Wes Craven’s iconic grindhouse film Eaten Alive (1978)

Who needs your fancy schmancy elevated horror?!? Turn the page back to when real horror villains had no feelings or emotional depth other than deep blood lust. These are the horror movies your mother feared you might be watching. Get ready! It’s grindhouse time at The Scariest Things Podcast!

Grindhouse as a method isn’t gone. Oh no, it’s still around in a slightly more polished form. The Terrifier franchise alone has proven that the love of grindhouse cinema is still alive. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is a hugely successful take on tasteless is proof positive that there is still a big audience for cheap thrills.

However, you should recognize that we are far from the golden age of the grindhouse. For that, you need to travel back to the early 1970s, when old downtown cinemas and aging drive-in theaters had to find a way to get audiences without paying the studios big money for the latest blockbuster. You can thank Jaws and Star Wars for that. Roger Corman’s influence from the 1950s B-movie scene translated to the indie grindhouse scene, upping the racy and bloody content and keeping it fun.

There are three pillars to grindhouse: Sex, drugs, and violence. These are the requirements. This is what titilates people.”

Mike Campbell, The Scariest Things

A Brief History of Grindhouse Cinema

The grindhouse movement began at the dawn of cinema. It will probably not surprise you that sex and violence have always been alluring to potential moviegoers, and that was true at the dawn of the medium. People have ALWAYS been curious. The grindhouse was a practice that promoted movies all day, with escalating costs and quality as the day turned to prime-time evening viewings. Counterintuitively, the daytime was often when the cheap thrills were available, and the more respectable programming was later. The grinders lure visitors in like carnival barkers, cajoling the curious to come in for a few coins.

When the theater audiences dwindled in the 1960s, with changing societal codes, the old downtown movie theaters and drive-ins could not afford to compete with the multiplex cinemas. As a result, the grindhouse returned with increased vigor. Small theaters turned to upscale arthouse and foreign films or lowbrow grindhouse fare.

Emerging genres that would find difficulty getting a booking in the suburban cineplex found homes in the grindhouse theaters. Blaxploitation. Kung-Fu. Nunsploitation. Revenge thrillers. And… pornography… which took a while to develop its methodology. Some theaters would find room for a Russ Meyer or John Waters film that would be wild and crazy but not overly explicit. Titliating? Yes. Perverse? Probably, but the times they were a changing.

Our Definitive Grindhouse Films:

Our podcast will discuss some of the more obscure grindhouse horror pictures. That is not to say that we think the ones we discuss are the most important, as the top of the sub-genre will be familiar enough that they don’t need introductions.

When considering what would qualify for a grindhouse movie, here are the crieteria:

The movie was independently made. Even mid-major studios would be a disqualifier. Apologies to Friday the 13th (Paramount) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (New Line). They have all the other attributes, but these privileged films were promoted and were released in the Cineplexes. In a way, they helped usher out the grindhouse trend. I discount Blumhouse and A24 from this consideration as well.
The movie used sensationalism to promote themselves. The more hyperbole, the better. Don’t forget… It’s Only a Movie. It’s Only a Movie. It’s ONLY A MOVIE!
Some combination of sex, violence, and drugs are in the movie… though drugs would be a negotiable variable. Apologies to Carnival of Souls, The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activities, which would otherwise fit the mold. Scary? Sure. Exploitation? Not so much. They don’t have the sleazy grindhouse feel.
The movie isn’t aiming to be more than it is. Keep it simple! You are not trying to change society. (Even if the movie might be a change agent.)
The movie has a small budget—less than $2 Million.

With those considerations, here are our most significant Grindhouse Horror Films in chronological order. Judging a grindhouse film by quality is antithetical to the genre. This grouping is for influence, longevity, and impact on horror.

Sometimes, the little guy has to play dirty to stay in the game. These are not the most pleasant or enjoyable films, but they have cut a bloody swath through the consciousness of horror fans. You have to respect them even if it’s not your cup of tea. Time will tell if the more recent films will be revered similarly. (I’m suspecting that Terrifier will be.)

Blood Feast (1963)
Night of the Living Dead (1966)
Last House on the Left (1972)
Black Christmas (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Suspiria (1977)
Halloween (1978)
I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
The Evil Dead (1981)
Re-Animator (1984)

Episode 194: Deep Cut Grindhouse

With that now written on a stone tablet, you can listen in to Eric and Mike discuss this topic in-depth and get some deep-cut grindhouse for you to consider.

Who needs your fancy schmancy elevated horror?!? Turn the page back to when real horror villains had no feelings or emotional depth other than deep blood lust. These are the horror movies your mother feared you might be watching. Get ready! It’s grindhouse time at The Scariest Things Podcast!

A Brief History of Grindhouse Cinema

Our Definitive Grindhouse Films:

Episode 194: Deep Cut Grindhouse

Here is a grouping of some notable horror grindhouse films. How many have you seen?

Deep Cut Grindhouse! : Episode 194