Grindhouse Kills and Thrills as a Double Feature

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2007)

'Grindhouse' is a double feature recreating the experience of a 70's exploitation film grindhouse theater. It is made up of two films. The first is Planet Terror directed by Robert Rodriguez, and the second is called Death Proof which is directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Planet Terror
Planet Terror, directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), is the better of the two movies. It is about El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) and his go-go dancer (NOT stripper) ex-girlfriend Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), who gets her leg bit off and eaten by zombie creatures referred to as "Sickos". The Sickos have broken out of their cages and have started infecting the entire town. With a machine gun/grenade launcher in place of her severed leg, Cherry must team up with her ex and the town's police station to defeat the Sickos and save their own lives. Planet Terror is bloody. Very bloody. In fact, the gore is so extreme that many will cringe and cover their eyes in many scenes. The violence is over-the-top though, so it's not too bad to endure at times. It is hard to label Planet Terror in one specific genre because it really doesn't belong to one. It's horror, action, sci-fi, comedy, and more. It is sick and twisted. Pure exploitation. The dialog is extremely cheesy, as is the whole film, really. But it is all done purposely to pay homage to similar B-movies of the past. Planet Terror is intense. It will make you laugh, cry, jump, cringe, cheer, and do god knows what else. It is great fun to watch. You will enjoy yourself throughout the entire fantastic film.
****1/2
Death Proof
Tarantino's "Death Proof" is about a psychotic ex TV stunt driver called Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell). He stalks his female victims with his "death proof" car. The girls that he stalks include characters played by Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Clerks II), Vanessa Ferlito (CSI:New York), Shannon Hazlett, Marcy Harriell, Zoe Bell, and Tracie Thoms. These women all play great roles and are interesting characters. The problem is, they talk. A lot. I don't have a real big problem with this, it is Tarantino's writing after all, which is usually fantastic. Parts of it are great. The dialog is fantastic and really roles in some parts, but in others, it gets somewhat tiresome and seemingly pointless. But enough about the dialog, lets talk about what we all came to the movie to see: the car chase scenes. The only thing more incredible than the car chase scenes, is the fact that they were done completely on location and for real. That means no stuntmen (except Stuntman Mike!) and no green screen. Tarantino, who admits he's a little fed up with the fakeness of today's car chase movie scenes, has taken it back to what it used to be: real cars, real people, real stunts, and only a few cameras set up, rather than an armada of cameras split a second a part from each other. And really, that is what makes "Death Proof" so fun to watch. Don't expect any serious conclusions or moral life lessons at the end though.
****
Fake Movie Trailers Grindhouse features several fake movie trailers before Planet Terror and in between the two features. The first is "Machete", which is rumored to be made into a straight-to-DVD release. Other trailers include Eli Roth (Hostel)'s "Thanksgiving", Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the S.S." (also rumored to be made into a full movie because Zombie says he's shot enough footage for the trailer to be made into a full length film), and Edgar Wright(Shaun of the Dead)'s "Don't!" All of these trailers are hilarious and serve as great comic relief between the films. Some are quite disturbing and feature extreme violence, language, and nudity even though they are only trailers. All of them can be found on Youtube. ****1/2
Full Experience
****1/2 of *****