All around the city, people call it “the industry” in hushed tones. This convenient cliché leaves out the other industry: The industry of men like Roger Corman, David Friedman and Russ Meyer, the one churning out a movie a week for five grand apiece. This cottage industry is the American film's rotten underbelly, variously known as paracinema, cult film or grindhouse. Grindhouse Film Festival features the best in tits-and-gore cinema for those who never outgrew smoking grass and watching The Late Movie in the small hours of the night. Showcased at the New Beverly Cinema, curated by former Miramax VP and hardcore punk O.G. Brian J. Quinn, Grindhouse Film Festival features Shatner epic Kingdom of the Spiders one week, a Shaw Brothers kung fu double feature the next and Italian giallo masterpiece Torso after that. Bring a date and a sense of humor. 7165 Beverly Blvd., Fairfax District. (323) 938-4038, facebook.com/GrindhouseFest. —Nicholas Pell

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