Ozploitation

Ozploitation (a portmanteau of Australia and exploitation) films are exploitation films – a category of low-budget horror, comedy, and action films – made in Australia after the introduction of the R rating in 1971. The year also marked the beginnings of the Australian New Wave movement, and the Ozploitation style peaked within the same time frame (early 1970s to late 1980s). Ozploitation is often considered a smaller wave within the New Wave, "a time when break-neck-action, schlock-horror, ocker comedy and frisky sex romps joined a uniquely antipodean wave in exploitation cinema".

Background

The origin of the term "Ozploitation" is credited to the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!. Quentin Tarantino coined the phrase "Aussiesploitation", which director Mark Hartley then shortened to "Ozploitation".^[1]

Notable films

• Stork (1971)
• Walkabout (1971)
• Wake in Fright (1971)
• Night of Fear (1972)
• The Barry McKenzie films (1972, 1974)
• Alvin Purple (1973)
• The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)
• Petersen (1974)
• Stone (1974)
• The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
• Inn of the Damned (1975)
• Mad Dog Morgan (1976)
• Eliza Fraser (1976)
• End Play (1976)
• Fantasm (1976)
• Deathcheaters (1976)
• Raw Deal (1977)
• The Scalp Merchant (1978)
• Patrick (1978)
• Money Movers (1978)
• Long Weekend (1978)
• Mad Max films (1979, 1981, 1985)
• Thirst (1979)
• The Plumber (1979)
• Snapshot (1979)
• Felicity (1979)
• The Chain Reaction (1980)
• Nightmares (1980)
• Touch and Go (1980)
• Harlequin (1980)
• Centrespread (1981)
• Roadgames (1981)
• The Survivor (1981)
• Lady Stay Dead (1982)
• Running on Empty (1982)
• Turkey Shoot (1982)
• Freedom (1982)
• Next of Kin (1982)
• The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)
• Midnite Spares (1983)
• BMX Bandits (1984)
• Coming of Age (1984)
• Leonora (1984)
• Razorback (1984)
• Fortress (1985)
• Fair Game (1986)
• Sky Pirates (1986)
• Frog Dreaming (1986)
• Run Chrissie Run! (1986)
• Dead End Drive-In (1986)
• Cassandra (1987)
• Dark Age (1987)
• Day of the Panther (1987)
• Howling III (1987)
• Outback Vampires (1987)
• Les Patterson Saves the World (1987)
• Running from the Guns (1987)
• The Dreaming (1988)
• Out of the Body (1988)
• Houseboat Horror (1989)
• Bloodmoon (1990)
• Death in Brunswick (1990)
• Dead Sleep (1992)
• Hurricane Smith (1992)
• Bloodlust (1992)
• Body Melt (1993)

Ozploitation today

Since the early 2000s, Ozploitation has experienced a revival, many semi-independent Australian film productions could be classified as Ozploitation, such as:

• Risk (2001)
• Undead (2003)
• Lost Things (2004)
• Feed (2005)
• Wolf Creek films (2005, 2013)
• Rogue (2007)
• Storm Warning (2007)
• Black Water (2007)
• Dying Breed (2008)
• Lake Mungo (2008)
• The Horseman (2008)
• Long Weekend (2008)
• The Loved Ones (2009)
• Triangle (2009)
• Prey (2009)
• Road Train (2010)
• Animal Kingdom (2010)
• Bad Behaviour (2010)
• The Reef (2010)
• Primal (2010)
• Blame (2011)
• Crawl (2011)
• Needle (2011)
• X: Night of Vengeance (2011)
• Bait 3D (2012)
• 100 Bloody Acres (2012)
• Patrick (2013)
• Wyrmwood (2014)
• The Rover (2014)
• The Mule (2014)
• Charlie's Farm (2014)
• The Suicide Theory (2014)
• Turkey Shoot (2014)
• Kill Me Three Times (2014)
• Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
• Sheborg Massacre (2016)
• Scare Campaign (2016)
• Red Billabong (2016)

The 2008 documentary feature Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! explores Ozploitation films made during the Australian New Wave. The film includes interviews with numerous figures involved in Ozploitation, as well as fans of the genre, including American director Quentin Tarantino.

Australian horror film production trebled from less than 20 films in the 1990s to over 60 films between 2000 and 2008.^[2] According to one researcher, "global forces and emerging production and distribution models are challenging the 'narrowness' of cultural policy – a narrowness that mandates a particular film culture, circumscribes certain notions of value and limits the variety of films produced domestically. Despite their low-culture status, horror films have been well suited to the Australian film industry's financial limitations, they are a growth strategy for producers, and a training ground for emerging filmmakers".^[3]

References

1. The Bazura Project - Interview with Mark Hartley, 28 October 2008
2. "Horror brings film industry back from the grave" (13 October 2008), The Age. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
3. Ryan , Mark David (2009) 'Whither culture? Australian horror films and the limitations of cultural policy'. Media International Australia incorporating Culture and Policy(No 133). pp. 43-55.

External links

• Ozploitation article @ THE DEUCE: Grindhouse Cinema Database