And come its famous final shot, Craven has more than succeeded in showing the juxtaposition between the two families, the hunted now the hunter, the lines between the two blurred almost beyond recognition both in terms of action and character.
But he also brilliantly ensured that the Carter’s came across with their own brand of casual racism and nastiness that was almost acceptable and commonplace back across suburban America in the 70’s, offering a starting point for the familial comparison that may not be as far apart as many may be comfortable with. This mirror imaging of the two families is the real strength of the film, Craven quite brilliantly giving enough screen time and personality to the Jupiter Clan so as to depict them as more than just blank-faced screen villains. A handy exposition drop by a ranting gas station attendant shows how the Jupiter’s were formed from ‘civilised’ man’s own inhumanity and intolerance, a new ‘nuclear’ family being formed in the midst of an actual nuclear testing zone, hinting unsubtly at yet more of man’s advancement, this time technological, having unforeseen and unintended repercussions.
On the surface, it’s a simple survival/siege tale – the very suburban Carter family are driving across the Mojave Desert on their way to their west coast vacation when they stumble across their mirror images amongst the dust bowl of the Sierra Nevada mountains: Papa Jupiter and his brood, hell bent on taking whatever they want from the Carters, be it food, weapons or just them.Īnd while plot-wise that really is it, Craven’s fascination with the thin line between the ‘cultured’ and the ‘savage’ gives the film some much needed depth. But when his friend and producer Peter Locke eventually came along with a commitment to finance another horror film, Craven threw himself into research and came across the legend of Bean and, having recently seen Tobe Hooper’s southern horror masterpiece, blended the two into something that moved away from the unrelenting grimness of Last House… but not too far, given Craven’s fascination with the use of horror to explore facets of the human psyche. Who’d have thought that a 16 th century myth of a Scottish cannibal would provide such rich creative inspiration for Hollywood’s dream and nightmare factory.įrom The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to The Offspring, Sawney Bean and his cannibal brood have birthed many a cinematic tale, with one of the most famous being this 1977 low budget, grindhouse-esque shocker from genre legend Wes Craven.Īfter bursting onto the scene in 1972 with The Last House on the Left, Craven wanted to move away from horror, and in particular the very grimy horror of his debut, but struggled to find financing, instead resorting to making adult films alongside fellow future genre legend Sean S Cunningham.
0 kommentar(er)
