Death Proof is Quentin Tarantino contribution to the film that is Grindhouse. It is in fact the second feature of the film, and while it’s the weaker of the two movies, it still entertains like no other film, but it is in fact slow at times. As with most of Tarantino’s film they are always violent and full of gore. But they are also what many refer to as talkies in the business. Where the character sit around and talk to one another. This is a means of character and plot development, but for some people too much talking can sometimes slow down a film, and that’s half the case with this film, because when the talking stops, the non-stop action begins.
Death Proof is about a guy named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), who drives around is a muscle car that used for stunts in the movies. However he has the car designed to his specifications to make it Death Proof. The problem is that it’s only death proof for the driver. Stuntman Mike has a obsession for stalking and killing young women, specifically those with similar tastes as his own. The story is divided into two segments in which two different sets of girls come into contact with Stuntman Mike, each story has a different outcome, both which are well worth the wait to the very end.
He was my thing with the script for Death Proof; and I mentioned this above. There was a lot of talking going on at the beginning of each segment of the film. Most of it I felt was repetitive, and as someone who was sitting for three hours in a theater, I kind of forgot about the great action horror that was Planet Terror, and had to sit and listen to women babble for ten to twenty minutes at a time. Now don’t get me wrong, this is Tarantino’s style, and while the scenes and dialogue was very well written and funny; the fact that the scene felt so repetitive though me off a bit. And the fact that I needed to take a wicked piss, which I finally did when I figured out that the same two women in the film we’re going to be talking about the same issue for five minutes. Turns out I was right about the outcome, and when I walked back into the theater, they were just finishing up the conversation. I guess I should be thanking Tarantino for that, he gave them just enough dialogue to babble long enough about the same topic for me to go, and get back in time. Now that I think about it, I think anyone who had to go and take a piss after sitting in the theater for 3 hours should thank Tarantino for writing the film the way he did. Now he’s what I call a great filmmaker.
Now getting back to the script on a more serious note; the action scenes in Death Proof are like something you’ve never seen before. Well maybe you’ve seen them before, but not like this. I mean the car chase scenes in this film are out of this world. Especially the one in the last segment of the film that leads up to the films ending. It’s classic Tarantino at his best. The script also had plenty of great classic Tarantino plot twists and surprising outcomes. Well worth their weight in gold.
The acting in which coincides with the great directing is outstanding. Even Eli Roth’s acting is great. Which was unexpected, I never knew he had that kind of acting talent in him. Kurt Russell stand out more than anyone, and to see him in this role of Stuntman Mike, was outstanding. Normally I never would of thought that he would play such an outlandish character, I mean this was one complexed role to play, and he did it with such greatness and ease. I don’t even know where to begin. Tarantino’s directing shines within all of his talent. Especially the female subjects which are the main focus of both of the films segments. Tarantino was able to take all the female actresses he had and mold them into their own characters. Not one of them was one dimensional in anyway, and each of them had that special personality and resilience that the audience could relate too.
The overall effects and production value was top notch. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the gore in Death Proof, because only a fool would give away the great action scenes and the results that follow with the scenes that involve make-up and CGI effects. The effects in Grindhouse as whole are what make the overall film that much better. And anyone who calls themselves a horror fan must do anything they can to get to a theater and see this film. It is one for the ages. So all I’m going to say about the effects, the gore and the terror in Death Proof is that it is nothing more than top notch and won’t disappoint.
Overall Death Proof is the weaker of the two films, but it still delivers the goods, and is a good flick to watch. I can’t say that there won’t be times where you might get a little bored with all the talking in the film, but the climax in which these scenes lead up to is well worth it. Death Proof is a classic Quentin Tarantino film. He never disappoints, and I’m sure you’ll agree when you see this film.
And as for Grindhouse as a whole; I think we’re looking at one of the best produced horror films of the decade so far. Both films have so much to offer the horror genre and offer an over abundance of blood and gore to satisfy plenty of horror fans for quite some time. It’s going to be hard to convince me that there is going to be a better mainstream horror film than Grindhouse this year. That’s all I have to say; Possibility one of the best horror films ever made.
Grindhouse Trailers
Grindhouse has a few mock trailers in between Plane Terror & Death Proof; and one before Planet Terror begins. The first of the trailers; the one before Planet Terror begins was directed by Robert Rodriguez himself, titled Machete. Machete is about a Mexican Day Laborer who seeks revenge. The other three mock trailers are shown after Planet Terror. Werewolf Women of the SS; a Nazi exploitation film, a funny and great trailer directed by Rob Zombie. Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving trailer, which was about a killer pilgrim, another great trailer. And then the funniest one of them all titled “Don’t Scream” which I won’t explain, but rather let you know it was directed by the director of Shaun of the Dead Edgar Wright. All of these trailers provided some great laughs and scares among the audience I saw this film with in the theater. I just had to mention them before I close out my two part review of Grindhouse.
Click Here my Grindhouse Review: Planet Terror
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
