This is not an easy film to write about, any more than it is an easy film to watch. Whether a film is difficult, troubling, worrying and deeply challenging is quite a separate issue from whether it is well made... or enjoyable. I first saw this way back in the early days of video and seem to recall finding it too shocking to really comprehend. With the passing of time, exposure to much of the vast canon of exploitation cinema and some limited understanding of world and more particularly Italian politics of the time gives me a little more perspective. This is still not a film I would gladly recommend freely, indeed I would have a hard time relating to anyone who came away from this with a grin on their face. And yet for all the misogyny, rape and other sexual violence, this is so well made, so riveting to watch, it cannot be ignored. The film begins at a gallop, with rape and murder before the credits have completed and really never lets up. There are fascinating dynamics at work here if there was the chance to pause and analyse them, as it is the political, social and sexual dimensions crash and tumble about as we grapple with just how terrible this or that person is and whether anyone could/would really do this, or that. So, hard to recommend but equally hard to fault as a pulsating piece of exploitation film making.

I've read others state that this film stayed with them long after watching, and I'm no different. I got this movie as part of a 10 movie horror pack from Wal-mart of all places, several years ago, and it remains one of my favorite horror flicks. Yes, it can be cheesy at points, but the cinematography is very pretty and the movie itself is very eerie. The gore amount is decent without being too over the top. There is ample amounts of nudity, and the rape scene involving the young girl is kind of unsettling. David Hess is amazing at playing a cold-hearted sleazeball. I recommend this film for any fan of 80's horror/sleaze/exploitation.

Two psychos (Alex and Ricky) invade a get-together of rich people. They take over and proceed to humiliate, rape and torture the guests.Sick and vicious. Why people say this is a horror classic is beyond me. For starters ALL the acting is bad but the worst is from David Hess playing Alex. His dialogue is terrible and he over over OVERacts constantly. He gets annoying real quick. The script is pathetic--full of very stupid people who do dumb things left and right. At multiple times during the film they could have escaped to get help but never do. There is graphic female nudity. It's in your face and has no point other than to turn on guys in the audience. The violence is pretty graphic but (to me) was obviously fake. Surprisingly when it wasn't sick or degrading it was boring! There is a (stupid) twist at the end that didn't help matters. Unless you're turned on by seeing nude women being raped or tortured this movie isn't for you. Just terrible.

I am probably the only person (apart from Ruggero Deodato, perhaps) who will ever give this film such a high rating. There is no doubt about it: this rip-off of The Last House on the Left is a trashy, sleazy movie, but for an exploitation film it has a sense of style and élan that sets it apart from other such efforts in the genre. (Even as I write this review I cannot believe I am using words like 'élan'...) But for some reason that I will try to explain, I really loved this movie.The plot of Park sees two working class low-lifes (Hess and Radice) gate crashing the party of some chic Manhattan socialites. Initially there is fun and flirtation, but when the snobbish jibes get too close to the bone, Alex (Hess) becomes a little touchy and turns psycho with his cutthroat razor...With its stylish New York setting and cheesy disco score by Cannibal Holocaust composer Riz Ortolani, The House on the Edge of the Park makes for glossy, tongue-in-cheek grindhouse fare. The film is well-directed by Deodato, fresh from the controversy of Cannibal Holocaust, and sees another bravura performance from Hess as the Krug-like Alex. It is also surprisingly tense and well-paced, giving it a slight edge over that other Last House rip-off, Late Night Trains (1974). But like its model, at the centre of this film is a prolonged torture-humiliation sequence that still makes this movie a cause for concern with the British censors: in it, a pretty young partygoer is sadistically menaced by Alex and his razor, while he croons her name in incredibly disturbing fashion. It is a shocking and unpleasant scene to be sure, but this is, after all, a horror movie. Apart from this one scene it would be difficult to explain why this film had such problems with the BBFC and the DPP. It must have been the overall concept (working class thugs invading a middle class home) and the depiction of violence against women (although there is plenty of violence against men, too). Of course, it's more likely to have been the ambiguity of some of the female characters, who find these louts strangely exciting and fascinating, but especially Alex with his brooding, Neanderthal presence. At any rate, the film is still heavily cut in Britain and has yet to find a strong fanbase along the lines of other exploitation movies. Well, I like it!Film: **** Nastiness: ****