Low-budget, often sexually explicit or exploitative films shown at drive-in theaters during their heyday, particularly in the 1960s and 70s, were known by a variety of colorful terms. These included “grindhouse” films, a term borrowed from the burlesque theaters that often showed similar fare, and “exploitation films,” which highlighted their focus on sensational subject matter like violence, sex, and bizarre or taboo topics. Other common descriptors included “sexploitation” (specifically for sexually explicit films), “biker films,” “blaxploitation” (featuring predominantly Black casts, often in urban settings), and simply “B-movies” or “drive-in movies.” These films often featured lurid titles and provocative advertising designed to attract a specific audience.
The existence of these films, and the cultural phenomenon they represent, offers a valuable lens through which to examine the evolving social mores and anxieties of the time. They reflect changing attitudes towards sexuality, race, and violence in post-war America, and their low production budgets and independent distribution allowed for a greater degree of creative freedom and experimentation, albeit often at the expense of narrative coherence or technical polish. The drive-in theater itself, with its inherent privacy and informality, provided a unique exhibition context for these films, contributing to their counter-cultural appeal and lasting influence on independent filmmaking and genre cinema.
