PET SEMATARY, Stephen King, 1989. ph: Abigayle Tarsches / ©Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Stephen King is absolutely incapable of mincing words. If he has an opinion, he’s bound to share it with the masses. He once boldly called Kill Bill: Vol. 1 “dully full of itself.” Though the picture was met with much critical acclaim, King couldn’t see the merit in it and made no bones about his misgivings.

He’s also quick to hand out praise when he feels it’s warranted, though. When King named his favorite films of 2009 for EW, he made no secret of his fondness for the remake of The Last House on the Left, calling it, “the most brilliant remake of the decade.” Funny enough, that complimentary statement actually concludes with a dig at the original.

The full sentence reads: “Easily the most brilliant remake of the decade, and not just because the 1972 original was such a crapfest.”

Ouch. I recognize that the original isn’t for everyone. But I’ve always considered it a powerful effort that lands like a gut punch. It’s so brutal, so unflinching, and so distressing. I think Wes Craven nailed it. I also think that the remake cheapens the story somewhat by opting for a happy ending. King would disagree with me, though. In fact, the final sentence of his write-up on The Last House on the Left remake reads, “This film is on par with The Silence of the Lambs.”

I wish he’d elaborated more on that statement. It’s hard to say for sure why the author draws a parallel to that particular film. I think the majority of critics would probably disagree with that assessment, but it once again proves that King isn’t shy about sharing a controversial opinion. 

This is the plot crunch for The Last House on the Left (1972):

Teenagers Mari (Sandra Cassel) and Phyllis (Lucy Grantham) head to the city for a concert, then afterward go looking for drugs. Instead, they find a gang of escaped convicts who subject them to a night of torture and rape. The gang then kills the girls in the woods, not realizing they’re near Mari’s house. When they pose as salesmen and are taken in by Mari’s mother (Cynthia Carr) and father (Gaylord St. James), it doesn’t take the parents long to figure out their identities and plot revenge.

If that hot take has you curious to revisit Craven’s directorial debut to see if you concur with King’s assessment that the film is “a crapfest,” you can currently catch it streaming on Prime Video.

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