-ploitations summed up

Exploitation movies are as well-known for their lurid subject matter as they are for their endless array of microscopic subgenres. If it can possibly be exploited for cinematic shock value, there’s probably a thriving scene with the –ploitation suffix. Here’s a look at a few of the key genres.

Blaxploitation
Originally produced mostly for an urban, black audience, films in this subgenre typically pits badass African-American heroes against antagonistic whites. More modern examples like “Black Dynamite” have more universal appeal.
Best flick
 “Shaft,” 1971, directed by Gordon Parks

Sexploitation
This is the porn soft-core enough to show in grindhouse theaters, the kind of stuff Travis Bickle might sit through in “Taxi Driver.” Plot is more prominent than in the amateur stuff that dominates adult bookstores these days, but it’s still secondary to sex.
Best flick
"Scum of the Earth!,” 1963, directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis

Mexploitation
This genre’s continued relevance in America after exploitation cinema’s 1970s Golden Age is somewhat surprising considering the relatively narrow scope of its subject matter. Think blaxploitation but with Mexicans. It’s reductive, but so is grindhouse cinema.
Best flick
“Machete,” 2010, directed by Robert Rodriguez

Nunsploitation
These films’ scope makes Mexploitation seem like a cash cow blockbuster genre. Taking place in convents and dealing with themes of sexual repression and religious oppression, these Catholic-bashing films have big cult audiences in Italy and Japan.
Best flick
“Images in a Convent,” 1979, directed by Joe D’Amato

Cannibal films
 The nature of these exploitations of tribal cultures has led them to cross into genuine snuff from time to time, especially with regards to onscreen slaughter of animals. This makes the parts that are fake seem all the more real.
Best flick
“Cannibal Holocaust,” 1980, directed by Ruggero Deodato