Grindhouse films were low-budget, exploitation films with extreme violence and sexual content. They were shown in former burlesque theaters and became obsolete with the advent of VCRs. The 2007 film Grindhouse brought the term back into conversation, using elements of excessive violence and missing reels. Some famous directors, such as Peter Jackson, started with grindhouse films. Modern films, such as Saw and Hostel, focus on shock value and gore.
A grindhouse film refers to exploitation films, popular primarily from the late 1960s onward, that relied on extreme depictions of violence and often explicit sexual content to appeal to audiences. Grindhouse film was not known for its quality, but most were low-budget films with poor cinematic technique, also called B-movies. While a V-film, especially one made in the 1950s or earlier, could be a harmless enough affair, the grindhouse film was preoccupied with violence or near-pornography.
The term grindhouse comes from venues where grindhouse films were often shown, usually formerly burlesque theaters that once housed “bump and grind” strip performances. In fact some of these theaters remain dedicated to showing real or softcore pornography exclusively. Gradually, with the advent of the VCR, grindhouse movies became a thing of the past. If people wanted to see exploitation films, they could rent and watch them from the comfort of their homes and with much more privacy.
In 2007, the film Grindhouse with two segments directed by Quentin Tarantino and Richard Rodriquez brought the term back into common conversation. Both segments used essentially the same elements that had made grindhouse films popular with certain audiences, excessive violence and gore and explicit sexual content. They also have a certain shock value known to exploitation film buffs as “exploitation shock”. Earlier examples of shock exploitation grindhouse films include Assault on Precinct 13.
Rodriquez and Tarantino also inserted elements into films, which made it appear as though films had been shown thousands of times and had missing reels. The quality of the actual film reel and the ability to keep track of it was common to grindhouse cinemas, resulting in very poor picture quality and missing story elements. Often, since the story wasn’t a major reason to see a film, few cared for a missing reel or two.
Some early grindhouse films would seem tame by modern standards, but it didn’t have to stay that way. By the late 1960s, the adjective “domesticated” could no longer apply to them. Indeed, many grindhouse films have strongly evoked the ire of film critics, who felt all decency had been overstepped by the subject matter. It is surprising that some of these same critics praise the 2007 Tarantino/Rodriguez film.
Some now famous directors have entered the world of cinema by making one or more grindhouse films. Probably the most famous is Peter Jackson. His previous films were mostly gory depictions of zombies, real grindhouse fodder. Other modern films definitely come close and focus on shock value and gore rather than good plot or quality. The graphic violence in films like Saw, The Hills Have Eyes and Hostel seems overtly and sickeningly violent to many. Yet a segment of the population enjoys these films and this can certainly be demonstrated by the box office returns.
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