DIRECTOR: Roger Watkins
STARRING: Roger Watkins, Peter Fisher, Bill Schlageter
The faux snuff film has become somewhat of a sensation, with society’s rising demands for realistic depravity on screen, forerunners of the genre like Roger Watkins’ 1977 cult classic, ‘The Last House On Dead End Street,’ have fallen into relative obscurity. What makes this film memorable is its notorious reputation in the 42nd street grindhouse community. Filmed on a shoestring budget, with a majority of the funds supporting director/writer/actor Roger Watkins’ crystal meth habit, ‘The Last House On Dead End Street,’ creates an eerie and haunting picture of massive atmosphere. Originally under the working title, ‘The Cuckoo Clocks Of Hell,’ Watkins’ film was trimmed from an epic 175 minutes in length to its now timid, 76 minutes. One can only wonder at the sweeping genius of the uncut version, which is now reportedly lost.
Horribly dubbed, cheaply shot, poorly acted, ‘The Last House On Dead End Street,’ imprints its viewers with a creepy soundtrack, stylish film techniques and unique props and settings. Channeling the cultish mood of the Manson Family, Watkins’ first picture is a gritty time capsule for an era when the pornography industry was just beginning to explore the darker notions of the human condition. Perhaps more poignant now than ever with the plethora of violent pornography readily available to the public, ‘The Last House On Dead End Street,’ implores viewers to ponder the plausibility of its characters and their heinous crimes, while dually entertaining them with excessive sex and gore. The remainder of Roger Watkins’ directorial career consisted of pornographies, most of which have been forgotten, while his first picture has weathered the decades. This could possibly be due to the fact that pseudonyms were used for the entire production and it wasn’t until 2000 that Watkins emerged as the director of the film. In fact much of the film’s initial popularity was due to word of mouth praise that insisted its authenticity as a true snuff piece.
‘The Last House On Dead End Street,’ is one of the most underrated exploitation films of the late 1970s, obscure and overlooked, this picture is one that isn’t easily forgotten and rests among the greats of underground cinema, a certifiable titan of the grindhouse movement. Read an in depth analysis of this film at Seance Of Cinema.
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