THE BEAST WITHIN WEEK 1 : "DEATHPROOF"

Now this, as you may remember, is part of a project Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez started up a while back. Two films – Deathproof and Grindhouse / Planet Terror, both of a certain genre, both using similar filming techniques, released at the same time. As these films are a duo, I will be reviewing them both this week, because naturally I bought both. I mean, if Quentin Tarantino directed it I MUST watch it… And Robert Rodriguez… Well, I think I mentioned this in “Four Rooms” but I was curious about him. So there you are you see. First observation; I should seriously stop watching films “wholesale” as it were. No, what happened was this; I watched Deathproof. I actually really enjoyed it. I had some spare time on my hands so I reckoned seeing as this is a duo, I could just go on to Grindhouse. Admittedly, I would not be able to finish it today but it isn’t actually a classic of modern cinema, no harm done, right? Wrong. Very wrong. I mean it’s totally OK to watch it in pieces (to anyone who watched either movie, this will sound like a very VERY bad pun). However, two hours of Tarantinian gore and violence topped up with Rodriguez gore, violence gunk and zombies… I don’t quite know how to describe it but it is not a happy place… Especially where my stomach is concerned and I have a sensitive stomach… I guess if you watch them separately it would be ok. In fact, I am pretty sure you would be ok if you watched them separately. This wholesale movie watching is a problem that I have to personally deal with…
Ok, Deathproof. Now, these films are, by the way, in the genre of old – 70’s – slashers. This includes the technical side of it: grainy filming, problem with the colors, missing scenes… If we didn’t know better, we might think we had dug something out of the vaults of yesteryear. It’s not only the technique but the storyline that harks back to an entirely different era (apart from the fact that it is actually set in modern day America. Small detail but there you go). You remember the genre: a group of young ladies about town. They are beautiful, confident, having fun and they really don’t give a damn… However, they are not aware of one thing… A dark stranger is watching them from afar, biding his time, and when he makes contact… Well…
I have heard a lot of people dissing this film. “Oh but it’s Quentin Tarantino, we expected something more”. The fact is the film is funny. And I don’t mean in the way that horror movies – meant to be scary – turn out funny. This is a class – and classy – example of horror – comedy. I say classy because, as with every single Tarantino film, Deathproof is packed to the gills with references to other films and inside jokes. I’ll give you one example; I know this is not really my style but I want you to get the ambiance. So we all know about Mr. Tarantino and his er… Love of women’s feet, right? This is no inside info if it’s the first time you’ve heard of this, just watch a goodly number of his films and more often than not SOMETHING, anything, to do with a woman’s feet will get into the story. Now, opening shot for Deathproof. We are driving in a car, and we see the road from the eyes of the person sitting in the passenger seat. The passenger is a lady; she has her feet up on the dashboard. Her feet are bare with red nail varnish… So what we see is a dashboard and a bit of sky outlining a woman’s feet and legs. Right on top of this picture comes the writing, in big bold orange letters “A QUENTIN TARANTINO FILM”. All I could do in response was say “Yes, it is!” and burst out laughing… That sort of thing… By the bucket load. Don’t take it too too seriously though, it’s a “peanut” movie, aiming to take your mind off the rest of the world for a couple of hours and give you a good ride… With everything a Tarantino movie entails of course… (Including the director himself in a cameo! I am so glad he is back to that, when I didn’t see him in Inglorious Bastards, I had begun to worry…) So fasten your seatbelts… It will be one HECK of a ride…