Did we really need another horror flick with a name that starts with Last House on... I mean seriously, did we? I'd say nay, but then again, what's in a name? In this instance I'd say that the name is being used as a draw to lure fans of other Last House on... flicks in. That's fair enough, the real indies don't have as much pull these days so they do what they have to I suppose. Quibbles about the title aside, Last House on Hell Street is the latest offering from Sub Rosa Extreme on special edition DVD. This is a very different film than Sub Rosa fans may be used to so hang on tight.

Once again we're dealing more with a case of execution and style over content and subtext. The story revolves around a young man and woman who are about to be married (Kyle and Jessica). Everything is skipping through the forest in our nice white gown and flowing pirate shirt for the two lovebirds. It's like something straight out of a Disney movie for these two kids. That is until Kyle succumbs to some sort of evil force and turns on poor Jessica, dragging her into the basement of a house and brutally terrorizing her physically and mentally. Our story is narrated by Kyle's mom, shown onscreen only in a camera negative type vision and she solemnly fills in all the loose ends as we move along with our story. Well, maybe not all of the loose ends, but most of the important ones anyway. Kyle's mom was brutally murdered by her husband years earlier, and it may just be the same force that changed Kyle's dad that may be having an effect on poor Kyle himself.

This sure is one kooky film! There I said it that felt good! Kooky in a good way mind you, because Last House on Hell Street is guaranteed to be different than any other horror flick you've ever seen. I'm sure that Last House on Hell Street is just bizarre enough to piss off more than just your average horror film fan. However, those adventurous few who are getting tired of the same cookie cutter garbage should find much to dig within the walls of this house of despair.

Much of the charm of Last House on Hell Street stems from its wholly unique execution. Inventive camera techniques, excellent uses of locations, performances, editing techniques all come into play and serve the film quite well. Now this isn't to say that Last House on Hell Street is all a bed of roses, 'cause it ain't. The opening credits sequence while cool (it resembled a NIN video) went on way too long, it took about 10 minutes for the flick to get started, considering that the film only runs 70 minutes. On another note, some may find the flick to be a bit too artsy for its own good, whereas I did not. There's nothing fun about the onscreen carnage here as well, violence and nudity alike only makes the viewer feel all the more uncomfortable and upset. Last House on Hell Street is not a pleasant experience, if pleasent is what you're looking for, check out the latest Adam Sandler retrospective at your local googleplex.

Of course Eric Stanze's name being attached to Last House should have tipped me off to its inevitable goodness. I'm waiting for the day that this guys name appears on a film that sucks ass, it has yet to happen. C'mon Stanze, I know it's in you, attach your name to a stinky flick already! Seriously though, there are very few indies putting out quality horror flicks like Sub Rosa and Last House on Hell Street proves that.

Last House on Hell Street was shot on digital video and the result on this DVD is quite nice. Colors are sharp and vibrant and the picture retains a real nice crispness throughout. This cleanly authored DVD features no hints of artifacting only the slightest bit of jaggies and noise primarily during lighter or bright white scenes (no doubt a trait of the digital in the digital camera used for the shoot). Overall this is a great looking disc put out by an independent that continues to strive for quality and it shows.

Audio is presented in a stereo surround mix and is equally impressive. Dialogue is crisp and clear and there are quite a few instances of effective ambient surrounds. I just loved the soundtrack and extremely effective sound mix. Too often in film (especially indie film) sound becomes the bastardized red headed stepchild and is nearly beaten to death and left for dead. This is NOT the case here. Last House on Hell Street features an awesome horror score and nicely executed sound mix.

Extras include a brief still gallery and two short films from Sub Rosa regulars including Vision which was directed by Jason Christ and Chokehold which was directed by The Monsters personal favorite Ms. Emily Haack. Both short films are definitely worth the brief amount of time you'll invest in 'em. Last up are a few trailers for some other Sub Rosa films including I Spit on Your Corpse I Piss on Your Grave, Insaniac and Christmas Season Massacre, directed by some douche bag named Jeremy Wallace (nah, I'm just kidding, he's OK). All of these films and more are reviewed on Monsters at Play, so hit that archives page!

Last House on Hell Street is not your typical horror flick (it verges on experimental), and not your typical Sub Rosa flick either. It's different and maybe even a bit artsy fartsy, but I sure as hell dug its original look and attitude. I'm not just saying this because I think they're a bunch of nice folk, but check out Wicked Pixel Cinema to see all that they have to offer, definitely worth a look.

For more info visit Wicked Pixel Cinema or B- Movie.com.