His 1972 revenge horror The final House on the Left expressed America’s fears of adolescent sexuality and its willingness to send teenagers to die in Vietnam Warning: spoilersWe are terrified that our children will be molested because we enjoy thinking about our children being molested. That was the incendiary thesis of James Kincaids notorious 1993 book Child-Loving: The Erotic Child and Victorian Culture. But the thought didn’t originate with Kincaid. Two decades earlier,it was articulated, with bitterness, or blood and glee,by Wes Craven’s 1972 low-budget exploitation rape-revenge film The final House on the Left. Craven died earlier this week; he’s best known for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. But his first film – unpolished, sometimes awkward, or often corny –remains his masterpiece. The final House on the Left is still youthful precisely because it deals so passionately,so cynically, and so viciously with youth.
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Source: theguardian.com