Anexploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudity, gore, destruction, rebellion, mayhem, and the bizarre. While often associated with low-budget "B movies",[1] some exploitation films have influenced popular culture, attracted critical attention, gained historical significance, and developedcult followings.[2]
While their modern form first appeared in the early 1920s,[3] the peak periods of exploitation films were mainly the 1960s through the early 1980s, with a few earlier and later outliers. Early exploitation of the 1930s and the 1940s were often disguised as "educational" but were really sensationalist. These were shown in traveling roadshows, skirting censorship under the guise of moral instruction. One of the film industry's early and most successful producers of exploitation films wasKroger Babb.[4] Babb produced the 1945 filmMom and Dad, asex hygiene film telling the story of a young girl's accidental pregnancy.[5] According to a 1977Washington Post article,Time claimed in 1949 that one in ten people had seen the film, and Babb used promotional tactics to "overwhelm a town with exploitation material, even pioneering the use of direct mail advertising, sending four-color heralds to every mailbox in town."[6] The film was the third-highest grossing film of the 1940s in dollar value.[7] The 1950s saw low-budget sci-fi, monster movies, and teen rebellion films. They were still tame by later standards, but laid the groundwork. The 1960s, with the collapse of the Production Code and the rise of grindhouses, became fertile ground for exploitation films, which introduced sex, gore, and shock value. The 1970s are widely considered the golden age of exploitation films, with independent producers thriving in grindhouse cinemas and drive-ins. In the early 1980s, the home video explosion gave exploitation filmmakers a new playground, with VHS allowing for direct-to-video content. The MPAA crackdown and increasing mainstream competition began to dull the edge mid-decade. Starting with the late 1980s, exploitation films started to fade or become self-aware.
TheMotion Picture Association (MPA), founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) and known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) from 1945 until September 2019,[8] was established to protect the interests and image of theAmerican film industry. In 1930, it introduced theMotion Picture Production Code – commonly known as the Hays Code – which imposed strict guidelines on film content. This code remained in effect until 1968, when it was replaced by a voluntaryfilm rating system, administered by the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA). While the MPA collaborated with censorship boards and grassroots organizations to promote a "clean" image of Hollywood, exploitation filmmakers often operated outside this system. They embraced controversy, using it as free publicity,[3] and relied on sensational content to attract audiences lost to television.
The definition of "exploitation" is flexible and often shaped by the viewer's perception as much as the film's actual content. Titillating and artistic elements frequently coexist; many art films rejected by theHays Code were screened in the samegrindhouses as exploitation films. Exploitation films share a willingness to explore "disreputable" material, much like the transgressive works of European auteurs. Numerous films now regarded as classics contain levels of sex, violence, and shock once relegated to the realm of exploitation. Both art house and exploitation audiences are often united by their rejection of mainstream Hollywood conventions.[9]
Since the 1990s, exploitation cinema has garnered increasing academic interest and is sometimes referred to asparacinema.[10]
"Grindhouse", or "action house", is an American term for a theater that primarily showcased low-budget exploitation films aimed at adult audiences. These theaters gained peak popularity in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly in New York City and other urban centers across North America. Historian David Church notes that the term "grindhouse" originates from the "grind policy" – a film programming strategy from the 1920s involving continuous showings at discounted prices that increased throughout the day. This approach contrasted sharply with the era's more traditional exhibition model, which featured fewer daily screenings and tiered ticket pricing based on seating, typically in large, studio-owned theaters. Grindhouses began to decline in the mid-1980s with the rise of home video.[11]
A drive-in theater is an outdoor movie venue featuring a large screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a parking area where patrons can watch films from the comfort of their cars. These theaters evolved over time in both structure and technology. Initially, audio was delivered through speakers on the screen or individual wired speakers hooked to car windows, but this system was eventually replaced by microbroadcasting the film's soundtrack to car radios, offering better sound quality and eliminating the risk of damaging windows or cords. As drive-ins began to decline in popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, theater owners sought to attract audiences by screening low-cost exploitation films, dubbed "drive-in" films. Some producers even made films specifically for this market, and the constant demand for new content led to the theory that they would "grind out" films – an idea that may have influenced the term "grindhouse".
