Ozploitation films – Nostalgia Central

The term “Ozploitation” refers to low-budget Australian-produced exploitation genre filmmaking of the 1970s and 80s.

From bawdy sex comedies like Alvin Purple (1973) to horror films like Patrick (1978) and road films such as the iconic Mad Max (1979), this category of filmmaking is variously characterised by its obsession with excess – exploitative marketing, lewd humour, gratuitous gore, violence and nudity, and idiosyncratic Australian quirks and characteristics.

A frequent feature of Ozploitation films were the hugely risky, wholly insane and wildly entertaining stunts – more than quality acting, chemistry, plot or narrative message – production values which were ideal for screening in open-air drive-in cinemas.

The prolific output of Australian genre films during the 70s and 80s primarily resulted from generous government concessions (notably the 10BA tax scheme introduced in 1981), which gave enthusiastic producers a lucrative financial incentive to make new movies, and from a relaxation of Australian censorship laws, which saw the introduction of the adults-only “R-rating” classification in 1971.

This legally permitted filmmakers to screen explicit violence, nudity, and coarse language for adult audiences.

Many Ozploitation films employed foreign actors in lead roles – a strategy to help pitch local genre films to international audiences, though the castings often made no cultural or narrative sense and were the subject of criticism for taking away jobs from local actors.

One of the most prominent examples is Road Games (1981), set on the Nullarbor Plain in Central Australia but essentially a two-hander between Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacy Keach (both American).

Influential and prolific directors in the genre include Brian Trenchard-Smith, Terry Bourke, Richard Franklin and George Miller.

Ozploitation faded by the late ’80s as tax laws shifted and Hollywood blockbusters squeezed independent drive-in circuits out of the market.

However, its DNA lives on globally. Modern filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino openly pull inspiration from it.

A Selection of great Ozploitation films