Exploitation Cinema

[Zarko]

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...

Use your imagination

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?