Review Grindhouse

On Saturday the IFI, put on a one off screen of the ill-fated Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse.

For anyone who is unaware of Grindhouse, it was a concept that the two directors made, to make two full-length features and show them back-to-back. The two directors were big fans of the Grindhouse genres, which were popular in the 70’s. Grindhouse movies were often shown as a double feature. Grindhouse movies or exploitation movies featured woman with little or no cloths on, and a large amount gore. And that is where the idea for this movie was born.

The two movies that they made as homage to the Genre were Planet Terror (Rodriguez’s feature) and Death Proof (Tarantino’s feature) as well as two features, the movie contains a trailers for fake movies.

Grindhouse Fake Trailers

Machete

Written by Robert Rodriguez

This is no longer a trailer for a fake movie it’s set for release as a straight to DVD feature.

Werewolf Woman Of The S.S.

Written by Rom Zombie

Don’t

Written by Edgar Write

Thanksgiving

Written by Eli Roth

Grindhouse begins with the trailer for machete. Afterwards follows Rodriguez’s homage to the zombie sub-genre of horror. Planet Terror. The plot of the movie is about a gas being released that turns the inhabitants of a Texan town into flesh eating Zombie. El Ray played by Freddy Rodriguez tries to lead a group of survivors to freedom.

This movie is a fun watch, a really damn fun watch. The plot of the movie is a very basic one. But who cares? The action is over the top, and gore is so over the top that it can’t be taken seriously.

Stacy Ferguson (Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas) makes a brief cameo, only to be ripped limb form limb by fleshing eating Zombies. That alone made it worth the price of admission, let’s see you try to sing London Bridge now, bitch?

After three more fake trailers, comes Tarantino’s feature Death Proof. The polt of the movie revolves around a psychotic a psychotic stuntman, Stuntman Mike (played by Kurt Russell) who tracks down woman and uses his car to kill them.

Death Proof is the weaker of the two, but it’s far a bad movie. There are moments when the dialogue comes across as if Quentin was trying to make the language too hip. And it moves slower than Pallet Terror. And yes this is the worst of the five movies Tarantino has made to date, but a sub power Tarantino movie, is still better than most directors out their.

But by the time it comes to the car chase at the end, which is one of the best car chases it really has you on the edge of your seat.

These movies should never have been released separately, as they only work as a double feature .

It’s a bit of a waste of time for me to write this, and for you to read this because no matter how pervasive I am, you may never get to see Grindhouse.

At this moment no news has surface as to wheather Dimension Films have decided to release this movie in the future. Any one who reads this post should send a petition to demand that the movie be released in the UK and Ireland on DVD.