What scares
Andrew Goodridge?
He’s giving us a month to find out.
Follow along with Andrew as he plans to get into the spirit of his favorite holiday by watching a different horror movie every day in the month of October.
October 20
See it! Only at The Grindhouse!
“Grindhouse” (2007)
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino
Screenplay by: Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino
I once heard someone say “A film is never finished, only abandoned.”
Unfortunately, I heard George Lucas say that in the introduction to his “Special Edition” versions of the “Star Wars” movies. He interpreted that saying to mean he should go back and tinker with “Star Wars” 20 years after he made them. The Special Editions were terrible. “Star Wars” was best left abandoned.
I think all films are best left abandoned. The idea of a director’s cut or special edition or unrated version has always rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe this is because I fear change. But it’s probably more because I feel like re-editing and re-releasing movies erases the temporal, sometimes ephemeral, nature of the art form. Movies are made within a host of limitations — time, budget, creative differences, technology — and I think that adds to their charm. Directors tweaking movies decades later and introducing contemporary luxuries — more time, bigger budgets, new ideas, advanced technology — is cheating. I will always prefer to see the original version of a movie that was born out of all these challenges.
This is why I’ve waited, rather impatiently, for three years to see “Grindhouse” (2007) released to DVD or Blu-ray. “Grindhouse,” in its original form, consists of two feature-length movies — “Planet Terror,” directed by Robert Rodriguez, and “Death Proof,” from Quentin Tarantino — as well as four fake trailers from contemporary horror directors and retro “Welcome to the theater!”-type advertisements. Unfortunately, Miramax originally decided against putting “Grindhouse” on DVD, instead releasing each movie separately, and in longer, extended cuts. By all accounts, the changes made to the new extended editions of Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror” and Tarantino’s “Death Proof” were colossal missteps. Plus, releasing the two independent of the other (and ditching the fake trailers) turned them into run-of-the-mill movies rather than a complete experience.
And what an experience it is. “Grindhouse” is a 3-and-a-half hour lovefest celebrating horror films of the 70s. Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror” is as over-the-top as they come, throwing everything from the genre into one movie. It’s full of gore, terrible dialogue, cheesy acting, a nonsense story, explosions zombies evil doctors mad scientists melting faces blood guts ohmygod.
But aside from its intentionally scratched up and degraded picture quality, “Planet Terror” bears little resemblance to real 70s “grindhouse” horror films. But it’s probably just like what someone who has never seen one might imagine they look like. In reality, the movies of the era were slower paced, much less polished, and had far fewer explosions and high-dollar effects. The small budgets were saved for a handful of gory, gross-out money-shots. Everything else was just filler.
As homage, it’s questionable. But as a movie of kick ass awesomeness, it succeeds. A lot. It’s ludicrous and fun and silly and implausible and I loved it. Rodriguez (like Tarantino) absolutely lives for movies, and his love for the art form comes across in every frame. I’m not exactly a Rodriguez apologist, either. I respect but dislike much of his filmography, but his contribution to “Grindhouse” is the best work he’s ever done.
Tarantino’s entry is much closer in tone and style to the movies that inspired it. Kurt Russell plays Stuntman Mike, who is a professional stuntman with a car that is, as he puts it, death proof — at least for the driver. “Death Proof” wears its inspiration on its sleeve — it’s steeped in hypermasculine, testosterone-driven muscle car films like “Vanishing Point,” but it’s also a unique take on the slasher movie. Assuming, of course, you substitute a machete for a stunt car.
Tarantino’s movie got a lot of backlash when “Grindhouse” first came out. It’s much slower than “Planet Terror,” and there’s no outlandish special effects and excessive blood and gore. But while Rodriguez was making a modern-day version of a grindhouse film — complete with all the special effects and glossy flourishes that big studio-backed productions allow — Tarantinto’s film emulates the genre more faithfully. It’s full of great Tarantino dialogue, but it is probably always going to be remembered for third act, which features the absolute best car cash scene I have ever seen. “Death Proof” is my favorite of the two, for sure.
But here I am separating “Planet Terror” and “Death Proof” into two movies. They’re not. They’re just the parts that make up the sum of “Grindhouse.” But that’s not all that makes up “Grindhouse.” There are, of course, the now famous fake trailers.
In addition to directing “Planet Terror,” Rodriguez also made his own trailer. His “Machete” preview was so popular that he turned it into a feature film, though I’d be much more interested in seeing Edgar Wright expand his trailer, “Don’t,” into a full-length movie. “Don’t” lovingly spoofs British exploitation movies, which were more insistent than coherent coherence. The narrator forcefully pushes how scary “Don’t” is, but never bothers to explain what the movie is all about. Wright uses different actors for every shot, which makes the whole 2 minutes completely disjointed and incomprehensible. I love it.
The most spot-on trailer, though, was Eli Roth’s (“Cabin Fever,” “Hostel”) “Thanksgiving,” which perfectly mimics 80s slasher movies. I keep hearing rumors that Roth plans to expand “Thanksgiving” for theaters. I’d love to see it as part of “Grindhouse 2,” though the box office failure of the first “Grindhouse” means that probably won’t happen. Also, pretty much everything else Roth has made is absolutely terrible. He’s best in 2-minute increments.
I haven’t geared this column toward recommendations or even opinions on the quality of the movies I watch. But I have to recommend this as whole-heartedly as I can. I’m so happy that “Grindhouse” is finally available the way it was meant to be seen. No need for a director’s cut. It’s perfect just the way it is.
Andrew Goodridge likes movies so much that he married one. He teaches Audio/Video production, Filmmaking, and Film & Television History in Fort Worth, Texas. He would one day like to have a Pug, or maybe a Bulldog.
Andrew Goodridge can be reached at goodridge@everythingnac.com