Exploitation films may adopt the subject matter and styling of regular film genres, particularly horror films and documentary films, and their themes are sometimes influenced by other so-called exploitative media, such aspulp magazines. They often blur the distinctions between genres by containing elements of two or more genres at a time. Their subgenres are identifiable by the characteristics they use.
InAmerican cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the Blackcivil rights movement, theblack power movement, and theBlack Panther Party, political and sociological circumstances that facilitated Black artists reclaiming their power of theRepresentation of the Black ethnic identity in the arts. The termblaxploitation is aportmanteau of the wordsBlack andexploitation, coined byJunius Griffin, president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood branch of theNAACP in 1972. In criticizing the Hollywood portrayal of the multiracial society of the US, Griffin said that theblaxploitation genre was "proliferating offenses" to and against the Black community, by perpetuating racist stereotypes of inherent criminality.[12]
After the cultural misrepresentation of Black people in therace films of the 1940s, the 1950s, and the 1960s, the Blaxploitation movie genre presented Black characters and Black communities as the protagonists and the places of the story, rather than as background or secondary characters in the story, such as theMagical negro or as the victims of criminals.[13] To counter the racist misrepresentations ofBlackness in the American movie business,UCLA financially assisted Black students to attend film school. The cultural emergence of the Blaxploitation subgenre was facilitated by theHollywood movie studios adopting a permissive system of film ratings in 1968.[14]
Initially, blaxploitation films were black cinema produced for the entertainment ofBlack people in the cities of the US, but the entertainment appeal of the Black characters and human stories extended into the mainstream cinema of corporateHollywood.[15] Recognizing the profitability of the financially inexpensive blaxploitation films, the corporate movie studios then produced blaxploitation movies specifically for the cultural sensibilities of mainstream viewers. Blaxploitation films were the first to featuresoundtracks offunk andsoul music.[16]
The first and perhaps most iconic examples of blaxploitation were made in the 1970s. A prime example of the genre isShaft (1971), directed byGordon Parks and starringRichard Roundtree in the title role. Collaboration between directorJack Hill and actressPam Grier gave birth to two of the most famous female-led blaxploitation films;Coffy (1973) andFoxy Brown (1974).The Wiz (1978) reimagines the classic children's novelThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz byL. Frank Baum with an African American cast, starring singersDiana Ross andMichael Jackson in the lead roles. 1980s blaxploitation films includeAction Jackson (1988) and the blaxploitation parody filmI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).
Cannibal films, alternatively known as the cannibal boom films, are a subgenre ofhorror films made predominantly byItalian filmmakers during the 1970s and 1980s. This subgenre is a collection of graphically violent movies that usually depictcannibalism by primitive,Stone Agenatives deep within the Asian or South American rainforests. While cannibalism is the uniting feature of these films, the general emphasis focuses on various forms of shocking, realistic and graphic violence, typically includingtorture,rape and genuinecruelty to animals. This subject matter was often used as the main advertising draw of cannibal films in combination with exaggerated orsensational claims regarding the films' reputations.
Ruggero Deodato'sCannibal Holocaust (1980) is often considered to be the best-known film of the genre due to the significant controversy surrounding its release, and is one of the few films of the genre to garner mainstream attention. Another famous film of the genre isUmberto Lenzi'sCannibal Ferox (1981).
