Grindhouse Film Feature

Desired Audience/ Publication: Empire readers
Published in: De Montfort University Post-grad Journalism final group project
Date of production: May 2007

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez’s latest bloody offering ‘Grindhouse’ hopes to welcome back the classic b-movie genre, but what can 2007 cinema audiences expect? And will it actually be any good asks Rachel Hurst.

Those that are familiar with the films of directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez, will already have some idea what to expect from the eagerly anticipated and heavily criticised film ‘Grindhouse’, released on June 1. Behind such films as ‘Sin City’, ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘The faculty’ and ‘Desparado’, these boys really know how to do bloody violence. They practically wrote the manual. So those of you thinking about first dates, a trip to the cinema with your Grandma or a family day out- this is not the film for you. Go see something a bit tamer- Shrek 3 and Oceans 13 open this month too. Now off you go.

‘Grindhouse’ has been tipped by many to be the long overdue comeback of the b-movie ‘exploitation’ films that ruled the screens during the 1960’s and 1970’s- the type of gore-fest you’d see in the kind of cinema that became known as the ‘Grindhouse’ (N.b whatever you think when you hear that name, you’re probably right). The typical film here would be one strong dose of horror, gratuitous sex, violence and a great deal of blood- all the components of a damn good b-movie.

Quick history lesson for all you budding film geeks: The term ‘Grindhouse’ was used to describe cinemas that showed almost exclusively b-movie, slasher and exploitation films. Most of these establishments usually had a shady past, dealing with pornographic film to burlesque shows (creating the term ‘bump and grind’). They were known for showing films that included all things weird, horrid and downright dirty, and have been the inspiration of directors ever since. Tarantino and Rodriquez are too such directors- gleefully skipping around the horror genre like two boys at a fairground. Their most memorable previous collaboration ‘From Dusk till Dawn’ is filled with nods to this genre. A bar in the middle of the desert filled with naked ladies and sweaty beer-swilling bikers who all just happen to be vampires- what other genre could it possibly fit into?

The film itself is divided into two shorter films flanked by a range of fake movie trailers, in-cinema announcements and adverts- a goldmine of guest directors and Hollywood actors and music artists from Nicolas Cage and Katie Melua to Jason Issacs (Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films) and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ heartthrob Matthew McFayden.

Rodriquez begins proceedings in true style with his zombie creation ‘Planet Terror’- a gory tale surrounding a group of people from a rural Texas town fighting off an onslaught of zombie-like creatures carrying a deadly contagious violence. The usual walk in the park then.

The story follows go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), who decides to give up her job and broaden her horizons. At the same time Cherry meets up with her ex El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), a group of military officials lead by LT Muldoon (played by none other and Bruce Willis) is horrified to learn that a deadly disease nicknamed ‘Project Terror’ spreading through the town, turning people into zombies. Here, it gets a little complicated. Behind the flying limbs, gun shots and blood, Cherry loses a leg along the way which is quickly (and randomly) replaced with an M4A1 assualt rifle (- what, she had too much to carry?) and with El Wray join a group of survivors who must kill LT Muldoon and his men who are infected with the virus and threatening to liquidate the area to stop Project Terror from spreading.

Tarantino takes his version of ‘Grindhouse’ into the realm of the quintessential slasher genre with his film ‘Death Proof’. It follows the murder rampage of psychotic Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) as he travels up and down the American highways, brutally killing women. After killing three girls in a fatal car crash, he is cleared of all charges because they were drink driving, much to the annoyance of Texas Ranger Earl McGraw (Michael Parks). However, when Mike decides to try and kill three women (lead by Rosario Dawson) in another car chase, he fails and the women seek revenge, critically injuring him in a crash, dragging him out of the car and killing him. Tarantino may like to mess with the audience in some of his films, but ‘Death-Proof’ is a straight up and down, clean cut slasher horror.

The films, both easy fitting into the ‘Grindhouse’ genre on their own, are given a further dose of authenticity by the fake movie trailers that are sandwiched between Planet Terror and Death Proof, such as Rob Zombie’s ‘Werewolf women of the SS’ (staring Nic Cage as Fu Manchu) and Edgar Wright’s Brit hammer horror ‘Don’t’. There are so many tiny details that add to the brilliance of the film; from the grainy film quality to the 70’s soundtrack and classic American racers.

Costing over $53 million to make, and enlisting some of the worlds notorious producers, directors and actors, ‘Grindhouse’ promises to be a hit when it reaches our screens in June. Film review website rottentomatoes.com has already awarded the film with a 81% fresh rating (great considering the website is known for it’s scathing remarks on all things cinema) and was given rave reviews in America by Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.