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| “ | Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. | „ |
| ~ Mari Collingwood. |
Mari Collingwood was the main protagonist of the 1972 horror film, The Last House on the Left and the 2009 remake of the same name. She is portrayed by Sandra Peabody in the original film and Sara Paxton in the remake.
In the original The Last House on the Left, Mari was the heroine who is kidnapped on her 17th birthday along with her best friend Phyllis Stone and together the two must figure out a way to escape their kidnappers. The remake follows the same format, however, Mari displays more characteristics of the "final girl" archetype and unlike in the original film, she survives her ordeal.
Appearing in Wes Craven's debut feature film, Mari predates the heroines Nancy Thompson and Sidney Prescott who subsequently appeared in Craven's landmark films A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Scream (1996).
Sandra Peabody's performance as Mari garnered some comparisons to Marilyn Burns's performance as Sally Hardesty in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Jamie Lee Curtis's performance as Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978).
Biography[]
Early life and encounter with Krug Stillo and his gang of convicts[]
She was the daughter of the local doctor John and Estelle Collingwood. Mari lived a relatively peaceful life in a small town and was protected from the dangers of the outside world by her old-fashioned parents. When she was 16, she developed a close friendship with Phyllis Stone despite her parent's disapproval.
Mari plans to attend a Bloodlust concert with Phyllis for her 17th birthday. Her parents, Estelle and John, express their concern about the morality of band and her questions friendship with Phyllis, but decide to let her have some independence and give her a peace symbol necklace as a birthday gift. Mari and Phyllis drive to the city for the concert. On the way, Mari is intrigued by a news report on the radio discussing recent prison escape involving criminals Krug Stillo, a sadistic rapist; his son, Junior; Sadie, a promiscuous sadist; and Fred "Weasel" Podowski, a convicted child molester.
Before the concert, Mari and Phyllis are lured into an apartment when Junior offers to sell them marijuana. They are trapped inside the apartment. Kidnapped, Mari and Phyllis are taken to the woods when Krug's car breaks down. Mari realizes in horror that the road is near her home and that it is completely out of her power to escape. Mari and Phyllis are forced to perform sexual acts onto each other. Phyllis distracts the killers and offers Mari an opportunity to escape but she is being watched by Junior. She attempts to gain Junior's trust by renaming him and giving him her peace sign necklace. This works and the two begin to flee.
Death[]
As Mari and Junior attempt to evade Krug, Sadie, and Fred; Mari is cornered and is taunted with Phyllis's dismembered arm. Krug carves his name into her chest and he begins to rape her. Disgusted and hopeless, Mari pukes and wanders into a nearby pond, coming to terms with the fact that she is going to be murdered. Krug shoots her multiple times and she is left for dead. When Mari's parents discover that Junior is wearing her necklace, they go to look for her. They find her and she reveals who tortured her before passing away. Her death serves as a catalyst for her parent's revenge.
Trivia[]
- Sandra Peabody was reportedly genuinely frightened throughout most of the shoot. She reportedly walked off set at one point of filming.
Gallery[]
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