Transcendental...Grindhouse cinema on steroids...

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2007)

I viewed this film on April 6th, and I am genuinely satisfied with this project. I first heard about this film way back in October when the 1st Annual Scream Awards aired. Ever since then I have been anticipating this extravaganza. This film was great foreplay for Easter weekend.
As Roger Ebert said that Kill Bill was transcendental of its inspirations, so it is with Grindhouse. This film is definitely an homage to the grind house tradition, but it accomplishes more at the same time. What this film lacks is nudity, however, in every other area it delivers: outrageous gore, offbeat characters, a cast of beautiful women, sensational plots, visual artifacts (creating an atmosphere of surreal camp) and overall shock value.
First, I address Planet Terror which is arguably the stronger effort. This film is a fascinating hybrid of contradictory styles and aesthetics. On one hand, Rodriguez uses rather extreme color timing effects to create an appearance of worn out film. However, underneath the scratches and off-hue colors is a pristine high definition print and state of the art special effects. This visual hybridization works beautifully in my opinion, as it creates a surreal world in which the boundaries between the past and the present dissolve away.
Planet Terror also boosts a mesmerizing soundtrack that perfectly sets the mood for tense scenes (as in the hospital scene between Shelton and Brolin) and also conveys the "grind" element with the main theme from the opening titles. This music is much better than most Grindhouse films, with the exception of certain blaxploitation and spaghetti western films.
Overall, Planet Terror blends the best of grind house cinema styling with contemporary technology.
Death Proof, like Planet Terror succeeds in creating a powerful atmosphere full of retroactive ambiance. Death Proof is less overtly "damaged" than Planet Terror, and yet it utilizes more old school techniques. Tarantino shot his segment with actual film, and he restrained himself to using only practical special effects, free of CGI. His fonts are right on the money. Like Planet Terror, Death Proof still looks superior to most of the films that inspired it.
Once again, Tarantino provides a colorful soundtrack which sets the mood for the film. The music is at times creepy, adrenaline pumping, and groovy when appropriate. Furthermore, as with most Tarantino films, the use of classic songs from the 1970's helps to create the feeling of nostalgia. This film is also very self-referential, as the characters talk about other grind house film, such as Vanishing Point, when they are in fact in a "grind house" film of their own. This film creates a very potent world that also feels surreal. On one end of the spectrum, the costumes, make-up, vehicles, sets, and other props all sport a great amount of detail and polish, whereas the color timing and the editing create an unrefined and unvarnished appearance. So once again, as with Planet Terror, polish and high production value meet the elements of low production value to create a world that transcends categorization in any specific era.
The Trailers The TRAILERS THE TRAILERS! All three trailers are what send the quality of this project over the top and make for a true homage to the grind house form.
Machete, despite also having major special effects is very convincing as a film that could be from the past. Danny Trejo delivers such intensity in his performance that it pumps me up, and this may finally make him the star he deserves to be. I read that this film will be available as a straight to video DVD, Oh YEAH! Mexican exploitation at its BEST! Next, Werewolf Women of the SS is a hilarious idea of a film blending the werewolf film style with the Nazi exploitation film style that boosts a tremendously tantalizing cast.
Don't is a British haunted house exploitation film that is an exercise in hilarity. If this trailer doesn't inspire laughter, perhaps nothing will. This also looks very real, almost too real. If one didn't know better, they would probably think they were watching a trailer for a genuine film of the 1970's.
Finally, another surprisingly realistic trailer is that of Thanksgiving which is like Halloween on LSD or something. This trailer has the funniest tag lines in my opinion, as it employs many verbal puns that beg laughter from those who love dark humor. I wish this film, in particular, would be full-length as well, because it looks really promising, particularly in the dark creativity of the murder scenes. Ican't stress how genuine this awesome trailer feels.
Oh how I wish they would make all the trailers full length features available on DVD, if not as theatrical features.
This is not merely a copycat of a old school grind house double feature. This is a transcendental project that represents grind house cinema on STEROIDS having traveled approximately 30 YEARS into the future. This is not the grind house cinema of generations past, this is the grind house cinema of the present.