This was one of the so-called 'video nasties' and was refused a certificate in the UK until 2002, some 30 years after its release. So, is it really that bad?
It's bad all right - badly, cheaply made rubbish. While it might be claimed that it has historic value as a film that pushed the boundaries of on-screen violence, all that can honestly be said about it is that it is an early unwholesome exploitation film.
The story is crude: two girls head off for a rock concert in New York. While trying to score some grass, they make the mistake of approaching the baddies. Baddies rape them, drive them to the woods, rape them again, kill and dismember them. Having cleaned themselves up, the baddies then show up at a nearby house - which coincidentally happens to be the home of one of the girls. Parents wreak revenge. Add in a couple of unfunny 'comedy' cops and that's it.
It's a crude exploitation film, crudely made, with few if any redeeming features. 1/5 stars.
Along with the The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), this was one of the few films that genuinely disturbed me on first watching on video in the early 80s. True, I was only 12 or so, but most horror films (which I loved, and still do) just sort of came and went. This one really freaked me out.
House is possibly the first example of "torture porn" in cinema. As the other reviewer has said, there's little if any artistic merit in it... it's not particularly well made, and the weird comedy elements really don't work. It's meant to shock.
But it does have that horribly real grainy quality of TCSM, and while I would never want to watch something like A Serbian Story on principle, I reluctantly find myself revisiting this every few years just to see if it still affects me. It does, and that in itself says something about the film's power.
... this film is poor. It's slow, badly shot, and just - dull. The central idea is strong and yes, I think the idea of a middle class couple being faced by a trio of ruthless criminals and turning out to be as bad as they are, if not worse. The final scene with the chainsaw is memorable, I suppose, as the main bad guy is gradually hunted down, despite putting furniture in the way until there's nothing left, but.... that's about it.
I watched it because I'm a bit of a film fan and had never seen it. But - I'm not glad that I did, frankly.