A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter, and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a film-programming strategy dating back to the early 1920s which continuously showed films at cut-rate ticket prices that typically rose over the course of each day. This exhibition practice was markedly different from the era's more common practice of fewer shows per day and graduated pricing for different seating sections in large urban theatres, which were typically studio-owned.
42nd Street in 1985 Times Square, showing the Lyric, one of several grindhouses at the time
Grindhouse marquees along 42nd St (New York City, 1973)
Million Dollar Theater in Los Angeles (2012), marquee advertising Mickey One and Blast of Silence
Theaters in San Francisco (1956)
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
Poster for the silent exploitation film The Road to Ruin (1928)
Reefer Madness, a 1936 film about marijuana
Poster for the independent film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
Godzilla (1954), the first film in the Godzilla series