"Canuxploitation" is a neologism that was coined in 1999 by the magazineBroken Pencil, in the article "Canuxploitation! Goin' Down the Road with the Cannibal Girls that Ate Black Christmas. Your Complete Guide to the Canadian B-Movie", to refer to Canadian-madeB-movies.[17] Most mainstream critical analysis of this period in Canadian film history, however, refers to it as the "tax-shelter era".[18]
The phenomenon emerged in 1974, when the government of Canada introducednew regulations to jumpstart the then-underdeveloped Canadian film industry, increasing theCapital Cost Allowancetax credit from 60 per cent to 100 per cent.[19] While some important and noteworthy films were made under the program,[18] and some film directors who cut their teeth in the "tax shelter" era emerged as among Canada's most important and influential filmmakers, the new regulations also had an entirely unforeseen side effect: a sudden rush of low-budget horror and genre films, intended as puretax shelters since they were designed not to turn a conventional profit.[19] Many of the films, in fact, were made by American filmmakers, whose projects had been rejected by the Hollywood studio system as not commercially viable, giving rise to theHollywood North phenomenon.[19]Variety dubbed the genre "maple syrup porno".[20]
The period officially ended in 1982, when the Capital Cost Allowance was reduced to 50 per cent, although films that had entered production under the program continued to be released for another few years afterward.[19] However, at least one Canadian film blog extends the "Canuxploitation" term to refer to any Canadian horror, thriller or science fiction film made up to the present day.[21]
David Cronenberg stands out as the most important director of this era, with the filmsShivers (1975),Rabid (1977),The Brood (1979),Scanners (1981) andVideodrome (1983). Certain important Canuxploitation films were slashers, likeBlack Christmas (1974),Prom Night (1980),Terror Train (1980),Happy Birthday to Me (1981) andMy Bloody Valentine (1981). Other important Canuxploitation films includePorky's (1981) andClass of 1984 (1982).
Chanbara, meaning "sword fighting" films,[22] denotes theJapanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent toWestern andswashbuckler films.Chanbara is a sub-category ofjidaigeki, which equates toperiod drama. While earliersamurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai films produced afterWorld War II have become moreaction-based,[23] with darker and more violent characters. Historically, the genre is usually set during theTokugawa era (1600–1868).
In the 1950s and the 1960s, famous Japanese directors likeAkira Kurosawa,Kenji Mizoguchi,Hiroshi Inagaki,Masaki Kobayashi,Kaneto Shindo andKihachi Okamoto made samurai-themed films. However, none of these films fall under the category of exploitation cinema. While some may contain violence, samurai action, or supernatural elements, they are all recognized as artistically significant works by acclaimed directors.
In the 1970s, a revisionist, non-traditional style of samurai film achieved some popularity in Japan. It became known aschanbara, an onomatopoeia describing the clash of swords.Chanbara features few of the stoic, formal sensibilities of earlierjidaigeki films – the newchanbara featured revenge-driven antihero protagonists, nudity, sex scenes, swordplay and blood. This new subgenre is mostly associated with 1970s samuraimanga byKazuo Koike.
The most famous films based on Koike's work are as follows:Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972), directed byKenji Misumi and starringTomisaburo Wakayama, tells the story of Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.[24][25] It is the first in a series of six films in theLone Wolf and Cub series.[26]Shogun Assassin (1980), directed byRobert Houston, was edited and compiled from the first two films in the series.Lady Snowblood (1973), directed byToshiya Fujita and starringMeiko Kaji,[27] recounts the tale of Yuki, a woman who seeks vengeance upon three of the people who raped her mother and killed her half brother.
Eurospy film (or Spaghetti spy film, when referring toItalian-produced films in the genre),[28][29][30] is a genre ofspy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the BritishJames Bond spy series feature films. The genre was an offshoot of the wider 1960s spy craze that had begun with James Bond in 1962 and had taken root across the Western world, lasting into the early-to-mid '70s in countries such as the UK.[31] Britain participated in the Eurospy movement it had inspired, albeit spreading its output across lower-budget Eurospy-style copycat media and more serious productions with higher budgets than were typical of the genre.
Eurospy films are better categorized as "spy action" films because they emphasize stylized action, gadgets, and exotic locales over the psychological tension and realism typical of "spy thrillers" which are not action-oriented. An important example is the French filmThe Professional (1981).
InItalian cinema,giallo is a genre ofmurder mystery fiction that often containsslasher,thriller,psychological horror,psychological thriller,sexploitation, and, less frequently,supernatural horror elements.[32]
This particular style of Italian-producedmurder mysteryhorror-thriller film usually blends the atmosphere and suspense ofthriller fiction with elements ofhorror fiction anderoticism, and often involves a mysterious killer whose identity is not revealed until the final act of the film. The genre developed in the mid-to-late 1960s, peaked in popularity during the 1970s, and subsequently declined in commercial mainstream filmmaking over the next few decades, though examples continue to be produced. It was a predecessor to, and had significant influence on, the laterslasher film genre.[33]
The first notable examples ofgiallo were made byMario Bava, which includeBlood and Black Lace (1964) andA Bay of Blood (1971). However, the most famous examples were made byDario Argento in the 1970s and 1980s, which includeThe Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970),The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971),Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971),Deep Red (1975),Tenebrae (1982),Phenomena (1985) andOpera (1987).Lucio Fulci is another famous director ofgiallo films, which includeDon't Torture a Duckling (1972) andThe New York Ripper (1982).
