7. John Waters
When you think of sleazy, camp exploitation, you immediately think of John Waters - no bad thing as he has made some of the most bizarre and exciting American films of recent times. Waters didn't abide by normal casting conventions and his films regularly features porn stars, renowned criminals and drag-queens, the most notable of which was Divine who had the dubious honour of being in the dog faeces eating scene in Pink Flamingos. Waters enjoyed being a provocateur and shocking his audience as his films would frequently feature full-frontal nudity, unsimulated sex and gory violence, but that would also endure him to a cult following that includes myself. A symbol of counter-culture and rebellion, Waters is a very divisive figure in cinema and bringing his name up usually ends up in a hot debate where his sanity is questioned on numerous occasions, mostly over his most famous film, Pink Flamingos.