April 18, 2007
Grindhouse
Why Eli Roth Got it Right
Disclaimer: I love exploitation movies. I get a guilty pleasure from watching girls guns guts and glory in all their Restricted glory. From Kung-fu flicks to Blaxplotation to girls in prison movies to slasher films, there's something raw and visceral about them in their low-budget sincerity. That being said I dug the shit out of Roderiguez and Tarantino's Grindhouse...of course I did, it was made for me. I am the same kid who, when I was months old, my parents brought to a drive-in movie theater that was closing and I sat and watched the whole double feature of Body Heat 2 and some other movie that my parents can never remember the title of. Since then I have tortured my friends with my choice of cheesy kung fu films and horrible horror movies (which rock in cheesy ways).
Going in I knew I was in for something awesome. I purposely did no prior research for the film going in only knowing what I was in for through the trailer. From frame one I was hyped. So yeah this review isn't neutral but who the hell cares? It's exploitation. I left my film theory training at the door and just enjoyed myself. Between the two films I liked Planet Terror much more than Death Proof. Rodriguez (especially with the fake trailer for Machete which will be released as a direct to video movie) has the spirit of Grind house flicks under his belt more than Tarantino. His film starts off and never stops. Once it ramps up it stays ramped, even forgoing the normally boring last part of the second act with a missing reel throwing you directly into all hell breaking loose in the third act. Well played my good man, everyone in the theater cheered and because (I'm assuming here) we've all seen our share of cheesy action and horror films we know exactly what happened during that missing reel. The gore was over the top and the action balls to the wall (sometimes literally). The dialogue was suitably cheesy, the characters stereotyped, and it was a great way to spend an evening.
Tarantino's Death Proof was too much of a Tarantino movie for me to enjoy it as a grind house film. While a better film technically than Planet Terror, it starts out with too much over-written dialogue then finally ramps up into one of the coolest car crash scenes since Final Destination 2 then rapidly kills the pace with another 20 minutes of more dialogue. Granted the last act is awesome (although I didn't buy the change in Stunt Man Mike's character) and the stunt driving is amazing but by the time you're in to the third hour of a double feature killing the pace like that starts people looking for bathroom trips. I think it would've worked better if the films were switched as the pacing wouldn't have felt so wrong. Not to say I didn't like Tarantino's film, I loved it. It just didn't have the energy of Rodriguez's film and was too well written and self-aware for a true exploitation film. That being said the stunt driving is amazing and exciting.
I would love to see this film series continue with more directors given a chance to just let loose their own twisted fantasies. One thing that was missing was definitely the nudity. For crazy exploitation films there was a distinct lack of skin. The only one's who got to enjoy Fergie's lovely lady lumps were the zombies. Skin is totally relegated to the trailers. Speaking of which, I think Eli Roth with his trailer for Thanksgiving understood the exploitation/Grind house genre better than even the two feature films. Here is a man who is so demented (I was almost afraid to watch Hostel) that he understands that sin and guilt are a part of what made these types of films infamous in the first place. Compared to classics such as I Spit on Your Grave or Cannibal Holocaust Rodriquez and Tarantino's films feel like Disney musicals. You enjoy them cringe but still feel rather clean after watching them. Thanksgiving was gritty, and I dare you to try to forget the last two images...what is that guy doing to that turkey in the background? Damn that is sick and just the way it should be.
Comments
Jim Rohner said...
I echo your sentiments entirely. Tarantino's may have been the better film-film, but I didn't go to Grindhouse to see a film: I went to Grindhouse to see exploitation.
Or at least, as good an attempt at exploitation as a big budget project can be. While Planet Terror and Death Proof had many of the gags exploitation films had, they lacked the charm due to the obvious (lack of) budget restraints behind them. Rodriquez's was tops in my book in the sense that his half accomplished what the whole homage factor is about. Tarantino seemed to start off on a good foot, then got caught up in himself.
Supposedly, there's talk of Thanksgiving being made into a feature but being made on a super low budget in the true spirit of grindhouse films. Eli Roth may be sick, but he knows his stuff.
Posted by: Jim Rohner | May 10, 2007 4:20 PM