exploitation film

American  

[eks-ploi-tey-shuhn film] / ˌɛks plɔɪˈteɪ ʃən ˌfɪlm /

noun

1. a low-budget movie characterized by extreme violence, excessive gore, gratuitous sex, or other content meant to shock, disgust, or titillate.

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Etymology

Origin of exploitation film

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Rudy Ray Moore, later a raunchy comedian who starred in the 1975 exploitation film “Dolemite,” was Mr. Smith’s driver.

From Washington Post • Feb. 22, 2023

The grindhouse exploitation film could ruin her weekend.

From New York Times • May 5, 2021

“Bayou,” a 1957 ultra-low-budget and independently produced drama filmed on location, in waterfront Cajun country, in Louisiana, was reissued in 1961, with some added footage, as a sensational exploitation film called “Poor White Trash.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 1, 2019

There is also a work called Shoulda, which references the 1949 exploitation film She Shoulda Said No! where he updates the cast to include Princess Diana, Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.

From The Guardian • Oct. 8, 2018

The 1977 cultural phenomenon “Saturday Night Fever” is so associated with the disco explosion and its garish fashions that it has a reputation today as a lightweight, teen-friendly exploitation film.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2017