The Last House on the Left
On the eve of her 17th birthday, Mari and friend Phyllis set off from her family home to attend a rock concert in the city. Attempting to score some drugs on the way, the pair run afoul of a group of vicious crooks, headed up by the sadistic Krug.
Why it matters
A brutal, unflinching grindhouse thriller that laid the groundwork for the home-invasion subgenre and challenged audiences' tolerance for cinematic violence.
- Wes Craven's debut channels raw exploitation energy into a story about vengeance and the collapse of innocence.
- Stark practical effects and gritty cinematography amplify the film’s relentless dread without leaning on supernatural scares.
- Not for the faint of heart—its unvarnished depiction of trauma and moral decay still shocks decades later.
- A pivotal piece in early ’70s horror, bridging exploitation cinema and the revenge thrillers that followed, influencing everything from “I Spit on Your Grave” to modern survival horror.
Director
21 horror films in catalog
The Last House on the Left 1972
The Hills Have Eyes 1977
Stranger in Our House 1979
Deadly Blessing 1981
Swamp Thing 1982
A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
Invitation to Hell 1984
Chiller 1985
The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 1985
Deadly Friend 1986
The Serpent and the Rainbow 1988
Shocker 1989
The People Under the Stairs 1991
Wes Craven's New Nightmare 1994
Vampire in Brooklyn 1995
Scream 1996
Scream 2 1997
Scream 3 2000
Cursed 2005
My Soul to Take 2010
Scream 4 2011
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
57
Slow Burn
17
Psychological
14
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
67
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
43
Survival
66
RevengeSlasher
