I've never sat in a theater and watched a "grindhouse" flick, but I have seen my share of awful B movies. The kind of films that are so bad the're good. Tarantino and Rodriguez tried to tackle the genre with their first double-feature (if you discount Dusk till Dawn.) How did they do?
The film opens with Rodriguez's Planet Terror, A action-packed Zombie flick with tons of blood splatters and bad lines. Rodriguez knocks this one out of the park. Not only is it one of the most exciting zomibe films ever shot, it's filled with tons of great moments and pays tribute to some of the best zombie films from the 70s. The Zombies themselves are some of the grossest ever put on screen. The heroes are also some of the funniest. From Rose McGowan as the stripper who wants to be a "stand-up" comic until her leg gets torn off, to Freddy Rodriguez's surprise bad ass Wray. All the characters come together to make this one of most memorable and gory Zombie films in recent history, and is easily worth the price of admission alone.
Don't get up for the bathroom just yet. In between Planet Terror and Death Proof is one of Grindhouse's best parts. The fake trailers shown in between these films are all hilarious and should not be missed. Eli Roth's trailer in particular is a work of horror genius, with plenty of blood and bad taste to go around. Depending on the kind of person you are, you'll either be laughing hysterically or cringing in horror. Either way you'll be having fun. I could easily watch an entire movie filled with these trailers, kind of like a Kentucky Fried Movie for horror geeks.
So after the explosive fun of Planet Terror and the quick pleasure of a few fake trailers, Tarantino comes in with Death Proof. Death Proof is a bit hard to review, because it will easily be a love it or hate it type of film. For one, it's very slow compared to the previous film. Which comes as a shock to the system after being through so much action. It's also filled with tons of vapid dialogue. Tarantino seems hellbent on actually making a bad movie, not an overly entertaining one. While this may be a bit disappointing, it's also very true to the genre. If you've seen these old films, you would know most of them were filled with tepid scenes with very little going on. The films had their moments which made them classic, it just took a little patience to reach that climax. The death scenes in Death Proof are all great (despite being very few and far between) , the car chase pretty amazing, the real question is was the payoff worth it? I'm not so sure. There were a few scenes where a fast forward button would have been really useful. At times Tarantino's film seems more of a tribute to himself then to the bad movies he watched growing up. His geek-ego is in full force.
So despite being a little disappointed in Tarantino's half, the overall package is still great, and can easily be recommended to fans of blood, boobs, and bad lines. Grindhouse is a film event that is filled with plenty of guilty pleasures, and that's what makes it such a success.
Planet Terror - 9/10
Trailers - 9/10
Death Proof - 6/10
Overall - 8/10