Grindhouse
Fantastic experience unlike anything you have ever seen..
Review by Sirus

Grindhouse is a very unique movie that combines two crazy movies for the price of one and adds in four short crazy trailers for horror movies that are not likely to be made. The first movie, called Planet Terror, is directed by Robert Rodriguez and explodes with gore in a zombie slaying extravaganza. The second movie, Death Proof, is directed by Quentin Tarantino himself and is an adrenaline pumped ride like no other. To add to the Grindhouse feel, the movies are created to intentionally have the effect of rough spots like movies used to get after being shown over and over. Each movie also has a single scene that is cut out and replaced with a message saying “reel missing” which adds to the retro feel but detracts from the Grindhouse no holds barred feel because they are obviously used to cut out sex scenes.

To start with, Planet Terror tells the story of a group of military men who unleash a chemical weapon in a small town in Texas which has a sort of zombifying effect on people. A group of people in the town are able to resist the effects of the chemical and arm themselves to fight off the infected. Two significant characters are El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) and Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) who lead the way into the carnage. Cherry loses a leg from a series of events and ends up walking around with multiple makeshift replacements during the movie that she uses to do some killer things. El Wray is a crazy ex-gang member/bounty hunter of sorts who “never misses” and takes out his share of infected during the movie. Planet Terror is chocked full of gore that is slightly campy and nice to look at. Planet Terror isn’t bad in any sense but I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Death Proof.

Individual Planet Terror Score: 4/5

Death Proof tells the story of a twisted killer, Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), who takes on two sets of victims in his “death proof” muscle car. It starts out a little slow but the dialogue is so well written that it is not boring. It is extremely satisfying to watch as Mike toys with his victims before he finishes them off. Death Proof had me cheering and much more engaged than Planet Terror partially because I prefer serial killers to zombies. Death Proof does everything right and was one of the most exciting action movies I have ever seen. Kurt Russell makes a terrific serial killer with a gleefully sick smile that feels perverse and happy at the same time. Fans of car chases in movies will be glad to have Death Proof. Death Proof proves that well done car chases can be all you need to make a gripping and exhilarating action movie but Tarantino’s writing really is what makes it shine.

Individual Death Proof Score: 5/5

Because the two movies in Grindhouse are packed together in an extra long package you can’t exactly choose to see one over the other although I wouldn’t recommend that because different people prefer different types of movies and both are great in their own way. As a complete package attempting to bring back the crazy Grindhouse style movie, Grindhouse ends up giving the audience way more than they could have hoped for. The trailers are absolutely awesome although you might want to watch the Thanksgiving one online before going so you have a minute to run to the bathroom between the two movies. It is refreshing in both movies to see Tarantino play roles however short. If you love bloody action movies or are a Tarantino fan you likely are going to see Grindhouse no matter what I say but if you were having second thoughts you should go because it is a fantastic experience unlike anything you have ever seen.

Final Score: 5/5