Exploitation Cinema
 

With the suggestion by Bungalow that Psycho was just a cheesy, exploitation film (Which I agree with to an extent) it just got me thinking about the films as a whole, and decided to see if there was any previous discussion on this particularly huge niche of the film world.

So I thought we could have a thread devoted to everyones favourite exploitation films, as well as discuss the term itself. What is an exploitation film exactly - Is there a certain point where a film becomes genuinely good enough to escape an exploitation label if its used in a negative way?

Either way, some well known exploitation films include movies like Cannibal Holocaust (Which I thought sucked) and movies like Blacula. The wiki article had a fair sized list of what some people consider to be exploitation genres, but I never quite looked at the description to that large of a degree.

Either way, some of my most memorable exploitation experiences have come from...


Hanzo The Razor has been 'known' to me for a while, but it was not too long ago that I decided to take the plunge into this trilogy. At the time, I had no idea how fitting taking a plunge would be in regards to the movies.

Hanzo is a police officer in Edo period Japan. He is a 'pure' character, in that he hates all forms of corruption (Not taking a vow for the police department which he believes to be hypocritical) but this doesn't stop him much when it comes to his work. Hanzo is eternally searching for the ultimate torture for arrested individuals. Early on we are introduced to a montage of sorts showing Hanzo 'strengthening' his male parts (Not full frontal of course) by hitting it with a stick and having sex with a bag of rice. Needless to say, his sexual prowess becomes a key factor to the movies - Given he rapes women to interrogate them. They of course love it and eventually become infatuated with his prowess, and tell him all they know. Either way, thet think up some imaginitive ways to torture the women. The movies are pure cheese, right down to using 70's porno-esque disco for the soundtrack.

Not my favourite samurai exploitation movies (That belongs to Lone Wolf and Cub) but there is little doubt that its a tough one to forget.


As I mentioned, Lone Wolf and Cub is my favourite Japanese exploitation series, which roughly falls into the guidelines. The films are pretty much an excuse for violence - A former now disgraced high ranking shogun official (The former executioner) now sells his skills as a swordsman travelling the country with his son (The first episode in Japanese roughly translates to 'Child and Expertise for Rent'). As I said though, it's just an excuse for violence. By the end of the 3rd film onwards, all the movies end with our hero destroying an entire army of soldiers. ****ing awesome.

Discussed this in the latest films thread


A giant razorback is terrorising the Aussie Outback and it needs to be stopped. Whats not to love about this mid 80's Aussie exploitation horror film?

Either way, thats enough for now. What are a few of your favourites?

I can't believe that this thread has no replies but then again I guess it is expected.

If I can use a musical analogy- most people expect their music tied up in tiny bundles just like their music but some films are made in a short space of time akin to an album and have their own fair share of dud notes, missed cues and rushed productions but because we are usually fed with efficient productions, anything that doesn't meet these criterias are open to ridicule which makes me angry.

Now and again we dig a Punk album that was recorded in a garage with no budget and no expertise behind it but we still dig it. In cinematic terms it seems not to be liked as much, yet there is just as much talent to be viewed that is dismissed because of an idealistic view of what a film is supposed to look like that talent and endeavour are dismissed.

Many films are indeed awful and just because they ascribe to B movie asthetics doesn't mean that they are automatically awful but when you have no money and have made a film that has taken many years to produce it shouldn't mean that it is not valid despite it's flaws.

This is not an encapsulation of Exploitation movies at all but certainly a view I have that I look for in movie making as much as music making.

I certainly do think that there is a snobbery in film viewing that is hypocritical when apposed against listening habits.

If a piece of media is crap then it is crap, that's a given (regarding an opinion) but I do think that most on here are very narrow minded when it comes to films or the process behind them. They(B Movies) seem much more of an easy target for criticism unfortunately.

The point of a film being made is to be enjoyed (Unless it's an arthouse film), so in that vein, sometimes I find it funny when people pick things apart on a technical level when that 'should' have a lesser effect on your lasting impressions on the film. Sure, the technical details can be so bad that it ruins a film, sometimes they can be so bad that it makes a film great (I will cite a few of my favourite examples later, but perhaps the most obvious ones would be films by Ed Wood).

Obviously as you said, a lower level of technical detail is sometimes connectable with exploitation cinema, but again, as you said, a =/ b. Yeah, a lot of decent exploitation cinema is scoffed at because it seems dodgier than the higher end films, which is a shame really.

Either way, thanks for the contribution JH :p: Any particular faves when it comes to the world of exploitation cinema?

I have a list ready for sure don't you worry! but I want to be a little more sober with my reviews!

