Grindhouse

Zombies, dancing skanks, rednecks and killer stunt cars

“Grindhouse” (2007) features two separate movies: “Planet Terror” by Robert Rodriguez and “Death Proof” by Quentin Tarantino. Together, they’re called “Grindhouse” because they’re a deliberate attempt to recreate the experience of a double feature at a B movie house in the mid/late 60s-70s with the prints intentionally marred by scratches and blemishes or, in one case, a whole reel supposedly missing. Trailers for fake movies, like “Machete,” are also part of the package.

“Planet Terror” involves a biochemical outbreak in central Texas that (big surprise) turns people into zombies and the ragtag group that teams-up to fight ’em, led by Freddy Rodríguez and Michael Biehn, the latter a sheriff. Hotties Rose McGowan and Marley Shelton are on hand, the former acquiring a machine gun implant in replace of her amputated leg. (How exactly she pulls the trigger to massacre zombies is anyone’s guess).

The movie comes across as a melding of “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” (1965), “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) and “Dawn of the Dead” (1978), but with the modern tone of “Slither” (2006) with its gross, deliberately offensive black humor. McGowan is a highlight throughout, especially her opening go-go sequence whereas Freddy Rodriguez is surprisingly formidable. Their romantic arc is kind of touching. Another point of interest is the quality cast, rounded out by the likes of Bruce Willis, Josh Brolin, Naveen Andrews and Fergie.

At the end of the day, though, “Planet Terror” fails to rise above the low-budget sorta-genius of Syfy schlock like “Flu Bird Horror” (2008), “Wyvern” (2009) and “Sasquatch Mountain” (2006) even though it cost literally twelve times as much. GRADE: C

“Death Proof” involves an embittered stuntman (Kurt Russell) and his psycho obsession with murdering young women of dubious character with his death proof stunt car (but only the driver’s side). The first half is very good, hinde...

Grindhouse exploits its modern B-movie experience through a bloody expressionistic tribute. Two feature films. Four fictional trailers (five if you’re lucky...). And an authentic conceptual presentation of the 70s exploitation genre, missing reels and all. Rodriguez/Tarantino’s admiration for cinema in general is tangible. Both a credible experiment in genre resurrection and a fetish for babes, blood and bolted machine gun legs. It is, at its core, a retrospective piece of entertainment. But does the double feature presentation, trailers included, work as a solid film in itself? Yes. Just about.

Two of the four fictitious trailers worked. Wright’s ‘Don’t’ replicated the essence of Hammer Film Productions perfectly with a quintessential amount of British campiness to illustrate the ghoulish plot. Not to mention the laugh out loud vagueness of the title. Roth’s (yes, this is surprising...) was another hilarious trailer with ‘Thanksgiving’, a holiday-themed slasher. Imitating existing features, such as ‘Halloween’, to deliver a barrage of nudity and decapitations. Absurd, yet sadistically amusing. These two especially suited the overall aesthetic of Grindhouse, particularly with ‘Planet Terror’. Rodriguez’ ‘Machete’, which later became a feature film’, summoned the desolate heat of the Mexploitation sub-genre. It’s fine. Occasionally becomes lost in itself when Trejo is randomly throwing machetes everywhere. Zombie’s efforts in ‘Werewolf Women of the SS’ (I know...) didn’t work for me. The concept felt like he was trying way too hard in being over-the-top and radical by merging a bunch of sets together. Intentional or not, it juxtaposed the other trailers. Cage as Fu Manchu though, I want more! Although varying in quality, these trailers do provide impressive contributions to the overall presentation and are embedded intricately before each feature film.

Speaking of features, do both ‘Planet Terror’ and ‘Death Proof’ work as a project of duality? No. The former i...