Hippie film is a subgenre of films withhippie characters, films which portray the hippie subculture, and films which promote the non-materialistic hippie counterculture values of peace, love, natural living, communal lifestyles, freedom, spiritual exploration, creativity, travel and pilgrimage, the quest for truth, changing the world for the better, consciousness, and a meaningful life.
Hippie films were an American phenomenon, and they were popular from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, with important examples includingEasy Rider (1969),Woodstock (1970),Zabriskie Point (1970),Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971),Fritz the Cat (1972),Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) andHair (1979).
Martial arts films are a subgenre ofaction films that featuremartial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly includehand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such asstuntwork, chases, andgunfights.[34][35][36]
Martial arts films emerged as a mainly Hong Kong phenomenon.Bruce Lee is regarded as one of the most influential martial artists in the history of cinema. Known for his roles in five feature-length martial arts films, Lee is credited with helping to popularize martial arts films in the 1970s. These films areThe Big Boss (1971),Fist of Fury (1972),The Way of the Dragon (1972),Enter the Dragon (1973) andGame of Death (1978). The first three of these movies are Hong Kong productions, while the last two are Hong Kong/USA co-productions, with the last film being released five years after Lee's death in 1973. The end of the 1970s also saw other important Hong Kong martial arts films, withJackie Chan emerging as the next big martial arts talent.Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) established Chan's slapstick kung fu comedy style, while also establishing the basic plot structure used in many martial arts films internationally since then. In the same year, Chan also starred inDrunken Master (1978), featuring much of the same crew as and bearing similarities in its story and style to the earlier film. Another important martial arts film from the same year isThe 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), starringGordon Liu.
In the 1980s,Jackie Chan dominated the martial arts film scene, by starring in films likeProject A (1983),Wheels on Meals (1984),Police Story (1985),Armour of God (1986) andDragons Forever (1988). Apart from these Hong Kong films, notable American martial arts films were also made in the 1980s. The most notable star to emerge in the American martial arts film scene wasJean-Claude Van Damme, who starred in films likeNo Retreat, No Surrender (1985),Bloodsport (1988),Cyborg (1989) andKickboxer (1989). Other important 1980s American martial arts films areLone Wolf McQuade (1983),The Karate Kid (1984),American Ninja (1985),The Last Dragon (1985),Above the Law (1988),Best of the Best (1989) andBlind Fury (1989).
Gun fu, aportmanteau ofgun andkung fu, is a style of sophisticated close-quartersgunfight resembling amartial arts combat that combinesfirearms withhand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. This subgenre emerged in the second half of the 1980s, with the filmsA Better Tomorrow (1986) andThe Killer (1989), both directed byJohn Woo and starringChow Yun-fat.
Wuxia (literally "martial arts and chivalry") is a genre ofChinese fiction concerning the adventures ofmartial artists in ancient China. Although wuxia is traditionally a form ofhistorical fantasy literature, its popularity has caused it to be adapted for other art forms, including cinema. A notable wuxia film isA Chinese Ghost Story (1987).
A mockbuster is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to maximize profits. "Mockbuster" is a portmanteau of the words "mock" and "blockbuster".
Unlike films produced to capitalize on the popularity of a recent release by adopting similar genre or storytelling elements, mockbusters are generally produced concurrently with upcoming films and released direct-to-video around the time the film they are inspired by is released. A mockbuster may be similar enough in title or packaging that consumers confuse it with the actual film it mimics; however, their producers maintain that they are simply offering additional products for consumers who want to watch more films in the same subgenres.
Mockbusters and ripoffs can be filmed and released outside of the original films' countries. Low-budget studios in foreign countries may produce illegitimate sequels to preexisting higher budgeted films series that began in other countries. Probably, the most famous example of this is the Italian fimZombi 2 (1979), which was an unofficial sequel to the American filmDawn of the Dead (1978).
A monster movie is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or moreantagonisticmonsters. The monster is often created by a folly of mankind – an experiment gone wrong, the effects ofradiation or the destruction ofhabitat. The monster is usually a villain but can be a metaphor of humankind's continuous destruction; for instance, a symbol ofatomic warfare.
The first movies of this genre were generally giant monster movies. The American filmKing Kong (1933), the seminal example of the genre, features a giant gorilla. The decade most closely associated with the genre is the 1950s, when it was combined with nuclear paranoia.Them! (1954) features gigantic irradiated ants, andTarantula! (1955) features a gigantic tarantula.Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) is an exception, as instead of a giant monster, it features an aquatic humanoid. Again in the 1950s, Japanese film studioToho started to producekaiju films.Godzilla (1954), the first important example of this trend, features a gigantic dinosaur-like creature.Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), a Japanese-American co-production, is a heavily re-edited American localization, or "Americanization", of the 1954 Japanese film. This film was responsible for introducing Godzilla to a worldwide audience.
After the 1950s, there was a shift from giant monster movies to movies featuring more or less normal-sized animals, which would perhaps be more accurately classified asnatural horror films rather thanmonster movies. Important examples of this new trend from the 1960s to the 1980s includeThe Birds (1963; birds),Phase IV (1974; ants),Jaws (1975; shark),Orca (1977; orca),Piranha (1978; piranhas),Alligator (1980; alligator),White Dog (1982; dog),Cujo (1983; dog) andMonkey Shines (1988; monkey). However,King Kong (1976), a remake of the 1933 film, is a giant monster film just like the original.
Jaws (1975) also created its own subgenre of exploitation film, namedsharksploitation.
Nazi exploitation (also Nazisploitation) is a subgenre of exploitation film andsexploitation film that involvesNazis committing sex crimes, often as camp or prison overseers duringWorld War II. Most follow theWomen-in-prison film formula, only relocated to a concentration camp, extermination camp, or Nazibrothel, and with an added emphasis onsadism, gore, and degradation. European filmmakers, mostly inItaly, produced Nazi exploitation films. Globally exported to both cinema and VHS, the Nazi exploitation films were critically attacked and heavily censored, and the subgenre all but vanished by the end of the seventies.
In Italy, these films are known as part of the "il sadiconazista" cycle, which were inspired by suchart-house films asThe Night Porter (1974) byLiliana Cavani andSalò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) byPier Paolo Pasolini.
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involveChristiannuns living inconvents during theMiddle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual suppression due to living incelibacy. TheInquisition is another common theme. These films, although often seen as pure exploitation films, often contain criticism against religion in general and theCatholic Church in particular. Indeed, some protagonist dialogue voiced feminist consciousness and rejection of their subordinated social role. Many of these films were made in countries where theCatholic Church is influential, such as Italy and Spain.
The most famous example of this subgenre isThe Devils (1971). A dramatised historical account of the fall ofUrbain Grandier, a 17th-centuryRoman Catholic priest accused ofwitchcraft after thepossessions in Loudun, France, the plot also focuses onSister Jeanne des Anges, asexually repressed nun who incites the accusations.
The outlaw biker film is a film genre that portrays its characters as motorcycle riding rebels. The characters are usually members of anoutlaw motorcycle club. The genre really took off in the mid-1960s, after theHells Angels motorcycle club became prominent in the media,[37] in particular, afterHunter S. Thompson's bookHell's Angels (1967) was published.
The outlaw biker culture was first popularized in theMarlon Brando filmThe Wild One (1953), which tells a story based very loosely on actual events, the 1947Hollister riot. Later,Peter Fonda,Dennis Hopper andJack Nicholson teamed up on the classic "hippie biker" movie,Easy Rider (1969), the antithesis of the violent biker-gang genre. The biker gang ethos also featured strongly in the famed low budget Australian productionMad Max (1979), with the film spawning the real-life subculture ofsurvival bikes. 1980s outlaw biker films includeStreets of Fire (1984) andAkira (1988).