Can you explain yourself here? You just sound ridiculous. What planet do you live on where the "point" of art/an artist is to entertain you?

http://cinemarama.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/122.jpg

i think the whole movie is on youtube in parts....a pretty messed up exploitation film

i typically don't like the genre, but hey we all have weird primal urges to see people hacked to bits.

I just think on a large scale, a point of making a film is to make something entertaining to the audience. People get into the process for different reasons, but for a fair percentile of movie makers, its about making something enjoyable for whatever reason. Not everyone aims for this of course. It's not the lone reason for making films, but it goes a long way to the creative process.

Money. I believe that's the reason you were looking for. And it isn't "movie makers" who are creating these films, it is studio suits. They know what a mass audience does/does not want to see and they engineer films around this. The "director" is practically nonessential (and that also explains the english "director" as opposed to say the french "realisateur" or "metteur en scene", filmmakers in countries outside the influence of Hollywood studios are actually responsible for 'realizing' a film, whereas in Hollywood they simply give direction tailored around what a studio-head wants). There is no creative process there, it is a business model. If that's the sort of cinema you want to infatuate yourself with, fine. But please refrain from labeling filmmakers who genuinely want to express themselves "crappy arthouse."

And to maximise profits, they hope to make it as enjoyable to as many people as possible. FWIW, a 'hollywood' movie in that sense doesn't have to be looked down upon/bad simply because they aim at a wider market.

It's probably not the reason they initially wanted to make movies, but I'm guessing a lot of directors want to make something that will appeal to others, not their own desire to create a film.

I don't consider 'breaking the mould' to mean arthouse FWIW. I use the term in a very specific context that doesn't apply to most films.

But the general public has awful taste in film just like they have awful taste in music. It's incredibly difficult for a film with this demographic in mind to not be awful.
Sure, they want it to appeal to others because they want to make money. And the majority of directors working in Hollywood are, like I said, only tangentially involved in the creation of the film. They are usually hired by a studio-head (who usually retains strict final-cut authority over a film) to direct a script selected by a studio-head with actors selected by a studio-head to be edited by an editor selected by a studio-head and the primary concern throughout all of this is $$$. This is not conducive to good filmmaking.

Maybe you could define the context then?

I am about to head out so I won't go into any great detail at the moment.

Though, to be fair, I have only actually watched a few film that I consider to be arthouse. For example, I don't know if this is the type of film you are referring to, but I don't consider a director like Jean-Luc Godard to be arthouse. Tarkovsky - Not arthouse. Kubrick, Lynch, Fellini - Not arthouse. Might not be everyone's interpretation of the word, but it works for me (Though it often leads to discussions such as these). Though I still believe a lot of these movies were made to trasport ideas between the director audience in hope that it engages them to the point of actually enjoying the film.

Either way, apologies for the miscommunication.

Well I'm certainly confused about your definition of arthouse film. Maybe I'll find out some other time. :beer:

Hopefully some day we can discuss it further. Though would probably be easier to conform my ideas to that of the general population.

Anyway, back to the exploitation.

Almost any film by these three directors would probably fit into the exploitation category...
John Waters
Russ Meyer
Roger Corman
Lots of interesting flicks between them. They've given me plenty of laughs over the years!

This crime revenge drama from 1988 was shot on 16 mm and financed by a bank loan that should have paid for another year of film college for writer/director/screenwriter/stunt coordinator/ Jim Van Bebber who has also directed music vids for the likes of Skinny Puppy and Necrophagist.

I re watched this last night to refresh my memory and for a low budget film that could only be finished by using some B-Roll footage it's damn good.

Bebber needs to quit his gang for his sanity but when a rival gang kill his girlfriend he's out for revenge but instead of all guns blazing, it's knives, nunchuckas, kung fu and throat ripping. Throw in a little social commentary and you get a film with lots of rewatchability and half decent acting. It took me forever to get the DVD and it's still not released over here. More to come.

Cashing in on the Post Apocalyptic trend that includes Death Race 2000, Mad Max and Escape From New York, this low budget effort from Italy borrows heavily from Escape From New York. The only fertile woman in America is in New York which is run by the Eurax, a new government intent on subjugating the poor and infected from the nuclear holocaust but of course they rule by brute force and it's up to our man Parsifal ( a combination of Escape From New York's Snake Plisskin and Mad Max's Max Rockatansky) to smuggle her out aided by assorted characters and regular C movie star George Eastman.

From the opening shots of N.Y which are cardboard cut outs, obvious miniature work and terrible make up coupled with a cast that are dubbed apart from Parsifal and cheap ray gun effects you still get an entertaining film with imaginative sets and occasional good set pieces.

If you like the Post Apocalyptic genre then this is a must see for shits and giggles.

Hanzo is crazy.... Gotta love, Shintarô Katsu one of my favorite actors of all time considering Zatoichi. The first time I seen hanzo beat his junk with a club, I wanted to cry for the man. Crazy ass Series.

