The Last House on the Left

The Last House on the Left is a 1972 American exploitation horror film written, directed and edited by Wes Craven in his directorial debut. The film follows Mari Collingwood (Sandra Peabody), a hippie teenager who is abducted, raped, and tortured by a fugitive family on her seventeenth birthday. When they unwittingly seek refuge in her home, the killers face the vengeance of her parents.

Craven based the film on the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is an adaptation of the Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge". Craven developed the film with producer Sean S. Cunningham after working with him on Together (1971) and once the filmmakers obtained small funding from Hallmark Releasing to make another feature film. Craven wrote a script (originally overtly pornographic) on the concept of shock factor, wanting to depict violence in a realistic matter. Once casting began, Craven promised the actors auditioning that the film would instead be a traditional horror film.

The film was initially damaging to Craven's career and was controversial for its marketing, with the tagline "Can a movie go too far?", advertising its violence. While not being a massive box office draw at drive-ins, it grossed $3 million against a budget of under $90,000. Critics derided the film for its confrontational violence and Craven's use of black comedy—scenes of slapstick comedy intercut with scenes of rape and humiliation. However, it has since achieved a cult following and was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. The film was particularly troubling for lead actress Peabody, who recalled struggling filming due to a constantly changing script and suffering abuse from her male co-stars. Many of the other actors involved in the film have expressed regret for starring in it decades after its release.