Ozploitation films are exploitation films – a category oflow-budgethorror,comedy,sexploitation andaction films – made inAustralia[38] after the introduction of theR rating in 1971.[39] The year also marked the beginnings of theAustralian New Wave movement, and the Ozploitation style peaked within the same time frame (early1970s to late1980s). Ozploitation is often considered a smaller wave within the New Wave, covering a wide range of genres from sexploitation, biker films, horror and even martial arts.[40][41]
The origin of the term "Ozploitation" is credited to the documentaryNot Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!.[42] This 2008 feature explores Ozploitation films made during the Australian New Wave. The film includes interviews with numerous figures involved in Ozploitation, as well as fans of the genre, including American directorQuentin Tarantino, who coined the phrase "Aussiesploitation", which directorMark Hartley then shortened to "Ozploitation".[43]
The most important Ozploitation films include the thrillersWake in Fright (1971),Mad Max (1979) andRoadgames (1981).
Rape and revenge is a subgenre characterized by an individual exacting revenge for rape or other sexual acts committed against them or others. Rape and revenge films are also commonlyhorror films,thriller films orvigilante films. Notable for their graphic depiction of violence, rape, torture and sexual imagery, rape and revenge films have attracted critical attention and controversy.
The subgenre has drawn praise from feminists such asCarol J. Clover, whose bookMen, Women, and Chain Saws (1992) examines the implications of its reversals of cinema's traditional gender roles. Clover, who restricts her definition of the genre to movies in which a woman is raped and gains her own revenge, praises rape and revenge exploitation films for the way in which their protagonists fight their abuse directly, rather than preserve the status quo by depending on an unresponsive legal system, as in rape–themed movies from major studios such asThe Accused (1988).[44] Author Jacinda Read and others believe that rape and revenge should be categorized as a narrative structure rather than a true subgenre, because its plot can be found in films of many different genres, such as thrillers, dramas, westerns and art films.[45]
Rape and revenge film has non-Hollywood origins. Perhaps the original rape and revenge film is the Swedish filmThe Virgin Spring (1960) byIngmar Bergman, which is about a father's merciless response to the rape and murder of his young daughter. Other early examples from the 1960s include the BritishRepulsion (1965), the ItalianDeath Rides a Horse (1967) and the JapaneseKuroneko (1968). The subgenre was very popular in the 1970s, with notable examples includingStraw Dogs (1971),Deliverance (1972),The Last House on the Left (1972),Lady Snowblood (1973),Death Wish (1974),The Hills Have Eyes (1977) andI Spit on Your Grave (1978). 1980s examples includeCannibal Holocaust (1980),Ms .45 (1981),Class of 1984 (1982),Red Sonja (1985) andKickboxer (1989).
A sexploitation film serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations andgratuitous nudity. The termsoft-core is often used to designate non-explicit sexploitation films to differentiate them from hardcore content.
An early sexploitation film is the American filmGlen or Glenda (1953), written and directed by and starringEd Wood, which deals withcross-dressing andtransvestism. This was followed by theRuss Meyer sexploitation films likeFaster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) andBeyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). The 1970s saw international erotic films, like the FrenchEmmanuelle (1974), the JapaneseIn the Realm of the Senses (1976) and the ItalianCaligula (1979).Erotic thrillers were popular in the 1980s, along with some steamy romance films, such as9½ Weeks (1986) andWild Orchid (1989), both starringMickey Rourke.
A slasher film is a subgenre ofhorror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools.[46] Critics cite the psychological horror filmsPeeping Tom (1960) andPsycho (1960) and the Italiangiallo films as early influences.[47][48][49]
The slasher subgenre saw its peak in the 1970s and the 1980s. The Canadian filmBlack Christmas (1974) is one of the earliest slasher films.[50] The two most popular 1970s slashers are the American filmsThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) andHalloween (1978), featuring the iconic killersLeatherface andMichael Myers respectively. Less popular 1970s slashers include the American filmsAlice, Sweet Alice (1976),The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) andTourist Trap (1979).
