The explicit portrayal of rape in Last House on the Left (2009) is repugnant and coarsening and wrong. Director Dennis Iliadis dwells on the act long past the moment in which we get the point; long past when we have been emotionally affected. The scene quickly becomes exploitation.
This poison goes down smooth because Last House is creepy, frightening, and well-executed, as horror movies go. The movie looks as good as any other mid- to big-budget Hollywood picture. The acting is above-average for this kind of thing, the villains are creepy (though made oddly sympathetic at times), and the updates to the original story make the plot far more believable than it was in the amateurish, junk-pile original from 1972.
But rape isn’t something to portray for kicks. It’s a valid element for a plot, but it ought to be handled with care. Unlike other extremes in movies–we see murders all the time, for instance–rape is freighted with cultural and psychological impact that deserves special respect, for both the victims and for ourselves as civilized people. Portray rape once like this and someone will do it again, and again, and then again, and each time we’ll notice and care a little less. That coarsening effect goes beyond entertainment. Ultimately, it makes it harder for us to get along with each other in a civilized society.
The first reaction by many is that “there oughta be a law,” but laws and regulations about this sort of thing are blunt instruments that always reach further than we intend. That’s why we have to take these responsibilities on ourselves.
The makers of Last House either didn’t think or didn’t care about any of this (or pretended their horror remake was performing some service to “art”). Or maybe they just overreached, seeing dailies day after day and losing sight of the impact. Whatever the reason, no matter–they ought to be ashamed to the core.
So, what do do about this kind of thing? Should we urge some kind of statutory action anyway?
Absolutely not.
The price of free speech is that sometimes, people will abuse it, and the result will be to coarsen society and injure the emotions of others. But that’s the price we must pay if the other choice is the introduction of speech police, no matter how clear-cut the issue seems to be. Such rules are the slipperiest of slippery slopes. Of course, we’ve already started downhill, especially on university campuses, where speaking or even holding the wrong opinion can lead to expulsion or firing.
When filmmakers abuse their rights as they’ve done in Last House, they give a little more ammunition to those who would “protect” us (or the culture, or the country, or “the children,” or someone’s conveniently delicate sensibilities) from offensive or so-called “hate” speech. Never forget that there are a whole lot of folks who are anxious to use your offense as a way in–as the first stroke toward harnessing the coercive power of government to control what you can say about that government–plus entertainment, politics, and everything else.
Left and Right once stood together on this: We may have disagreed with what someone said but we would, as Voltaire said, defend til death their right to say it. Now both Right and Left make room for speech cops: Many conservatives make personal morality a public issue, and just as many liberals draft lists of so-called “hate crimes” and verboten ideas in order to punish thought as much as action.
So what’s worse about Last House on the Left, its callous depiction of rape or its incremental assistance to those who would limit free speech? Call it a toss-up.
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