If it’s difficult for a horror film to be nominated for best picture, it was next to impossible for a grindhouse film to it.
And really, that’s the way it should be. The whole appeal of the grindhouse was that it existed on the fringes. The grindhouse was not a part of the establishment. The grindhouse had no desire to be a part of the establishment.
That said, here are six grindhouse films that I think could and perhaps should have been nominated for best picture:
- I Drink Your Blood (1970)
This film is about what happens when a group of already odd hippie Satanists get infected with rabies. It’s perhaps one of the best examinations of the culture war ever filmed. In the role of Horace Bones, Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury gives one of the most arrestingly strange performances of all time.
2. An American Hippie In Israel (1972)
Literally one of the greatest films of all time. Now, I’m not saying that American Hippie would have won. 1972 was the year of The Godfather, Cabaret, and Deliverance. But surely, a nomination could have been arranged. “You fools. You fools. Stop pushing buttons. You fools…”
3. The Candy Snatchers (1973)
Agck! This crime thriller still freaks me out. And that ending … OH MY GOD! The Sting may be good but The Candy Snatchers sticks with you forever.
4. They Call Her One-Eye (1973)
The Candy Snatchers wasn’t the only great grindhouse film to be released in 1973. Why nominate A Touch of Class (has anyone ever watched — or heard of — this nominee?) when you could nominate They Call Her One-Eye?
5. Night of the Hunted (1980)
This French classic, from director Jean Rollin, never got a U.S. release so technically, it was not eligible to be nominated for Best Picture. But what about Best Foreign Language Film?
6. Ms. 45 (1981)
The greatest revenge flick ever!
Through the Shattered Lens 