The Grindhouse Experience Vol.1 (with some mention of vol.'s 2 & 3)

The Grindhouse Experience Collection Vol. 1

Cashing in on the presentation of the Tarantino/Rodriguez project, The Grind House Experience Collection is a project devoted to the DVD presentation of exploitation films that inspired the double-feature billing of Planet Terror and Death Proof a few years back. Truth be told, it’s a blatant rip-off cash-in feeding on sentimental nostalgia and fan-boy enthusiasm. That’s not a negative statement by any stretch of the imagination, because the whole of Exploitation films were devoted to the same basic principles of cashing in and pushing the envelopes on successful formulas with regards to sleaze and violence. I can respect that.

The latter 2 collections were devoted, largely, to some Spaghetti Western genre films. Vol. 2 did contain several films that weren’t actually westerns, but were related in various ways to the character of Trinity and the buddy-team of Hill and Spencer. The third volume of the collection dealt largely with the character of Sartana, played by various actors. Having already purchased Volumes 2 & 3 of TGE, I picked up the first little box set of 20 movies for the fabulously low cost of $25. Rather than focusing on one sub-genre in the world of “Exploitation”, TGE 1 offers a variety presented in a double feature showcase. Horror, Women in Prison, Kung-Fu, Spaghetti Westerns, and so on, so forth.

The movies aren’t presented in the best of possible formats. They’re low budget prints with various subtitles, dubs, and quality issues one would actually have found in the Grindhouse or Drive-In theaters. Sound comes off a little scratchy on some of the features; the screen is cut rather than reformatted to fit a television, and there are some other small quality issues with the presentation of the films collected. If you’re a “Hi-Def” perfectionist with regards to film quality, this collection will probably not be your cup of tea. With that said, the films being showcased through TGE are obscure enough that this may be the only way to catch them on DVD and the price is an affordable drop in the bucket for the hours of entertainment being made available. For some people, these films will be pure nostalgia. For other people, they could act as a window to another time and the source of inspiration for many modern film-makers of today.

The Movies:

Women's Camp 119

Tortured Angels

Savage Man/Savage Beast

Raw Force

Confessions of a Police Captain

Executioner 2 (personal selling point... loved this movie as a pre-teen. Vigilante with a flamethrower??? YES!!!)

Poseidon Explosion

Violent Professionals

Frank and Tony

Kung Fu Punch of Death

Return of the Tiger (YES!!!!)

Go Kill and Come Back

Bounty Man

Three tough Guys

Mandinga

The Children

Demon Witch Child

High School Hitch-hikers

Carry on Emannuelle