The Last House on the Left (2009 film)
"The Last House on the Left" was released on March 13, 2009, to 2,402 theaters, but it was not without its dilemmas with the MPAA ratings board. The biggest setback by the board involved the rape scene. In the original cut of the film, the scene was at least one minute longer, but the board forced the scene to be trimmed if the filmmakers wanted an R-rating. There were other minor aspects trimmed as well, like an extended stabbing sequence with Paige. What shocked Craven was when the MPAA told them that this was a "special" film that did not "need" the extension on those scenes. Craven believed that the MPAA viewed the film more as an artistic horror film, which he sees as both a blessing and a curse. In Craven's experience, once the MPAA becomes focused on certain elements they dislike in horror films that they otherwise like, they become determined to see it removed before release. Regardless of the MPAA's appreciation of the edited version of the film, the DVD and Blu-ray copies of the film, which were released on August 18, 2009, contain both a rated and unrated cut. The DVD sales have brought in approximately $20 million in revenue.
The Last House on the Left (1972 film)
Cunningham served as producer and Craven served as writer and director on the project. Written by Craven in 1971, the original script was intended to be a graphic "hardcore" film, with all actors and crew being committed to filming it as such. However, after shooting began, the decision was made to edit the script into a much softer film. This script, written under the title "Night of Vengeance", has never been released; only a brief glimpse is visible in the featurette "Celluloid Crime of the Century" (a 2003 documentary on the making of the film). The crux of the plot is based on the Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge," which itself was the basis of Ingmar Bergman's "The Virgin Spring" (1960), of which Craven was an admirer. Craven envisioned a film in which the violence would be shown in detail onscreen; he felt that many popular films of the era, such as Westerns, glamorized violence and the "vigilante hero," and gave the public a misleading representation of death in the wake of Vietnam War.