Review: Grindhouse

I grew up in the 1970s and was a huge movie fan even then. I would go to at least one movie a week back in the day. And I freely admit watching a lot of trash cinema, which used to play as double or triple features at cheap, run down theaters known as the Grindhouse.

The one I sometimes went to was called the Los Angeles theater. It was in downtown San Diego where the Horton Plaza mall is now. You could see three movies for two dollars. They were usually crap, and teh theater was frequented by all sorts of weirdos, but those were the days. It was an experience seeing movies there. People talking back to the screen. Films breaking, or having reels missing.

So when Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino announced this film, I was very excited. They wanted to recreate that experience. And they more or less succeeded.

Did I like it? Yes. With qualifications.

They made the film look all scratchy, with missing bits and it even melts in one place. There were fake trailers and bumper ads for fake restaurants and so on in the middle. But I think they blew it by having some actors with piecings, excessive tattoos and cell phones. You didn’t see any of that back then.  And the cell phone didn’t exist in the 70s.

The two stories in the film take place now, not the 70s. But by recreating the look and feel so much, they should have gone all the way.

Of the two films, I think Tarantino understood the old films the best. His “Death Proof” is about a serial killer who uses his stunt car to kill women. Things go bad for him when he chases after some female stunt drivers. Unlike Planet Terror, the Rodriquez film, Death Proof keeps it scratches and gimmicks to a minimum. It’s more talky, which is how a lot of those older movies were. The characters are more realistic. It felt more like an homage than a spoof.

Planet Terror felt like a spoof, and it seemed very modern in its excessive gore and non-stop action. He also laid on the scratches and breaks to an almost excessive degree.

Overall I enjoyed it and there were times where I felt like I was back in the 70s, but then they ruined it by having some character show up with extreme tattoos or a pierced face.

Because it didn’t do well, they are talking about splitting it into two films and releasing them separately. So I went to see it before that happened. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a double feature and it was a fun time.

Not everyone liked it. The theater was mostly empty and some walked out in the middle. It’s not for everyone, but I think it’ll be a cult film.

The faux trailers were fun, but I liked “Death Proof” the best.  Two comments:

1. Kurt Russell can really act.

2. The edge-of-your-seat car chase, with plucky Kiwi (not Aussie) stuntie Zoe Bell in the most vulnerable position imaginable, practically had me gasping for air.  I drove home at a prudent rate of speed after that one.

Planet Terror?  Fun, in its way, but I’ve never been a fan of zombie movies, and there was a bit more blood and pus than I usually like…

Posted by  on  04/10  at  04:56 AM

Yeah, I think Death Proof was the better film.

I knew Kurt Russell could act. I’ve been watching him act since he was a child. (He started off as a child TV actor in the 60s). It’s good to see him get a decent role for a change.

Posted by James Hudnall  on  04/10  at  07:28 AM
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