than the original.

For starters, I’m not a big fan of the rape/revenge sub-genre of horror because more often than not these films are misogynistic. They’re almost exclusively written and directed by men which comes with a certain unpleasant subtext that generally can’t be avoided.

In the 2009 version, Mari’s (played by an exceptional Sara Paxton) rape scene is brutal. It’s difficult to watch. But what I appreciated about the 2009 version over the 1972 film is that Mari felt like a real character and not just a vehicle to carry the plot. Plus, she survives in this one. After everything she’s been through, doesn’t she deserve to?

Many people recall Craven’s film because of its grisly violence but the remake has plenty to appease gorehounds. The climatic kitchen scene at the end of the movie is iconic because of its burst of savageness. The entire film is violent, but the ending is exceptionally so.

The remake is a somber horror movie for the most part. A kitchen showdown complete with parents blasting their daughter’s rapist in a microwave and shoving his hand down a garbage disposal is the movie’s mea culpa and a delightful rush of frenetic energy that makes The Last House on the Left a difficult film to forget about.