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There has been much excitement about Grindhouse recently in the world of movie fanatics. Generally Quentin Tarantino has a loyal fan base, ready to see his new film at the drop of a hat and Robert Rodriguez inexplicably has such devoted fans as well. Unfortunately, this double feature by the tandem did not meet any of its expectations in it opening weekend. In fact, the movie made about one third of its expected opening weekend gross. On the bright side, the lack of financial gain is not always a portent of quality in the movie industry. For example Millions, possibly the best movie of 2005, made barely over 6 million dollars domestically and the crap fest that is The Pacifier made over 113 million around the same time. How is this fair?

Apparently Robert Rodriguez came up with the idea that the two film buddies should recreate the feel of an old school Grindhouse double feature. They do everything in their power to create the feel of a low budget, poorly cared for print that has definitely seen better days, no matter how much money it cost them. On paper this sounds like the best of both worlds. Tarantino gets to quickly produce a film to satiate his fan base, and Rodriguez gets to make things explode. What isn’t there to love in this situation?

The show starts off with Robert Rodriguez’ Planet Terror. After a military debacle, a virus starts spreading through the Texas countryside, creating zombies and poor decision making. The movie really hits its stride after a short cameo by Fergie ends in complete disembowelment. Overall this is a very enjoyable zombie experience, complete with lots of blood, guts, stupid good guys and even dumber bad guys. One thing is definitely for sure, they spent a considerable amount of money on the fake blood and prosthetics in this movie. In my favorite scene, survivors are driving a garbage truck down the road and hitting/exploding zombies the whole way. Really, its just plain fun for the whole family.

The second movie is Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino’s, “slasher film with cars.” It has the slasher style set up of characters that will be chased and the premeditation of the crazed killer and by the end of the movie it completely flips the balance of power between the chaser and the chased. Unfortunately for this movie, it concentrates way too hard on the character set up, long talks, and references to older Tarantino movies. As Dave Faber said, “If I wanted to listen to an hour and a half of girls waxing idiotic, I would have gone to Old Navy.” I believe he actually used McDonald’s, but I think Old Navy is better. The first half of the movie sets up the first victims and the killer’s fixation on his prey. All this is good. In fact, I liked the first half of this movie quite a bit. However, as soon as the third act begins, it quickly recycles itself back to the beginning of the movie, only with a slower, more boring set up. Another problem with the second half and the second group of ladies is that there is no actual attachment between the killer and his victims. The first half shows him stalking the victims, but the second half makes it a coincidence that he just happens to be looking for fun when the victims drive by.

Possibly the best part of Grindhouse is the fake trailers in between the two movies. Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the SS and Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving highlight the hilarious features previewed. I hope they really do come out with WWotSS. I’ll be one of the first people in line to see that movie.

Overall, Grindhouse creates a good movie experience. There are plenty of laughs, scares, and guts to go around. Its obvious that the filmmakers wanted to have fun while making this and poke a little fun at themselves in the process.

Grade: B