Old exploitation films get double dose of exposure at the New Bev

FANS of “Grindhouse,” take note: The Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez homage to exploitation films may be full of goodies the originals can’t match -- a big budget, a double shot of Rose McGowan -- but there’s still something about the real thing, flaws and all.

“These films are made with a lot of passion and not a lot of equipment or money, and there’s a certain raw energy to them you don’t get today in a Hollywood environment,” says Brian J. Quinn, 39, co-coordinator of the Grindhouse Film Festival at the New Beverly Cinema. “Some do fall into the ‘so bad they’re good’ category, but there are a lot of little gems.”

So many, in fact, that the festival, which Quinn runs with founder and Hollywood Book and Poster store owner Eric Caidin, 52, is expanding from once to twice a month starting Tuesday.

“We’ve been doing this for five years, but a lot of people have only been attending for a year or two,” Quinn says. “So they’d ask us why we hadn’t shown some classic, and we’d tell them we had -- four years ago.” To get new fans up to speed, the second fest of each month will revisit previously shown material.

The festival’s visibility got a boost after Tarantino served as the program director for two months before the release of “Grindhouse” earlier this year, but interest in the festival has been building steadily for much longer, its founder says.

“We see a lot of the same faces month after month,” says Caidin, who used to disguise himself as a derelict so that he could watch exploitation films in seedy downtown theaters without being hassled during the ‘70s. “You can’t beat the program. You get two movies, 20 minutes of vintage trailers, special guests and a prize raffle.”

And, though some folks might be yawning at the cineplex, the New Beverly audience is far more lively. “Even though I tell people that, because some of these prints are scratched up, they should also rent them on DVD, there are certain genres of film that really need an audience,” Quinn says. “When we program crowd-pleasers, you can feel the electricity.”

But leave your inner critic . . . well, inside, thank you. Though gasping, screaming and groaning over blood and guts are expected, snide commentary is better left in the car with your cellphone.

“We don’t consider these bad movies,” Quinn says. “We’re not idiots; we acknowledge the flaws. But we can also see the strengths.”

-- Liane Bonin

theguide@latimes.com

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GRINDHOUSE FILM FESTIVAL

WHERE: New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday: “The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires” and “Vampire Hookers”; Nov. 29: “She Freak” and tribute to producer David F. Friedman

PRICE: $8

INFO: (323) 938-4038, www.newbevcinema.com