This is one movie that has escaped me for the main part of my movie collecting career, so when I found the Barrel release at Stockholms no. 1 video store Monkey Beach a while ago, I of course took the chance to see it and judge by myself! I can understand how this film attracts sleaze monglers and people obsessed by very, very regional and cheap horror films of the seventies. The Last House On Dead End Street is a wannabe Taxi Driver before Taxi Driver was made, mixed with a very gritty 42st cinema approach - badly lit and amateurish acting. This of course doesn’t mean it sucks, far from!
This guy, Terry, is terribly bitter after being in prison once again. So he comes out with a rage towards the society which means he decides to make his own snuff movies and yeah, kill people for the real in front of the camera. He gets a small crew and the start to find their victims…
Its not much of a story to talk about, but it’s strangely effective and artistic. We follow Terry’s struggle to make his first real movie mixed with some truly surreal and strange scenes, both in this movie alone and in the movie-in-movie. Somehow it feels like a nice bunch of New York intellectuals trying to make the sleaziest, grittiest exploitation movie they could make - but never scene. This makes The Last House On Dead End Street almost too cynical for its own best. But it keeps it together until the end - until the unnecessary voice over at the very end. There’s some truly impressive shock scenes - all to the wonderful - no! - MASTERFUL score by...a stock music archive. There’s some use of a low-key, brooding opera during one of the kill scenes that alone makes this movie a lot better than it should be.
At the same time it’s just another exploitation movie, a bit fancier version of Michael Findlay’s Snuff. Those two also share the snuff-myth. The Last House On Dead End Street was made with alias for everyone involved, which started rumours that it was a snuff movie. Roger Watkins, who later admitted to be the director, never really knew until 1979 that it got a cinema release - when someone stopped him on the street, recognize him from the movie. And it’s a grim and very cheap film, with lots of unconvincing gore and boobs and asses and everything in-between. Most of it is quite arty, not sexy (which I’m sure is the deliberately) and entertaining. The short running time of 77 minutes is perfect - I can’t even imagine what the rumoured 175 minute version could have delivered (probably more boring scenes) to its audience!
Surprisingly stylish and freaky, The Last House On Dead End Street is a minor exploitation masterpiece. So if you want to see a man giving blow-job to a hoof and a half-naked woman in blackface being whipped by a retarded hunchback, this IS the movie for you.
Good luck.
"Its not much of a story to talk about, but it’s strangely effective and artistic."
I never heard of this one but it does sound like fun.
"The Last House On Dead End Street was made with alias for everyone involved, which started rumours that it was a snuff movie."
Damn.....scary stuff.
"with lots of unconvincing gore and boobs and asses and everything in-between."
Yummy....boobs!
"Surprisingly stylish and freaky, The Last House On Dead End Street is a minor exploitation masterpiece. So if you want to see a man giving blow-job to a hoof and a half-naked woman in blackface being whipped by a retarded hunchback, this IS the movie for you."
hahhahahhahhah.....what the hell.....?
Seeing is believeing......good review and thanks, Fred.
Posted by: Megatron | March 09, 2014 at 00:39