Grindhouse (2007)
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A gritty double feature pays homage to the era of exploitation cinema through a zombie apocalypse and a deadly car-chase thriller.
The story
Grindhouse is presented as a double feature that combines two distinct narratives. The first segment, Planet Terror, follows a group of survivors in a small Texas town who must battle a horde of flesh-eating zombies. The second segment, Death Proof, follows the trail of a mysterious and deadly stuntman who uses his modified vehicle to target women. The entire presentation is framed as a tribute to 1970s exploitation cinema, complete with a series of fictitious trailers and vintage-style production elements designed to mimic the aesthetic of old grindhouse theaters.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Grindhouse is an anthology film consisting of two main features and several fake trailers. In 'Planet Terror,' a zombie outbreak occurs in a small Texas town. Cherry, a go-go dancer, and her ex-lover Wray lead a group of survivors against the undead. Cherry, who lost a leg to a ghoul, utilizes a machine-gun attachment to fight back. In 'Death Proof,' a professional body double known as Stuntman Mike uses a 'death-proof' car to intentionally cause crashes and kill women. He eventually targets a group of female friends, including a professional stuntwoman. The film is interspersed with fake trailers for films like 'Machete,' 'Werewolf Women of the SS,' 'Don't,' and 'Thanksgiving.' The production intentionally incorporates 'missing reels,' film damage, and aged textures to replicate the look of 1970s exploitation cinema.
- First release year
- 2007
- Runtime (minutes)
- 191
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Rodriguez; Quentin Tarantino
- Writers
- Robert Rodriguez · writer; Quentin Tarantino · writer
- Genres
- anthology; horror comedy; thriller; exploitation
- Themes
- exploitation cinema; survival; violence
- Tone and mood
- gritty; violent; stylized
- Premise and plot tags
- double feature; zombie apocalypse; car chase; mock-artifact
- Content notes
- violence; gore; language; sexuality; nudity; drug use
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews for its tone, thrills, and tribute to exploitation cinema, though it was a commercial failure at the box office.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 84% · scale: percentage · review count: 194; Metacritic · score: 77 · scale: 100 · review count: 36; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film's title comes from defunct theaters that showed exploitation films.; The film was intentionally damaged to look like worn-out 1970s film reels.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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