The Last House on the Left (Limited Edition) (4K UHD Review)

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Dennis Iliadis’ The Last House on the Left is a 2009 updating of Wes Craven’s 1972 controversial debut film. Wes Craven and original producer Sean Cunningham are on as producers for this well made and nearly as shocking update.

 Film in the vein of the classic rape revenge horror, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left follows teen Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) on a trip to an idyllic vacation town with her parents. When they arrive, Mari chooses to hang out in town with her friend Paige (Martha MacIsaac) rather than have a quiet night at home with her parents at their lake house. Paige and Mari meet a strange young teenager (Spencer Treat Clark) at the convenience store in which Paige works, and the three teens go to have a night of cannabis smoking and drinking in a motel room. Little do they know that their new acquaintance is connected to the psychopathic escaped convict Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and his group of minions. They kidnap the two girls, drag them into the woods and violently, disgustingly assault them, then leave them for dead. As they flee the scene of unspeakable violence during a torrential storm, they have a car accident. The group inadvertently end up at the lake house of Mari’s parents for assistance – and a real terror begins when they are found out by Paige’s parents.

The Last House on the Left is a shockingly violent film, even by contemporary standards. The scene of the assault in the woods is scaled down in the way the remake of I Spit on Your Grave scaled down its infamous assault scene, but the kills in the rest of the film do not hold back.

There is more to the film than simple visceral violence, however. Iliadis creates an intense atmosphere of terror in the first half and real suspense when we get to the second half of the film. A power outage plunges the home into darkness, a storm rages, thunder crashes, chiaroscuro lighting and juxtaposition of violent outbursts make it one of the scarier films of its era – and bloodiest.

The Video

The Last House on the Left comes to 4K Ultra HD from Arrow Video in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) encodement with HDR10 metadata showing MaxLL 1001 nits and MaxFALL 163 nits. A Blu-ray of the Unrated version is also included.

There is a strange phenomenon going on with this release. I watched both the 4K and Blu-ray Discs (there was no information provided to me from Arrow on the transfer or remastering and/or restoration of either version of the film. The 4K disc looks softer than the Blu-ray disc to my eyes on my LG CX OLED display. The Blu-ray has crisper detail with finer grain density. That said, the granularity on the 4K disc does look natural and the dynamic range is superior to the Blu-ray. Whereas the Blu-ray of the Unrated cut looks brighter overall, but is a bit washed out and flat color-wise. The colors on the 4K disc, thanks to the Dolby Vision grading, are a bit more vibrant. The early scenes where the palette has a warm, amber tone, look even more sunny, but have deeper shadows. When the palette shifts to cooler tones, the blacks get inky. The infamous scenes in the woods show more verdant greens than on the Blu-ray, and the scenes in the house have more ‘pop’ in the specular highlights.

The Audio

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (stereo 2.0 is also included) mix is excellent for this film, with balance and a tight surround bubble. The scenes in the house with the storm going outside provide excellent placement of the sounds of thunder and rain through the surrounds and across the front speakers. The score is dynamic and dialogue clean.

The Supplements

Arrow gives this release a lot of new interviews, commentaries, and the usual premium packaging and extras.

Limited Edition Features:

• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Zoë Rose Smith

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee

DISC ONE – THEATRICAL VERSION (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY):

• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of the original Theatrical Version of the film
• Exclusive new filmed introduction by director Dennis Iliadis (1080p; 00:06:02)
• Brand new audio commentary by David Flint and Adrian Smith
• A River of Blood, a new 31-minute interview with Sara Paxton (1080p; 00:31:27)
• The Notorious Krug, a new 27-minute interview with actor Garret Dillahunt (1080p; 00:27:01)
• Suspending Disbelief, a new 18-minute interview with screenwriter Carl Ellsworth (1080p; 00:18:26)
• Reviving the Legend, a new 33-minute interview with producer Jonathan Craven (1080p; 00:33:06)
• Look Inside Featurette, from the original 2009 release, with Wes Craven, Sean Cunningham, and Dennis Iliadis (1080P; 00:02:41)
• Deleted Scenes (1080P; 00:08:58)
• Theatrical Trailer (1080P; 00:02:25)
• Stills Gallery (1080p)

DISC TWO – UNRATED VERSION (BLU-RAY)

• No Bonus Features

The Final Assessment

This horror film from the 2000’s was much better than I expected and is filled with suspense, thrills, and insane violence. It is an oddity of a release given the overall picture quality (the quality of the transfer itself, grain, natural appearance) seems better, and more detailed on the Blu-ray, but the 4K disc has stronger color reproduction and contrast. Both look good, and the Blu-ray also has the Unrated version. Recommend for horror fans and for spooky season marathons.

The Last House on the Left (Limited Edition) is out on 4K Ultra HD Combo September 12, 2023 from Arrow Video.

• Rating Certificate: R (for sadistic brutal violence including a rape and disturbing images, language, nudity and some drug use) | Unrated
• Studios & Distributors: Rogue Pictures | Scion Films | Crystal Lake Entertainment | Midnight Entertainment | Sean S. Cunningham Films | Arrow Video
• Director: Dennis Iliadis
• Written By: Adam Alleca | Carl Ellsworth | Wes Craven
• Run Time: 110 Mins.
• Street Date: 12 September 2023
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 1001 nits
  • MaxFALL: 163 nits
• Primary Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1
• Secondary Audio: LPCM 2.0 Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH