Starting off in the middle of Tarantino’s filmography, Death Proof was the second half to a dual release that used the old school “Grindhouse” style to showcase a double feature in theaters. He teamed up with one of his “Aces” (filmmaker friend), Robert Rodriguez: who happens to be the guy responsible for El Mariachi, Spy Kids, Predators, The Faculty, Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Sin City, and Alita: Battle Angel. They previously collaborated on other projects such as From Dusk Till Dawn, Tarantino handled a sequence in Sin City, and Rodriguez has went behind the camera for Tarantino such as “The Bonnie Situation” in Pulp Fiction, which has Tarantino in front of the camera (“Don’t Jimmy me Julez.” Jimmy Buys the coffee). Rodriguez chose Planet Terror for this “Grindhouse” project which honestly might be the reason a lot of people overlook these films because no one really believed in the “woman with a gun for a leg fighting zombies” concept. It wasn’t that bad though. It’s Cult as hell though. And you either love that type of shit or you don’t.
Side Note: The trailers before both movies are probably the coolest, craziest, radical old school basement production style films that’s like a memory from a childhood. The Grindhouse element shows so much love and fun about that time and era of movie making. Don’t tell anyone but this style will come back in a futuristic way soon. Now back to the article.
Truth is Death Proof separates itself from Planet Terror by grounding itself in practical stunts and probably one of Kurt Russell’s best performances as a madman driver who stalks and hunts down women with his “death proof” car. The cast of women change halfway through the film but each group have their own story that makes sense towards the characters and the theme of the movie: let the stuntman shine!
The first group led by Jungle Julia (Sydney Poitier, the daughter of the legendary actor) and her bare feet, we watch as Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) work his way into interacting with the group, meeting a Tarantino bartender, and Rose McGowan (without the gun for a leg). The first group of four girls encounter Stuntman Mike at a bar, but little do they know that he’s insane and has been following them. We see the pictures! We get a lap dance that’s not too shabby and after all of the ass kicking that Rose McGowan was putting down in Planet Terror, Stuntman Mike shows her the reason the car is “Death Proof.” Snappy dialogue keeps the groove of the night and the vibe of the chicks riding free in their life alive until… one of the best car crash stunts emerges in all of its practicality and awesomeness. This is when the story shifts and now you’re getting into the meat of the shit.
The editing, suspense, and the violence takes the viewer to the end of the first group’s journey and transitions to a new bad ass group led by Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell (Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill), Tracie Thoms and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (she from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World & was the bad guy in Sky High; but seriously, Final Destination 3 with the roller coaster). This batch of women that Stuntman Mike sets his eyes on are not as unsuspecting as the previous group. Back to the practical effects and stunt work that leads to the characters speeding down the highway with Zoe Bell on the hood of the car as they hunt the madman driver down. It’s a girl power moment in a film that felt that it was going to simply be a massacre done by Stuntman Mike, but quite the contrary. This is a girls rule kind of film that really encompasses two perspectives of different types of women and the power they have against men. It’s pretty fire honestly.
One of the scenes, even though it’s short, takes hold of some creepy ass incident where Rosario Dawson has her feet out the window in the parking lot and Kurt Russell walks by touching her feet. Dude is a real creeper in all sense of the word. And this is the exact same type of shit that gets women riled up nowadays because of the fact that some men (not all) believe they can just touch or make an advance on a woman without permission. Shit crazy.
Regardless, Death Proof is definitely what I would consider the worst Tarantino film, but only because of the fact that when it comes to standing alone as a film, it’s cool, but it’s a very different film than the other films on this list. Starting off at #9 in my Tarantino ranking, this film is not a bad film by any regard. It simply got lost in the sauce of the double feature of the Grindhouse release and I can definitely see people loving this film for the vibe and the practical filmmaking techniques Tarantino used while making it. Lots of love for the film and worth seeing at least twice (once with Planet Terror and once without). It’s a different experience whichever one you do.
Films Left: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood