Year: 2022

31 Scary Movies that are 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon: ‘The Last House on the Left’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Last House on the Left” (1972) – Director/co-writer Wes Craven’s sordid, low-budget slasher flick is ugly and violent.  It features the worst in our society without filter or censorship, and with his documentary-like style choices, “The Last House on the Left” successfully delivers its intended shocks. Craven’s film is certainly not for everyone, but its influence can be felt on the genre, and look to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974) and “The Evil Dead” (1981) as prime examples. As the movie begins, life seems to be going swell for…

31 Scary Movies that are 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon: ‘Road Games’

Jeff Mitchell

“Road Games” (1981) – A serial killer is on the loose in Western Australia, and an American truck driver (Stacy Keach) may have spotted him in Richard Franklin’s (“Psycho II” (1983)) thriller, a movie that feels like “Duel” (1971) meets “The Hitcher” (1986).  This movie’s pace doesn’t move as quickly as the said films, but Franklin gives Keach lots of screen time, as Pat Quid (Keach) delivers frequent monologues to his pet dingo, and scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis travels to the land Down Under to play a hitchhiker who…

31 Scary Movies that are 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon: ‘The Piano Teacher’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Piano Teacher” (2001) – Did you take piano lessons?  I did.  Admittedly, I didn’t enjoy playing and, unfortunately, lost interest in the instrument.  Looking back, that’s a shame, and my teacher was really pleasant, kind, and patient.  Oh well. Another piano teacher, one living in Vienna, isn’t so understanding, and she’s a woman to be feared. Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert) is a skilled piano professor, but she’s a lonely woman who harbors resentment and jealously, and these contemptable traits lash out when we least expect them in Michael Haneke’s…