Last House in the Woods (DVD)

Everybody loves Texas Chain Saw Massacre so much, it's been remade time and again in different incarnations all over the world. One of the strangest, shocking and most outlandish is definitely Living Hell, out of Japan.

Last House in the Woods is Italy's stab at it, and if you're a fan of outré Mediterranean cinema in any form, you know some of those filmmakers are definitely putting more than just oregano in their spaghetti sauce.

Other reviews of Last House in the Woods keep referring to it as giallo. To me, a giallo is all about the investigation (whether it's the policia, or an obsessed private citizen) of a mystery; a diabolical murderer who, more than likely, is blending into society; and victims who've somehow wronged the killer. There's also an element of beauty, style, and (usually) high-society or city life in classic gialli.

Last House in the Woods has none of that. To me, it's got more in common with the torture-porn genre (the granddaddy of them all: the aforementioned TCM, and Hostel and its ilk). Last House in the Woods is just what it says it is: an isolated home where hapless victims are lured to be viciously tormented and then murdered by a twisted family, then literally devoured. In fact, it reminded me quite a bit of the overrated The Hamiltons (2006).

But I digress. I disagree Last House in the Woods is a giallo, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. It's definitely not going to be on this year's Academy Awards ballot, but it serves its purpose even though the pacing is sometimes maddening slow and erratic.

The story follows two young lovers, Aurora (Daniela Virgilio) and Rino (Daniele Grassetti), who decide to enjoy a little afternoon delight alongside the road while on a drive. No sooner to do they pull over than they are accosted by a group of ruffians who assault them, and may even have intended to kill them, had it not been for an older couple happening by and driving the bad guys off.

Antonio (Rino Diana) and Clara (Santa De Santis) step in, and offer to take Aurora and Rino home with them so they can regroup and call the police. Unfortunately… Antonio and Clara live in… The last house in the woods. And even more unfortunately, they have a young son with a slavering mouthful of piranha-like teeth and a taste for human flesh.

While it's not my favorite milieu, I can't deny that Last House in the Woods is an uncompromising film which seems to convey the singular vision of its director, Gabriele Albanesi, who is paying obvious homage to the above-reference movies and others like I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left and Wrong Turn.

The death scenes are extremely brutal and riddled with vicious cruelty. I found myself catching my breath more than once.

Special Features

• Commentary with director Gabriele Albanesi
• "L'Armadio" short film
• Backstage on The Last House in the Woods: featurette

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson