For the past four years, the Grindhouse Film Festival has been presenting a wonderful assortment of good, wholesome exploitation flicks from the 70s and 80s. Their offerings have run the gamut from the deliciously cheeseball (“Alligator”, a film written by John Sayles – the best “killer Alligator” movie of all time), the gruesomely schlocky (“Zombie” and “The Beyond” – two gorefests from Italian hackmaster Lucio Fulci, a man who knew how to deliver the gory goods but is woefully overrated by his minions of fanboys), and downright notorious (“Cannibal Holocaust” – read about the entire sordid affair here).

The great thing about these movies (with the possible exception of “Cannibal Holocaust” – a movie that, due to its treatment of animals, I’ve never watched and probably never will) is that they are much more fun when viewed on a big screen, in a crowded theater full of people that laugh and scream in the right (and wrong) spots. They definitely play better as a communal experience, and we have the people at the Grindhouse Film Festival to thank for that opportunity

This Saturday, the fest is returning to the Hollywood Theater to present “Rolling Thunder” – a film written by “Taxi Driver” scribe Paul Schrader, concerning a hook-handed Vietnam vet seeking vengeance on the thugs that killed his family. It’s bound to be a rollicking good time.