The Last House on the Left

At a remote lakeside house the Collingwood family hopes for a quiet weekend away from city noise. Their athletic daughter Mari chooses to meet her friend Paige in town rather than stay in with her parents, Emma and John. What begins as a casual outing soon spirals into a terrifying sequence when two strangers named Krug and Francis invade the night, turning a simple evening into chaos. The family must face a night of shocking danger, conflicting loyalties, and quick moral choices as they struggle to shelter each other from a threat that has crossed from the shadows into their home. The film keeps the danger close, a claustrophobic test of trust under pressure that pushes them toward drastic actions.

Dennis Iliadis directs this 2009 remake of Wes Craven’s classic, scripted by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth from Craven’s original concept. Made on a 15 million budget, the film updates the premise for a late 2000s audience without losing nerve.

It earned about 32.7 million worldwide against a 15 million budget, making it solid for a horror remake and showing market interest in this era’s darker takes on familiar material. Roughly a third of the gross came from international markets.

As part of a late 2000s wave of horror remakes, the film sparked discussion about violence and retribution in family sagas. Paxton’s Mari and the moral stakes gave audiences a reference for how carnage intersects with domestic life. The movie also sparked debates about the ethics of remaking a classic.

Critics were mixed, noting the film’s intensity and Paxton’s performance while acknowledging the bleak brutality that underpins the story. The movie probes how fear shapes choices under pressure, and the consequences of revenge for both a family and strangers. It asks whether protection justifies ruthless means without mercy for many.