Lone Wolf and Cub is bad ass..... I love the first 3 or 4 but as the series goes on it gets bad. They get into the whole ninja digging in the dirt and ghosts and ****. If you like Lone Wolf and Cub you should check out Mute Samurai its a old Japanese tv series, which Tomisaburo Wakayama (lone wolf) plays the main character.

Dead Beat Dawn was cool, Love the whole throat rip out scene. I wouldnt have known about it but a friend of mine grew up in Germany on a Army Base and use to watch this as a kid. It took him years himself to get a copy of it himself, but soon as it came in the mail he had me over watching it.

I am going to have to check out Midnight confessions.... it looks promising.

As for my own Suggestion for exploitative movie.....

I would suggest Bohachi.... I was going to post a youtube Trailer. But I couldnt find a trailer with out breasts showing :) And I am not to sure about forum rules here. But Its pretty much Hack and Slash and Breasts.

On Raimi..........


Perhaps it doesn't fit the modern day idea of an EF nowadays, but from my first viewing on the classic, thats what I took away from it - A film that wanted to suck you in with its excessive use of blood and gore effects, to the point where it becomes a joke (Moreso in its sequel). Not really similar to todays splatter films, ie Saw and whatnot, it does have its moments apart from the extreme gore/horror effects.

I mean, how can it NOT be an exploitation film when a woman gets raped by a tree branch? Also takes advantage of its low budget.

Still, one of my favourites in general.



I'll get into the more cheap exploitation unknown types next time.

The Evil Dead is one of those horror flicks which fascinated me so much as a teenager :) Although I don't find it scary now, the first time I saw it, I thought it was quite exciting. It was the kind of film I made sure all my friends saw.

It's aged quite a lot even since then and I'm not sure what youth today would think of it, but to me it will always be a classic. Actually, to me the whole Evil Dead trilogy is.

Most definitely. They manage to avoid becoming stale by changing pretty intesely movie to movie. First most horrorish, going to the second adding a really solid batch of comedy with the increase in budget, then the pretty massive change to full on comedy in Army of Darkness, which was actually the only one I owned for a while.

Classic movies, hard to hate if you handle the splatter.

Nice avatar btw :D

The Evil Dead trilogy is pure class. Great stuff.

You know what? You're right.

It's hip to like the trashiest, most unsophisticated music imaginable.

But it's not the same with movies. If you love horror films, cheesy 80s action films, spagetti westerns, 50s sci fi B movies, kung fu films, giant monster movies and exploitation films, then you're looked down upon by the almighty film snobs. The only kind of DIY movies a lot of film critics appreciate is pretentious arthouse bullf*ck about gay cowboys eating pudding or something.

And yes I stole that joke from South Park.

It's not that I hate art films, some filmmakers I adore, like Lynch, fall into that category, but his films are still entertaining so maybe he doesn't count. I'm not saying cinema can't be art, sure it can, but it's not the reason I became a movie fan. And it's weird, people hold it against musicians who don't have "fun" doing what they do, why is it the opposite for cinema? Why is escapist entertainment reviled so much? Especially during a time when we really need it.

C'mon. Update this thread!

Hehe totally forgot about this thread tbh. Will try to get a few updates in around working 4 days a week and uni 5 days a week, though I was hoping there would be more posters around the place talking about their own favourites (I planned the thread to be a community based thread rather than an individual one).

A metal fetishist runs into the middle of a road and gets killed by a driver. Said driver then attempts to hide the accident. Said fetishist then comes back to haunt the driver in one of the more bizarre revenge type movies in existence.
As the movie progresses, the drivers body parts get transformed into various metal objects.

This is certainly one insane movie. With a heavy input of eroticism at times, it really is a chunk of metal mess. That being said, it has developed quite a cult following since its 1989 release. I can't even describe it, only actual footage can.


Yes, that drill at around 40 seconds IS his penis.

I don't even know if I like this film tbh. It's not really an exploitation film in the classic sense, but carries similar aesthetics.

Our love can put an end to this ****ing world. Let's Go Get'em!

Shogun Assassin? Damn I hated that movie.

Well, Shogun Assassin was the amalgamation between the first two Lone Wolf and Cub movies for American/UK audiences with English over-dubbing, so it was bound to be terrible.

Tetsuo. What a classic! Mad as hell but hyper kinetic and original. Number 2 was a virtual remake in colour if I remember rightly. Ever checked out any of the guinea pig series of films at all?

Not good- but the gratuitous blood, and relating everything to GZA made it somewhat of an enjoyable experience.

Nah I haven't unfortunately.

Apparently Tetsuo 3 is coming out this year, english based though.