James Cameron’s first feature film, Piranha II: The Spawning, was released in 1982.
The film is a horror sequel about flying piranhas attacking swimmers and holidaymakers. Cameron received his first feature-directing credit on the project, which was produced as an international production and filmed partly in Jamaica and Italy.
Piranha II is often discussed because Cameron was a young filmmaker at the beginning of his career, before directing The Terminator. Some accounts distinguish his credited directing work from earlier uncredited or technical film jobs, so the wording “first feature film” is more precise than “first film.”
The film is also sometimes titled Piranha II: Flying Killers. Its low-budget creature-feature origins contrast sharply with Cameron’s later large-scale productions, including Titanic and Avatar.