American filmmaker Ted V. Mikels holds a unique position as one of the most unconventional directors of exploitation cinema. Famous for his eccentric home life (he once lived with a harem in a castle with secret passageways) and promotional gimmicks (he was known for having nurses and ambulances on hand to assist ""scared-to-death"" moviegoers), Mikels is now considered a pioneering master of low-budget movie making. This unique work examines each of Mikels' 19 major film or video productions, beginning with his first feature film Strike Me Deadly (1959) and continuing through his latest work-in-progress, Demon Bloodlust. Each entry includes a full list of cast and crew credits, along with a plot synopsis and, frequently, behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Also included are a complete filmography, an overview of Ted V. Mikels memorabilia, and a transcript of the author's personal interview with Mikels.

"Grindhouse" is a term that refers to theaters that primarily showed exploitation films. There were a handful of these theaters on 42nd Street in New York City. These theaters showed a variety of films that generally featured sex, violence, and bizarre subject matter. These included slasher films, X-rated movies, badly-dubbed Hong Kong chop socky pictures, blaxploitation, and general exploitation films. The period most generally associated with these types of movie houses stretches from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Since the demise of these theaters, and with them certain types of film, an enthusiasm and appreciation for them has developed. Hollywood films such as Black Dynamite, Machete, and Hobo with a Shotgun have since payed homage to them. Gods of Grindhouse: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers contains conversations with a variety of filmmakers associated with such films. The book contains interviews with key figures such as Roger Corman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Larry Cohen, David F. Friedman, William Lustig, Ted V. Mikels, and others. It also contains interviews with Bill Rebane and Russ Meyer that have never appeared in print before This is a one-of-a-kind collection of interviews that gets as down and dirty as the films themselves.