SUMMERFEST '22: Double Feature Faves II

The Rodriguez-Tarantino Grindhouse double feature is one of my favorite cinema experiences ever and it's criminal how ineptly the marketing was handled and how most people had no clue what it even was (some people even walked out after Planet Terror because they didn't know there was a second movie). This was clearly a labor of fun for both of these filmmakers (and their friends who contributed the trailers), and it shows. And makes both movies all the more fun to watch.

Planet Terror (2007) (rewatch)

Trailer: Machete (the fake one)

Such a joy and so entertaining. There are so many quotables. The cast is insane (I still don’t understand what the deal is with the Crazy Babysitter Twins – not their characters, it’s just the actresses seem to be a thing outside the movie and I feel like I’m out of the loop). It is *especially* fun to watch with the audience reaction track turned on. The missing reel, which throws us into the third act without explaining ANYTHING, is genius. My one quibble is that, for something that’s designed as a spoof of exploitation movies, it looks way more slick and big-budget than any of those movies should be.

Trailer Reel: Werewolf Women of the SS, Don’t, Thanksgiving (all sadly nonexistent as films)

I love all of these so much, especially Don’t, which is a perfect 78 seconds and maybe my favorite thing Edgar Wright has ever done.

Death Proof (2007) (rewatch)

It’s amazing to me how people (including Tarantino himself) think this is lesser Tarantino because I feel like it’s one of his best. While Planet Terror is spoofing these grindhouse movies, Death Proof is trying to BE one. Well, two, actually. The first half is Tarantino making a straightforward slasher, with all the classic tropes, especially the punishment of the women for drinking and doing drugs. And it culminates in one of the most amazing car crashes of all time. The second half is Tarantino doing *his* version of this kind of story, with women who fight back and get revenge on this terrible man (revenge being Tarantino’s favorite song that features in nearly all of his movies). There’s even a deliberate style shift midway – the second half looks a lot slicker and brighter, and that’s totally on purpose and I love it.

I've seen both of these movies many, many times, but I've seen Death Proof more, and if I'm looking to watch just one, it's the one I go for every time.