Shaun Costello
Shaun Costello began directing for "loops" (10-minute scenes shown in coin-operated viewers in adult theaters) in NYC in the early 1970s, and soon was directing (and acting in) full porn movies and other grindhouse "roughies" shown in Times Square's 42nd Street adult theaters. Costello took work where he could get it, often working for the Mob, who owned many adult theaters and distribution, and working under different aliases for different theaters so that no one (at the time) knew that he was his own competition. Eventually moving on to a mainstream documentary career, Costello written and directed grindhouse movies - rough and violent and reflecting of their times - have seen a resurgence as the 2010's have seen these movies be remastered and re-released and often seen for the first time in decades. Anyone interested in the history of American porn or grindhouse/exploitation theater of the late 1960s and 1970s will likely have encountered Shaun Costello's work, often unknowingly due to his prolific use of aliases.
Filmography (68 titles)
MovieHymns from the Abyss
Self (archive footage) · 2021
3.8MovieEnrapture
Cigar Shop Man · 1990
Double Pleasure
(archive footage) · 1982
10.0MovieMistress Electra
Narrator (voice) (uncredited) · 1982
7.0MoviePandora's Mirror
Waiter / Man in Audition Line · 1981
8.0MovieNew York Construction Co.
1980
7.5MovieMore Than Sisters
Martin Randall · 1979
8.0MovieThe Two Lives of Jennifer
Bob O'Connor · 1979
7.0MovieSlave of Pleasure
Richard Anselm / Masked Guy · 1978
3.7MovieA Taste of Bette
S.R. · 1978
5.5MovieDaughters of Discipline
Bruno · 1978
8.0MovieThe Fire in Francesca
Troy Winston · 1977
8.3MovieJoy of Humiliation
Biker with Cigarette · 1977
8.0MovieCherry Hustlers
Company Investigator · 1977
5.3MovieBetrayed Teens
Bobby · 1977
7.0MovieSchoolgirl's Reunion
Football Announcer (voice) / Autograph Seeker / Guy at Party · 1977
7.0MovieDirty Susan
Bob Gilroy · 1977
MovieThe Dark Side of Danielle
Bruce / Betty's Master · 1976
7.0MovieTortured Woman
El Gringo · 1976
5.5MovieWater Power
Police Station Cop / Man at Car Window · 1976
10.0MovieThat Lady from Rio
Sex Slave (uncredited) · 1976
9.0MovieFrench Schoolgirls
1976
7.5MovieThe Fury in Alice
Chip Carson · 1976
5.5MovieGirl Scout Cookies
Mr. O'Malley · 1976
10.0MovieThe Story of Eloise
Edgar Frank · 1976
8.0MovieSensuous Fly Girls
Man in Stable · 1976
6.0MovieMidnight Desires
Chauffeur / Highwayman (uncredited) · 1976
9.0MovieThe Untamed Vixens
Jerry · 1976
9.5MovieVenture Into the Bizzare
Closing Narration (voice) · 1976
7.5MovieThe Summer of Suzanne
Chip · 1976