A Shot of 70s Pulp to the Veins

'Grindhouse'

Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino
Running Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
Rating: R

Jars of testicles. Severed limbs. Faux trailers with Nicholas Cage and Machete, one angry Mexican. A machine gun leg. Ship's mast on a white 1970 Dodge Challenger. Grotesque jelly blood. Helicopter decapitations. And of course, Tarantino's dialogue.

All things that you can find in the "fully loaded" double-feature film Grindhouse, things you don't want to want to see. As a homage to exploitation films from the 70s, featuring extreme gore, nudity, and just about anything that can be included in the category "sensational," this film takes past culture and and slams it full speed into the present.

The film captures the essence of being at a "grindhouse." Before each film starts, the screen turns red and the outline of a panther appears, accompanied by its growl, reading: "Age Restricted." In between the films are three fake trailers and images of food as if concessions were being served in the intermission.

But what really creates the atmosphere is the grainy footage and how it gives the effect that it is exposed to plenty of dust and is being projected onto a deteriorating screen. Lines go through the screen while you can hear the sound of reels changing, and even occasionally, a reel will go missing. One second will be a sex scene and the next a BBQ joint will be on fire as an onslaught of zombies approach.

This happens in the first film, Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez's outlandish zombie film. The plot has something to do with Osama Bin Ladin and biochemicals, but no one really cares. What matters is that there are zombies and zombies eating brains.

It follows El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), and Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) as they fight to stay alive. It's untamed and uncontrollable. I think saying it has a "chick with a gun for a leg" says it all.

Ironically, the "chick with a gun for a leg" (Cherry Darling) helps pace the film. After zombies chewed her leg off, Cherry is left with one leg. Being a pessimist and a person with over sixty useless talents, all of which are numbered, she goes through interesting character development that leads up to the climax in which El Wray thrusts the gun into her, no pun intended.

Planet Terror is as much a comedy as anything else, with some of the most sadistic humor. In one scene, Dakota tries to escape a zombie-infested hospital and attempts to open her car, but her hands are numb. So she slides one hand behind the handle and tries to push the button by kicking it with her heel, only to slip and snap her hand. Another time, Dakota gives her son, no more than ten years old, a gun as she leaves him alone. He shoots himself in the face almost immediately.

The second film, Death Proof, is Quentin Tarantino's car derby/serial killer bonanza. It is considerably slower and less gory than the previous film. To fully enjoy it, you need to be able to appreciate the art of dialogue and the building of tension.

Death Proof is a homage to slasher films. Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) stalks groups of girls and carefully plans the kills. Although how he kills them is always the same: with his car.

There is a lot of down time and leading up to the kills. Some may think all the dialogue is boring, but it really makes the payoff that much better. Tarantino actually makes the dialogue more interesting than anything else. There is one scene in which Stuntman Mike tells a girl in his car that she shouldn't have said she was going right because she is going to start getting scared that he is turning left.

For Stuntman Mike, Kurt Russell is perfect. He gives one of his best performances as an obsessive, twisted, charming, and mysterious serial killer. He knows when the be serious and when to be ridiculous. Ever want to see Kurt Russell cry? Well you can now.

I personally feel as though Tarantino's film is superior to Rodriguez's, due to its storytelling. Tarantino also approaches his film as someone who has seen and is versed in the films he is paying tribute to. However, to the credit of both directors, they both set out to recreate a fresh look at "grindhouse" films from the 70s, but created something else entirely.

Overall, the sum of the film is greater than its parts and has become one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen. It's one wild and fast ride. Movies like this certainly aren't made anymore. But then again, I don't think they ever were.