My Visit to the Grindhouse by Orpheus

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Orpheus

My Visit to the Grindhouse
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Doing a review for a movie like Grindhouse is tricky business. Not only is it two different films by two different (but equally competent) directors, but it's also a complete movie-going experience. So I'm going to go ahead and make my broad generalization first. Here goes... Grindhouse is the most balls-out, audaciously kickass movie experience you'll ever see in a multiplex. How's that?

With Grindhouse, it seems like Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are offering up conflicting theses on what a Grindhouse movie is. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is a wacked-out zombie flick with every zombie trope thrown in and ratcheted up to full-9. The result is more of a parody of what the Grindhouse used to stand for. Tarantino flat out delivers a bona fide Grindhouse flick with Death Proof. His is very much in the vein of Duel and Death Race 2000.

To start off, let's look at Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, the first of the Grindhouse double feature. As stated before, Planet Terror is a zombie film of the highest order. Every zombie film ever made holds some kind of influence over Planet Terror. Night of the Living Dead, Return of the Living Dead, Dead Alive, Zombie Flesh Eaters, and a hundred flicks even I'm probably not aware of, they're all represented here. Planet Terror follows the formula to a T. But what makes this film stand out is everything that's blown completely out of proportion. Dozens of protagonists, equally numerous villians, hundreds upon hundreds of zombies, needless explosions at every turn, and all that's before mentioning El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) and Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), two of the coolest characters ever seen in a zombie flick.

It's clear that the majority of Grindhouse's budget went to Planet Terror. Pyrotechnics, elaborate makeup and gore effects, and an enormous cast of B-list mainstays. And Rodriguez adds all those flourishes to make the film seem 'authentic'. Burning the film stock, scratching the film, the missing reel (which is the film's single greatest joke), this is the spectacle that the promotions are pushing, and it's totally worth it. If Planet Terror had been its own film, your money would still be well spent. I did, however, get the feeling that people were taking the film seriously, and that's not the way to truly enjoy Planet Terror. This is meant as a comedy, and it's some of the most sadistic humor you'll ever laugh at. If you don't laugh at a helicopter taking out a crop of zombies, what DO you laugh at?

Then there's the intermission. Three fake trailers, two of which I really enjoyed. Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the S.S."? Greatest celebrity cameo ever. Edgar Wright's "Don't"? Greatest worst idea ever. Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving"? I get that it was a goof on Halloween, but that doesn't make it good. It actually kinda sucked. Also, at the beginning of the film, Rodriguez's "Machete" trailer just rocks. It's silly, violent, and made completely of awesome. Danny Trejo ought to star in movies like "Machete".

Next come's Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof. I'm going to go ahead and say that I get what Tarantino's doing, I dig it, I appreciate it, but he set out to make a piece of crap, and he succeeded. Death Proof is a total Grindhouse film; it's got a cool hook, a good script, and a well placed cast. But it's intentionally disjointed, wildly uneven, and bizarrely repetitive. And even though Tarantino did all of this on purpose, think about what that means. He made a bad movie on purpose. Planet Terror is at least making fun of bad movies. Death Proof is an actual bad movie.

But having said that, Tarantino does pull of a lot of really awesome tricks in Death Proof. The movie is basically split into two equal halves. The first half builds Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) and his penchant for murdering girls with his "100% death proof" car. And the crash that ends this first half is a behemoth to watch unfold. The second half of the film turns the tables on Mike when he sets his sights on another group of girls who aren't as helpless. The climax of this second half features one of the most technically impressive car chases ever committed to film. And stuntwoman Zoe Bell (who plays herself) gets to pull a stunt that she will likely never forget. I certainly won't.

Oh, and I have to mention one of the coolest things about Death Proof: There is a reference at the end of the first half that not only links Death Proof to Kill Bill, but it links Death Proof and Kill Bill to PLANET TERROR. I don't know about the rest of the audience, but that completely blew me away. A single appearance and a single line of dialogue that made me say, "Holy crap, that's awesome."

So let's wrap this up because I think I lost my point somewhere in there. As an experience, Grindhouse is the ultimate treat to a film fan like me. Some of the references they throw out did go over my head, but there were just as many that I got and I loved. But as a film, I think Planet Terror is the stronger film. It's a big, wacky event type of film that lends itself easier to modern audiences. And while that's not really what Grindhouse is about, it goes down easier, and it feels like Rodriguez trying to entertain us at all costs. He throws in everything but the kitchen sink, and there were still some kitchen sinks in Planet Terror.

With Death Proof, though, that one felt a bit too much like Tarantino simply indulging himself. Halfway through the film, he completely drops the scratching-the-film gimmick, and I don't think it was out of tiredness. Death Proof just feels like Tarantino throwing in an "also ran" to stand next to this giant awesome flick that his buddy made. While I appreciate Death Proof, I think it may have been better served if it had either played first, or been released as a stand-alone Tarantino film. As it is, it really feels anticlimactic compared to the monster adrenaline rush that was Planet Terror.

All in all, Rodriguez and Tarantino deliver an extremely entertaining experience that definitely has to be seen to be completely understood. I don't think any one reviewer can capture the essence of what Grindhouse is all about, because each viewer brings their own ideas to it. I had a hell of a good time with Grindhouse, and hopefully it does well enough at the box office to warrant future adventures from Rodriguez and friends.

COMMENTS

Sunday, April 15, 2007 7:09 AM

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER

Definitely gotta see "Grindhouse" now, if only to find out how Kill Bill is linked to the two films contained within "Grindhouse!"

;D

BEB

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 6:58 PM

SINGATE

A few cool things to take note of which aren't homages to grindhouse films:

1. Kurt Russell's T-shirt from "Big Trouble in Little China" is hanging on the wall in the bar.

2. Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn play brothers in the film. A cool connection is that they each portrayed a crazy gunslinger in "Silverado" and "Tombstone" respectively.

3. El Wray does some gun twirling tricks reminiscent of what Biehn did in "Tombstone".

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 4:38 PM

COPILOT

I think I need to experience this for myself. So I shall.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 4:22 PM

OATH

Fu. Man. Chu.

That is all.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:37 AM

NVGHOSTRIDER

Ever eat one of those overladen cookies labeled "Old Fashioned"? That is the Grindhouse experience. A gore filed sugar rush filled with so many referances and homage's that I had to see it twice in the same night.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 9:14 AM

MSG

Hey thanks..I was debating whether I wanted to see it or not and this helped:)

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