Grindhouse - Preview
Preview by Jack Foley
ONE of the most keenly anticipated adult films of 2007 has to be Grindhouse, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s two-for-one exploitation double bill.
The film, released in the US in April, is a kick-ass tribute to the 1970s when “grindhouse” theatres offered double features of exploitation movies. It’s split into two movies and features a cracking cast, including Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton, Naveen Andrews and Rosario Dawson – not to mention the odd cameo from the likes of Nicolas Cage (in a Rob Zombie directed trailer) and Bruce Willis.
Of the two films, Tarantino directs Death Proof, which follows the fortunes of Austin’s hottest DJ, Jungle Julia, as she sets out into the night to unwind with her two friends Shanna an Arlene. Covertly tracking their moves is Stuntman Mike, a scarred rebel leering from behind the wheel of his muscle car, revving just feet away.
Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, meanwhile, follows two doctors who find themselves inundated with townspeople ravaged by sores during their graveyard shift. Among the wounded is Cherry, a dancer whose leg was ripped from her body.
As the invalids quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and her ex-boyfriend Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night.
Explaining the concept behind Grindhouse, Tarantino recently told Empire: “You didn’t call them Grindhouses, per se, in England but you guys did have grindhouse-style exploitation double bills. And one of the things you’d notice, especially back then, was that you’d have one more fantastical horror film, like a vampire movie or a werewolf movie, and then a slasher film, or a maniac sex killer movie – something darker and harsher.
“So that was our idea. Robert’s film is a horror film, because it couldn’t happen. Mine is a terror film, because it could!”
And for any Tarantino fan pondering which universe Death Proof exists in, the director has stated that it’s part of the Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs world, rather than the surreal world of Kill Bill.
“To me, this isn’t fantastical. You could get a car to do this and you could meet a guy like Stuntman Mike. And if you do, you’re fucked!”
Let’s wait and see and hope for a supremely enjoyable, f**cked*-up ride!