On the surface, it's easy to look back and see why Grindhouse was such a commercial failure. Setting out to make a 3 hour celebration of B-movie cinema; complete with an intermission, fake commercials, intentionally distorted photography and an aged Kurt Russell as your only real "star" was a tad ambitious to say the least. But while Grindhouse is definitely referred to by most as Tarantino's weakest effort, I think it may be his most fun film to date. In an era drowning in painfully mediocre remakes and vapid torture porn, Grindhouse showed us how much fun horror used to be and re-introduced us to the charm of the sleazy drive-in double feature. And while Tarantino has been credited with rejuvenating a lot of careers, I'm not sure he'll ever get the credit he deserves for making horror fun again. Grindhouse is an absolute blast and his most underrated film by far.
From the moment it kicks off with the grainy "Feature Presentation" title card and X-Rated trailer for Danny Trejo's faux film Machete, you can tell instantly that Tarantino and Rodriguez are pouring on the '70s nostalgia cheese incredibly thick. Admittedly, it narrows the audience for the film a bit to have so much of the it's entertainment value pinned to a particular period and genre but for those who get it, they really fucking get it. Grindhouse is a fan film made by film fans. It's Tarantino at his most self indulgent and perhaps most ambitious. It just also happens to be his least accessible for those same reasons. But again, if you can appreciate the niche he's aiming for, Grindhouse hits it's mark in exceptional fashion.
The first feature, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, is as pure a popcorn horror flick as you're likely to run across - in this era of horror or any other. It's a balls out, gore filled zombie extravaganza for the post 9-11 world. It's got the charm of early 80's Carpenter and the grime and gore of 70's Cronenberg. The cast, lead by Rose McGowan in the most charismatic role of her career, seems to be having an absolute blast. We get phenomenal performances from Josh Brolin hamming it up as the douchey doctor husband, Bruce Willis as a crooked army lieutenant, Naveen Andrews collecting testicles, Fergie Ferg looking Fergalicious as ever and genre favorites Michael Biehn and Tom Savini as the local police force. Not to mention the crazy Babysitter twins which all add up for an incredible ensemble to wade through a cataclysmic viral outbreak with. To put it simply, Planet Terror is pure, unadulterated fun.
The film is absolutely pumped full of adrenaline and leads right into even more laughs with another set of fake trailers at the intermission. Machete may have been the only film to get the spin off treatment (twice, somehow) but the somewhat forgotten trailers sandwiched between Planet Terror and Death Proof are just as good, if not better in the case of Thanksgiving. Eli Roth's fake trailer for a holiday inspired slasher about a killer pilgrim encapsulates the spirit of the Grindhouse experience perfectly and amps up the excitement leading into Tarantino's film even more than Planet Terror already had. Which is what makes the transition into Tarantino's slow burn revenge flick so difficult. It'd be like G.W.A.R. opening a show for Paul Simon.
But on its own, Death Proof isn't the train wreck it's made out to be. In fact, while some of the long scenes of dialogue are well below Tarantino standard and can be a tad overbearing, the story at the center of Death Proof is actually very clever and his work behind the camera may be some of the best of his career. We start out with the typical slasher structure of a bunch of party girls being stalked down by a crazy loner, Kurt Russell's unforgettable turn as Stuntman Mike. The glee with which Kurt Russell plays the villain is such an absolute joy to watch and he's so absolutely perfect in the role that it's fairly puzzling as to why nobody's really cast him as a villain before this. The first group of girls spend the entirety of their evening waiting around a bar for their weed supply to show up as they fend of the relentless advances of guys they really don't want to hook up with. As a result, they're fed an absorbent amount of alcohol from pushy guys that just want to get laid and find themselves being pursued by the eerie Stuntman. They could have avoided the whole lecherous bar scene if they weren't so dependent on someone else to get their weed for them.
After Stuntman Mike methodically eliminates our first group of girls, the tone of the film shifts drastically. When the second group of girls is introduced, everything feels decidedly more modern. The film grain and cigarette burns have almost completely subsided and our new group of would be victims (unlike our first group) isn't dependent on anything or anyone but themselves. They go out and take charge, even when confronted with Stuntman Mike, and flip the hostile pursuit back onto him as he shrivels up into a pathetic, whimpering coward. It's a symbol for how gender roles have transitioned from the heyday of the slasher in the 1970's and 80's. Death Proof is a female empowerment revenge flick that feels more relevant now than ever in the #MeToo era.
But don't get it twisted, Death Proof has plenty of action too. That final chase scene with Zoe Bell strapped to the hood of a Dodge Challenger is some of the most riveting cinema I've ever seen. Literally edge of your seat stuff and in my opinion, some of Tarantino's best work behind the camera can be seen in the final 20 or so minutes of Death Proof. With the incredible soundtrack (which as a side note, is probably Tarantino's most overlooked selection of classic '70s tunes) momentarily paused to take in only the sounds of humming engines and screaming passengers, the tension is ratcheted up to unbelievably nerve wrenching levels and it's absolutely stunning to behold. It's easily one of the best car chases ever put to film and some of the most tension filled stunts you'll see anywhere. But like Kill Bill before it, Grindhouse as a whole is definitely more about style than substance. The film recreates the aesthetic of the b-movie double feature brilliantly with each filmmaker adding their own personal fingerprint to the proceedings and yes, you absolutely need to see the entirety of both films and all the trailers to get the full Grindhouse experience. Don't let the inexplicable home video split derail what should be a joint experience. Grindhouse is a genre joy ride that every film lover should take at least once. But I do understand if the niche appeal makes it not everyone's favorite ride.
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