Hey, You In The Back! - The Last House On The Left

Every Time I Die frontman Keith Buckley answers your burning cinematic questions. Sort of.

“What are your feelings on doing a re-make of the classic horror movie Last House On The Left? Why can’t anyone do an original scary movie anymore?” —KJ, Cleveland, OH

I’m divided on remaking any of the old “realistic tragedies” of the ’70s and ’80s. The reason they had the shock value they did was due—more than partially—to the fact that at the time, the crimes portrayed weren’t as sensationalized by the media as they are today. There’s honestly more horrible content outside our door than in any director’s head. Plus, the obviously low budget and poor film quality made the medium itself equally as disturbing as the message, giving it that “snuff” feel. Without the help of computer-generated effects, the writers had to touch on something more psychologically disturbing and more personal. Kidnapping can happen to anyone, anywhere. Being dragged to hell by a guy with pins in his head, for instance, could not. Unfortunately, the environment in which we first saw these films can’t be duplicated no matter how many remakes they give us. You can’t sleep over at your 11-year-old friend’s house, sneak downstairs after his parents fall asleep and turn on HBO just in time to catch this movie as it starts but then when Real Sex 2 comes on immediately after you pretend you’re asleep so that you can avoid the obvious ethical issues that arise when a grown man’s erection flashes on the screen. Since this is both illegal and morally reprehensible, maybe it’s now up to us to redefine what we consider “horror” in the context of the world we live in. I know that when my friend sent me a YouTube link to a Brokencyde video, I couldn’t watch it all the way through. Tila Tequila’s reality show made me barf in my mouth a little bit, and whenever I see a juggalo at the mall, I have nightmares for weeks. Let’s try to incorporate all of those and I guarantee you’ll have a horror movie with a fresh new look.

Got a question for Keith? Send it to [email protected] and watch  
for an answer in an upcoming issue of AP!