The 1980s had a much higher number of slashers, mostly American productions. The three most popular 1980s slashers are the American filmsFriday the 13th (1980),A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) andChild's Play (1988), featuring the iconic killersJason Voorhees,Freddy Krueger andChucky respectively. Less popular 1980s American slashers includeManiac (1980),The Burning (1981),The Funhouse (1981),The Prowler (1981),The House on Sorority Row (1982),The Slumber Party Massacre (1982),Sleepaway Camp (1983),Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984),April Fool's Day (1986),Maniac Cop (1988),Intruder (1989) andShocker (1989). The 1980s also saw Canadian slashers likeProm Night (1980),Terror Train (1980),Happy Birthday to Me (1981) andMy Bloody Valentine (1981). Although slashers are a mainly North American phenomenon, the 1980s also saw European slashers like the SpanishPieces (1982), the ItalianStage Fright (1987) and the DutchAmsterdamned (1988).
The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre ofWestern films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake ofSergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success.[51] The term was used by foreign critics because most of these Westerns wereproduced and directed by Italians.[52]
The majority of the films in the spaghetti Western genre were internationalco-productions by Italy and Spain, and sometimes France, West Germany, Britain, Portugal, Greece, Yugoslavia, and the United States. Over six hundred European Westerns were made between 1960 and 1978, including nearly five hundred in Italy, which dominated the market. Most spaghetti Westerns filmed between 1964 and 1978 were made on low budgets, and shot atCinecittà Studios and various locations around southern Italy and Spain.
Leone's films and other core spaghetti Westerns are often described as having eschewed, criticized or even "demythologized"[53] many of the conventions of traditional U.S. Westerns. This was partly intentional, and partly the context of a different cultural background.[54] In 1968, the wave of spaghetti Westerns reached its crest, comprising one-third of the Italian film production, only to collapse to one-tenth in 1969. Spaghetti Westerns have left their mark on popular culture, strongly influencing numerous works produced in and outside of Italy.
Sergio Leone is the most famous director of spaghetti Westerns. HisDollars Trilogy, starringClint Eastwood as theMan with No Name, includes the filmsA Fistful of Dollars (1964),For a Few Dollars More (1965) andThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The series has become known for establishing the spaghetti Western genre, and inspiring the creation of many more spaghetti Western films. The three films are consistently listed among the best-ratedWestern films in history.[55] Apart from these films, Leone also directedOnce Upon a Time in the West (1968) andDuck, You Sucker! (1971). Apart from Leone, other notable spaghetti Western directors includeSergio Corbucci, who made the filmsDjango (1966) andThe Great Silence (1968), andEnzo Barboni, who made the filmsThey Call Me Trinity (1970) and its sequelTrinity Is Still My Name (1971). Other notable spaghetti Westerns includeDeath Rides a Horse (1967) andMy Name Is Nobody (1973).
A splatter film is a subgenre ofhorror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals ofgore andgraphic violence. These films, usually through the use ofspecial effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term was popularized by John McCarty's 1981 bookSplatter Movies, subtitled:Breaking The Last Taboo: A Critical Survey of the Wildly Demented Sub Genre of the Horror Film that Is Changing the Face of Film Realism Forever.
The first splatter film to popularize the subgenre was George A. Romero'sNight of the Living Dead (1968), the director's attempt to replicate the atmosphere and gore of EC's horror comics on film. Initially derided by the American press as "appalling", it quickly became a national sensation, playing not just in drive-ins but at midnight showings in indoor theaters across the country. George A. Romero coined the term "splatter cinema" to describe his filmDawn of the Dead (1978).
Splatter films are often also body horror films, and such films were very popular in the 1980s. Important examples includeBasket Case (1982),The Thing (1982),The Toxic Avenger (1984),Re-Animator (1985),Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986),From Beyond (1986),Hellraiser (1987),Street Trash (1987),Brain Damage (1988) andSociety (1989).
