Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Last House on the Beach (1978)

The Last House on the Beach
With such a similar name, this Italian thriller is obviously trying to capitalize on the success and notoriety of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left.  The story is similar, as well.  It's Italian though, so the nudity is ratcheted up a few notches although the violence is about the same.  What this film does have that Wes Craven's doesn't is Florinda Bolkan, and although she is a bit past her prime by this point, she's still very easy on the eyes...  and an outstanding actress.

The Last House on the Beach is your basic "bad guys hold pretty young girls hostage and terrorize them for a couple of days" story.  Three bank robbers on the run from their latest heist have car trouble and need a place to crash and hide from the police.  They come upon an isolated girls school taught by a nun named Sister Cristina (Florinda Bolkan) and make themselves at home.  One of the bad guys discovers the housekeeper and bitch slaps her until she falls to the ground and then bashes in her head with an iron.  And then the raping begins.  No, not of the dead housekeeper - but Sister Cristina and the virginal girls are violated one by one.  Over several days the depravity escalates until the good nun can take no more.  She sets aside her monastic vows and picks up a gun.

"Why so serious?"
These types of movies always get to me and I find myself at odds with myself.   Throughout the film I would catch myself thinking, "I want to see the boobies but not like this, not like this."  These hostage/rape films just make me squirm and this film is a decent example of this type.  However The Last House on the Beach lacks the emotional impact of The Last House on the Left.  It does have a cinematic style typical of the Italian films of this era that I appreciate and, as I mentioned before, it also has Florinda Bolkan.  So, if you are a fan of her work or of these types of depraved films, The Last House on the Beach is worth watching.  If you just want to see the best example of this type of film, watch Wes Craven's original The Last House on the Left

Violence Rating:  3.5 out of 5
Booby Rating:  3.5 out of 5

The trailer is NSFW because of some brief Florinda Bolkan boobage.  It's also in Italian.



  Last House on the Beach
Get Last House on the Beach
at TLACult.com

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