Grindhouse: Planet Terror / Death Proof
RC Theaters Movies 14 - Wilkes Barre, PA
Directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino have partnered up to create a double feature of films that pay tribute to the grindhouse theaters that they grew up with. Both movies are deliberately scuffed up and made to look like old prints that have been heavily used, including skips in the story where a "missing reel" card is shown.
In addition to the two feature length films, they invited guest directors to create their own ads and trailers for grindhouse-inspired movies. These included Machete, Werewolf Women Of The SS, Thanksgiving, and my personal favorite, a movie that's simply called "Don't", which is a play off of all of the slasher flicks of the 70's and 80's with titles that begin with that word, such as Don't Answer The Phone, Don't Go In The House, Don't Look In The Attic, Don't Look In The Basement, etc.
The first film of the double feature was directed by Robert Rodriguez. It's an absolutely batshit crazy action/sci-fi/horror flick called Planet Terror. It stars Rose McGowan, who you can see on the poster as having an assault rifle for a leg. She doesn't start out the film that way, but the story that gets you there is pure insanity, and I loved every minute of it!
The second half of Grindhouse was Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, and for as much as I loved Planet Terror, I enjoyed Death Proof even more. It stars Kurt Russell as a homicidal maniac stuntman who hunts and kills women using his tricked out muscle car, of which the drivers seat has been made to be "death proof". Whereas Planet Terror is a tribute to zombie horror, Death Proof is a tribute to car chase thrillers, and it is done to perfection!
UPDATE (October 2022): We went to see a double feature at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater that included Death Proof. I wanted to see if I could find the exact date that I originally saw it in theaters during its initial theatrical run, which is how I stumbled across my ticket stub. It was in a scrapbook that I was putting together at the time, so it's covered in scotch tape and it has faded pretty badly over the years, but I figured I'd add it in here to this page of what has become my digital scrapbook.
