The Last House on Dead End Street

Release Year: 1977

Director: Roger Watkins

Review: This is a film which has grown a bit of a cult following and is notorious for being shocking.  Apparently the entire cast and crew blew almost the entire budget on drugs, and were high for most of the filming.  Now, these types of claims are usually more urban legend than truth, but after watching the film I'd be shocked if they could have made this film without being high.  It's a twisted tale of a low-life ex-con who after failing in the porn industry switches to snuff films.  Determined to make his mark he takes this idea to a disturbing new low and actually carries out the killings and mutilation on innocent victims.  Some of the scenes are pretty graphic and horrific.  It's little wonder why the actors used fake names and the director was unknown for over thirty years.  Now, I'm not going to blow it out of proportion.  There is nothing in it that will shock the most depraved of you out there.  My biggest problem is that its just not scary.  Disturbing, yes, but its not something thats going to make you want to switch the lights on.  Once again the downfall was the plot, or lack thereof.  It was hard to get a grasp on what exactly was happening, and in the end it just kind of ran itself into the ground.  Without a solid story trying everything together its just a montage of disturbing imagery, which doesn't make for great cinema.
Rating: 1.5/5