10 Exact Moments Horror Movie Villains Knew They’d Lost

4. The Picture - The Last House On The Left

The last House on the Left
Rogue Pictures

A truly disturbing viewing experience, even all these years later after its 1972 release, The Last House on the Left was the directorial debut of one Wes Craven. Well, apart from those adult movies Wes had directed under a fake name, but that's a story for another day.

Following teenage girls Mari and Phyllis as they head to the big city to watch a band, the pair are abducted by a group of criminals led by the nefarious Krug. Even in a horror article such as this, it feels a little too much to get into what these girls are put through, but ultimately it tragically ends in both of their deaths. And that's just the opening act.

Posing as travelling salesmen, Krug and his gang unknowingly wind up at the home of Mari's parents. When these wrong 'uns see photos of Mari and realise where they are, they immediately make chilling plans to kill her mother and family. That is, until one of the group, Junior, starts to have heroin withdrawals and gives the game away - with Mari's mother Estelle noticing her daughter's necklace around his neck, spotting bloody clothes in their luggage, and hearing these rogues talking about Mari's dead body being left in the woods.

Heading out to the woods and tragically finding their daughter's corpse, it becomes clear that Krug and Co. are going to get their comeuppance - and that they do, with Krug chainsawed to death.

 
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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.