Recomendations for a complete beginner

Hello folks,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend to me some exploitations horror movies for a complete novice to the genre? I have heard about films like Cannibal Holocaust and Anthropophagus (the group's picture) as they are surrounded in infamy but have never watched them. I am not sure I understand the fascination with such visceral or bloody gore, like, in the latter, where there was a scene so realistic people thought it was a real baby that was ripped from its mothers womb and then eaten, not just a skinned rabbit. Anyone wanna give their personal insight on this? I also like what little Japanese horror I have watched (The Grudge, The Ring and House -- strange amalgam, I know [and I don't think they are really exploitation films]), so anything very broadly in connection with any of this would be very much appreciated. I know this is a very unspecific, broad request, but I would be thankful for any thoughts or insights. Also, I'm not sure I really understand what one is, fully. That the film 'exploits' a certain theme? I am not sure
Thanks

Cannibal Holocaust's reputation is more gory than it really is.

Asian horror/exploitation - Martyrs, Ichi the killer, Audition and Three Extremes are all good.
Italian Horror/exploitation - City of the Living Dead, The House Next To The Cemetery, Zombie, Hell of The Living Dead, Nightmare City,

Those are some exploitation films I started out with, some are more horror but extremely brutal.

You could also try Dead Alive, Genesis and August Mortums Underground and The Guinea Pig Series.

I promise you that the Asian horror I posted will be more gory than The Grudge or The Ring times ten.

Cannibal Holocaust's reputation is more gory than it really is.

I think reputations tend to be a bit like that, especially with gorey movies like the ones in question. However, I was thinking more of their production. Apparently some of the local Colombians that were drafted in to help with the scene of a massacre ended up being close to insanity? Or something like that. Films made in the Amazon (or any rainforest I guess) have been notoriously dangerous and life-threatening. Martin Sheen practically went mad filming Apocalypse Now, and the two films that Herzog did in the rainforest were full of incidents (I think two people died filming Aguirre).

Anyway, thanks for those recommendations -- I think I understand what an exploitation film is: A movie where the plot is weak or inconsistent (sometimes the acting etc. is bad too), but generally it is where the film hinges on (therefore 'exploits' because it has nothing else) an often sensationalist or controversial theme like sex, gore, violence, murder, rape etc. etc. Although I don't think that the central theme(s) of 'Blaxploitation' or motorcycle films are very controversial. I think House (Hausu in Japanese but the director thought it would be a taboo to release a film from Japan with an English title) would probably count? But not The Ring or The Grudge.
On an aside, I have even heard people suggest that The Martrix films are exploitation-esque.

Although I don't think that the central theme(s) of 'Blaxploitation' or motorcycle films are very controversial.

I wouldn't say they are now, but when they first started coming around, they were definitely seen as controversial to some extent. I mean, Blaxploitation films obviously weren't very popular with those who still believed in segregation, and that the main character(s) couldn't be anything but white; even if it meant a white guy playing an Asian or whatever, the actor had to be white. Motorcycle films were to a degree controversial because both at the time, and in the movies, the MC's like the Hell's Angels, etc. were seen as Anti-Social psychopaths, looking to rape women, kill old men, and other stupid stuff.

Nowadays, Blaxploitation and Motorcycles movies are just to make fun of the whole subject.

I think House (Hausu in Japanese but the director thought it would be a taboo to release a film from Japan with an English title) would probably count? But not The Ring or The Grudge.
On an aside, I have even heard people suggest that The Martrix films are exploitation-esque.

I wouldn't count The Ring or The Grudge as exploitation by any means personally, they're just your basic everyday horror films. The Matrix trilogy I see as just your typical sci-fi from the time.

Also, if you want other horror films that some suggest as exploitative, then your well known Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Childs Play, and of course the best out of them all, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the first/original one), are some you might want to check out if you actually haven't seen those movies ever in your life; or have and just want to add to the list.

Another couple movies, that are foreign (from Japan), that I would probably put in the same list with Friday the 13th & Nightmare on Elm Street (but aren't a horror, but are gory and deal with teens/young aduls), would be the famous Japanese films Tokyo Gore Police, and Battle Royale.

Can't believe I missed this thread! I've been away from this group for a while, can never remember to check up on it.

Anyway, there are two excellent horror/exploitation hybrids that I recommend: One is called Pieces (1982), and it's one of the greatest films ever. The other is called Re-Animator. It's more horror than exploitation, but it's still pretty over-the-top. Also, Cannibal Holocaust is the "Citizen Kane" of exploitation. Anyone who claims to know anything about exploitation needs to see it, preferably multiple times.

However, I was thinking more of their production.

The production was actually pretty insane. Ruggero Deodato filmed on location in the actual Amazon jungle, and the tribespeople? Yeah, actual indigenous people from the area. Everything seen on screen is really happening, right down to the real-life animal slaughter (which is what the film gets the most flack for). At one point in an interview with the lead actor (who received the role because his shoe size was the same as the original person who was casted but had to leave) he says that he was afraid that Ruggero may have them killed for real in the film, and he was afraid of this prospect during the production.

He also said that the woman who played Faye in the film wanted to go out into the jungle and have sex with him on the forest floor in order to prepare for a sex scene they had in the film, but he refused because he was terrified of the jungle.

The sequence called "the last road to hell" (IIRC) does feature actual execution footage. It's cut on the 2 disc Grindhouse DVD, but it's found uncut as an extra.

I think that CH is just a great film in general, though. Great production values (for a film of it's type), great cinematography, great score, great everything.

The score is really cool yes. The opening theme and the creepy song especially.

Asian horror/exploitation - Martyrs, Ichi the killer, Audition and Three Extremes are all good.
Italian Horror/exploitation - City of the Living Dead, The House Next To The Cemetery, Zombie, Hell of The Living Dead, Nightmare City,

Those are some exploitation films I started out with, some are more horror but extremely brutal.

You could also try Dead Alive, Genesis and August Mortums Underground and The Guinea Pig Series.

I promise you that the Asian horror I posted will be more gory than The Grudge or The Ring times ten.

LOL, I just noticed this, but Mordum is not a film I'd recommend for a "complete beginner". That film can only be "enjoyed" by hardcore fans of snuff & gore, lol. It's probably one of the more hardcore mainstream films out there. (Although it's kind of hard to take seriously too, just because of it's gonzo absurdity and over-the-top depravity.)

lol. I know not for beginners of the genre, but that is why I said you could try it. He may or may not like that kind of stuff. who knows? I just tend to throw crazy titles out there sometimes.

Yeah, Flowers of flesh and blood and Mermaid in a Manhole are greate