According to Wikipedia, the definition of an exploitation film is “a type of film that is promoted by ‘exploiting’ often lurid subject matter.”
It can be asserted that most films exploit their subject matter, particularly in their marketing. But the broad genre which became known as the exploitation film, beginning in the 1930s with such cautionary tales as Reefer Madness and reaching its height with the Blaxploitation and Sexploitation films of the 1970s, focused more heavily on sensationalist advertising, along with broad and lurid overstatement of the issues depicted in contrast to more mainstream films.
In fact, many exploitation films succeeded because of their quick turnaround in competition with Hollywood films and in many cases, because of their ability to piggyback off of blockbusters.
Two throwback films of the exploitation genre, Piranha 3D and Machete, attempt to scale the razor’s edge by embracing the tropes of their individual exploitation genre-subdivisions while simultaneously mocking them.
Piranha 3D is a remake whose original attempted to ride the success of Jaws. In the latest incarnation, an earthquake in an Arizona lake during spring break unleashes prehistoric piranhas on the obnoxious young partygoers. The threadbare plot allows director Alexandre Aja (Haute Tension, The Hills Have Eyes) to exploit the disgusting and awesome deaths without much distraction. The film abltly makes use of 3D technology for hilarious scenes of dismemberment and nudity. Unfortunately, those looking for a scary film will not find one here.
Machete, which evolved from a trailer in director Robert Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse,” attempts to combine the vigilante genre with a social conscious. Rodriguez claims this is the first “Mexploitation film,” and along with grizzled ex-Federale Machete’s (Danny Trejo) attempts to enact revenge upon those who wronged him, the film somewhat successfully manages to act as a platform for illegal immigrants. Needless to say, the violence and humor merge seamlessly, and it is surprisingly sublime to see Robert De Niro as a corrupt Texans Congressman, Steven Seagal as a Mexican drug lord, and Lindsay Lohan as a sex-crazed junkie…well, maybe not so surprising. The film hits more than it misses, but has an overlong running time.
Piranha 3D and Machete prove that the exploitation film still lives on, even if it is now more self-aware. These knowingly Hollywood takes on the exploitation genre have the validity to grace our multiplexes, even if they have a tendency to sometimes make us feel dirty. Both films: B
Now on Blu-ray/DVD
The Academy Award nominated A Single Man from first time direc- tor/fashion-icon Tom Ford serves up a melancholy day in the life of a 1960’s closeted college professor, played with remarkable restraint and desperation by Colin Firth. The DVD lacks much in the way of extras but the film with its subtlety and excel- lent additional performances by Ju- lianne Moore and Matthew Goode make up for them. A-
The Cannes award winner A Prophet takes the overplayed crime genre and once again, gives it a unique and harrowing spin for an Arabic inmate trying to survive in a French prison. The Blu-ray beautifully captures the austere and crisp tones while providing enlightening and worthwhile extras. A
HBO Films Temple Grandin is the true and uplifting story about an autistic young woman (the Emmy Award winning Claire Danes) who became, through timely mentoring and sheer force of will, one of Amer- ica’s most remarkable success stories by earning a doctorate and becoming a bestselling author and a pioneer in the humane treatment of livestock. The DVD contains some remarkable features includes a commentary that includes the real Dr. Grandin. A-
Ari Silber is a Loyola MBA student. Before graduate school, he worked for nine years in the Los Angeles film industry, focusing on marketing, publicity and distribution. He can be reached at [email protected]
