The film follows Mari Collingwood , a teenager who is abducted, raped, and left for dead by a family of violent fugitives. When her parents learn what was done to her, they seek vengeance against the family, who have taken shelter at their summer home during a thunderstorm.
The rights to The Last House on the Left were picked up by Rogue Pictures in , with the remake being the first film produced by Craven's newly formed studio Midnight Pictures. Craven, who wrote and directed the original film, was interested to see what kind of film could be made on a larger budget, as the limited funds forced him to remove scenes he had wanted to film to tell a complete story. One of the elements Iliadis wanted to avoid with the film, given its graphic nature, was turning it into " torture porn ".
For Craven and Iliadis, the film primarily illustrates how even the most normal of families can be driven to commit evil acts if pushed too far. The original script by Alleca included elements of supernatural horror, which prompted the studio to reject it and bring in Ellsworth for rewrites. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with several deeming it worthy of praise in comparison to other horror films and remakes in general, while others considered it inferior to the original.
Emma and John Collingwood, and their daughter, competitive swimmer Mari, head out on vacation to their lake house. Shortly thereafter, Mari borrows the family car and drives into town to spend time with her friend Paige. While Paige works the cash register at a local store, she and Mari meet Justin, a teenager passing through town who invites them both back to his roadside motel room to smoke marijuana. While the three are hanging out in the motel room, Justin's family members return: his father Krug, his uncle Francis, and Krug's girlfriend Sadie.
Krug becomes angry at Justin for bringing unknown people to their motel room and shows him a local newspaper that has Krug and Sadie's pictures on the front page, which explains how Sadie and Francis broke Krug out of police custody and killed the two officers who were transporting him. Believing it would be too risky to let Paige and Mari go, the gang kidnaps them and uses their car to leave town. While Krug searches for the highway, Mari convinces him to take a road that leads to her parents' lake house; Mari then attempts to jump out of the vehicle, but the ensuing fight among the passengers causes Krug to crash into a tree.
