The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell (lost 3-hour cut version of "Last House on Dead End Street" horror film; 1973): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:35, 30 September 2016

Last house on dead end street poster 01.jpg

Poster for the released film.

Status: Lost

Last House on Dead End Street was a 1977 horror film written, directed, produced, and starring Roger Watkins. The film is notorious for its intense gore and disturbing atmosphere, with many rumors surrounding the film, including the possibility that the murders depicted on-screen were real. Not helping these rumors were the fact that the credits featured pseudonyms in place of the actual cast member's names, making them very hard to track down. It would take nearly 30 years for the creator's actual name to even be revealed.

However, even before the film was "officially" screened in '77, an earlier three-hour cut known as The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell was screened some time in 1973. This version was so disturbing to theater goers that they reportedly incited riots over the violence being displayed. Because of these riots and the general controversy that would surround the film, this version was quickly pulled from theaters and heavy cut and edited, leaving the final film at just barely over an hour's length (77 minutes).

Availability

While the final film alone has rarely been released on home media, the original three-hour cut has not been released in any form. Considering the amount of controversy that came with the uncut footage, it may have been destroyed in an attempt to avoid more trouble in the future. However, there are rumors that a New York film archive has a print of the three-hour cut.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Last_house_on_dead_end_street_poster_01.jpg|thumb|215px|Advertisement poster for the film.]]
+{{InfoboxLost
-{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmKcbdT4_iU|320x240|right|The entire movie (77 minute version). '''NSFW'''|frame}}
+|title=<center>The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell</center>
-Filmed in 1973 but edited and released in 1977, ''The Last House on Dead End Street ''is one of the most genuinely sleazy exploitation films of all time. Featuring a disturbing premise, lurid gore, bondage, and a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere, the film has amassed a rabid cult following with those lucky enough to see it.
+|image=Last_house_on_dead_end_street_poster_01.jpg
+|imagecaption=Poster for the released film.
+|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
+}}
+''Last House on Dead End Street'' was a 1977 horror film written, directed, produced, and starring Roger Watkins. The film is notorious for its intense gore and disturbing atmosphere, with many rumors surrounding the film, including the possibility that the murders depicted on-screen were real. Not helping these rumors were the fact that the credits featured pseudonyms in place of the actual cast member's names, making them very hard to track down. It would take nearly 30 years for the creator's actual name to even be revealed.
-While it's a very rare film as it is (only being released on an ultra-rare VHS, out of print DVD, and a limited run new VHS), few know about the original, 3-hour cut of the movie, titled '''''The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell'''''. This cut of the film reportedly incited a riot when it was screened at a film festival in 1974, and since then has not been seen. There is little to no info on what this cut of the film contains (which is probably around 90 minutes of extra footage, as the ''Dead End Street ''cut is a mere 77 minutes). A print is reportedly somewhere in a New York film archive, but this has not been proven.
+However, even before the film was "officially" screened in '77, an earlier three-hour cut known as '''''The Cuckoo Clocks of Hell''''' was screened some time in 1973. This version was so disturbing to theater goers that they reportedly incited riots over the violence being displayed. Because of these riots and the general controversy that would surround the film, this version was quickly pulled from theaters and heavy cut and edited, leaving the final film at just barely over an hour's length (77 minutes).
+==Availability==
+While the final film alone has rarely been released on home media, the original three-hour cut has not been released in any form. Considering the amount of controversy that came with the uncut footage, it may have been destroyed in an attempt to avoid more trouble in the future. However, there are rumors that a New York film archive has a print of the three-hour cut.
 [[Category:Lost films]]
+[[Category:Historic]]