What was the name of Wes Craven's first feature film?

Wes Craven’s first feature film was The Last House on the Left. Released in 1972, the film marked Craven’s feature-directing debut and introduced the harsh, confrontational style that would become central to his horror career.

Craven wrote and directed the film, while Sean S. Cunningham produced it. The story follows two teenage girls who are abducted and murdered by a group of fugitives; the victims’ parents then discover what happened and take violent revenge. Its disturbing subject matter and exploitation-film presentation made it highly controversial.

The film was conceived partly as a modern reworking of The Virgin Spring, Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 Swedish film about violence and revenge. Craven’s version moved the story into a contemporary American setting and used a deliberately rough, low-budget style.

It is easy to confuse this film with Craven’s later landmark successes, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Those films made him internationally famous, but The Last House on the Left came first and established him as a filmmaker in 1972. The 2009 film with the same title is a remake, not Craven’s debut.