By Tim McGroarty
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez are back with an explosive new action film, two films actually, that stay true to the original Grindhouse and deliver another great movie-going experience.
First, what is a grindhouse? A “grindhouse” was a type of inner city theatre that would play all night marathons of low budget exploitation films in the ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s. These theatres would often show offbeat ultra violent and sexually charged films. Both Rodriguez and Tarantino grew up watching these kinds of films in grindhouse theatres and drive-ins. Fast forward to 2007, the two movie-making pals decided to recreate these wild nights for movie audiences by making their own traditional grindhouse double-feature complete with two raunchy horror films, fake exploitation film trailers and ads. Both directors also ‘aged’ the films, adding scratches, missing reels, dirt and dust to simulate the feel of the real grindhouse films.
The first feature, is Rodriguez’s Planet Terror – a new aged zombie flick that finds lead heroine Cherry (Rose McGowan) on her way home from a night at the strip club when she encounters a group of zombies while a group of uninfected people managed to scramble together and try and make it out of Texas alive. An over-the-top violent, zombie-killing movie, Planet Terror will either have you laughing hysterically or vomiting in a bag. Keep in mind that it is not meant to be taken seriously; after all, a girl with a machine gun for a leg runs around the screen.
There are also fake trailers with a few exciting guest directors and cameos that are quite entertaining and do a lot to complete the entire “grindhouse” experience. Guest directors include Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright and Eli Roth.
The next film is Tarantino’s Death Proof, a film about Stuntman Mike (played brilliantly by Kurt Russell) who has been doing stunts for way too long and, as a result, has gone insane. Stuntman Mike stalks any group of women who catch his eye down the remote roads of Austin, Texas and engages in car chases with the terrified women, using his car to kill his victims. After being presented films where the killer has a knife or chainsaw, Tarantino, who does not give into clichés, gives his killer a car. As a result, this second feature is far more scary and has a much more serious tone than Planet Terror. For a while, the film seems to be wearing thin and we wonder where Tarantino is taking us, but have faith and stick in there, just when you think it might be getting dull, it jumps to life with an explosive car chase. You will not even want to blink once this chase gets started and when its over, you realize it made you fall in love with the characters – especially since you were screaming for their safety. It is even more amazing knowing that actress Zoà Bell (who is a real life stunt double for Uma Thurman) played herself and did all her own stunts.
Die-hard Tarantino and Rodriguez fans will love this throwback double-feature and if you’re not a fan, you will certainly be after this. Grindhouse is a fun and explosive cinematic rarity that should not be missed.
GRADE: A