Stoner film is asubgenre ofcomedy film based onmarijuana themes, whererecreational use often drives the plot, sometimes representingcannabis culture more broadly or intended for that audience.[56]
Many stoner movies have certain elements and themes in common.[57][58] The template involves protagonists who have marijuana, are attempting to find marijuana, or have some other task to complete. The protagonists are often two friends in a variation of thebuddy film.[57] Stoner films often involve evading authority figures who disapprove of the protagonists' marijuana usage, usually out of a greater lack of acceptance of their lifestyle of leisure and innocence. Authority figures are often law-enforcement agents, who are portrayed as comically inept, as well as parents, co-workers, friends, and security guards. Most serious moments in stoner films are intended ironically, often to parody overwrought counterparts in mainstream cinema. The comicstory arcs often approach or fall over the line intoslapstick.[57]
Themidnight movie scene in theaters of the 1970s revived the hectoring anti-drugpropaganda filmReefer Madness (1938) as an ironic counterculture comedy. The duoCheech & Chong established the archetypal "stoner" comedy throughout the 1970s, taking their antics to the big screen forUp in Smoke (1978), establishing the contemporary stoner film genre. Later examples of the subgenre include the high school comediesFast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) andClass of Nuke 'Em High (1986).
Vansploitation is a term and film genre used to describe Americanindependent films from the 1970s, in which avan or vans are the main key element to the plot, and feature comedic stories about young adults.[59] The short-lived[60][61] genre emerged in the United States during the early 1970s, exploiting the popularity of vans with young adults, and was very popular in the mid to late 1970s, but quickly fell off after the 1970s. Vansploitation films were originally made mostly for young audiences.
An example of vansploitation isUp in Smoke (1978), in which two stoner musicians unknowingly smuggle a van - made entirely of marijuana - from Mexico to Los Angeles.
Vetsploitation is a film genre and term used to describe exploitation films in which a military veteran is the main element to the plot.[62][63][64] Vetsploitation developed in the 1970s, asB movies featuring veterans who were vilified and becameantiheroes.[65]
In American cinema, vetsploitation films are often aboutVietnam Warveterans. They also often deal withpost-traumatic stress disorder, which came into use in the 1970s, in large part due to the diagnoses of U.S. military veterans of theVietnam War.[66] Therefore, vetsploitation films are notwar films; rather, they deal with the aftermath of the war. Important examples includeTaxi Driver (1976),Rolling Thunder (1977),The Ninth Configuration (1980) andFirst Blood (1982).
The vigilante film is a film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists engage invigilante behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usuallyrevenge films in which thelegal system fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes. They may be ordinary citizens who cannot find help within the system, or policemen who feel thwarted by the system.
In United States cinema, vigilante films gained prominence during the 1970s. TheLos Angeles Times reported, "Vigilante vengeance was the cinematic theme of the 1970s, flourishing in the more respectable precincts of the new American cinema even as it fueled numerous exploitation flicks." These films were rooted in 1970s unease over government corruption, failure in theVietnam War, and rising crime rates. They reflect the rising political trend ofneoconservatism.[67]
Important vigilante films made in the 1970s includeDirty Harry (1971),Coffy (1973),Death Wish (1974),Foxy Brown (1974),Taxi Driver (1976),The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976),Rolling Thunder (1977),I Spit on Your Grave (1978) andMad Max (1979).
Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed ascannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into thehorror genre, some cross over into other genres, such asaction,comedy,science fiction,thriller, orromance. Distinct subgenres have evolved, such as the "zombie comedy" or the "zombie apocalypse".
Victor Halperin'sWhite Zombie (1932) is often cited as the first zombie film.[68][69][70][71]I Walked with a Zombie (1943),Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) andThe Last Man on Earth (1964) are other important early zombie films.
Inspired by the zombie ofHaitian folklore, the modern zombie emerged in popular culture during the latter half of the twentieth century, withGeorge A. Romero's seminal filmNight of the Living Dead (1968).[72] A decade later, Romero madeDawn of the Dead (1978), which was the most commercially successful zombie film at the time. The Italian filmZombi 2 (1979) byLucio Fulci was an unofficial sequel toDawn of the Dead, which was released in Italy under the titleZombi. Fulci's films in hisGates of Hell trilogy, namelyCity of the Living Dead (1980),The Beyond (1981) andThe House by the Cemetery (1981) are also zombie films. Romero followed his previous two zombie films withDay of the Dead (1985). Other important zombie films from the 1980s areRe-Animator (1985),The Return of the Living Dead (1985),Night of the Creeps (1986) andThe Serpent and the Rainbow (1988).
Samurai cinema is an action-packed category...telling dramatic and action-packed tales of brave and noble warriors.
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