Grindhouse

***Zombies, dancing skanks, rednecks and killer stunt cars*** “Grindhouse” (2007) features two separate movies: “Planet Terror” by Robert Rodriguez and “Death Proof” by Quentin Tarantino. Together, they’re called “Grindhouse” because they’re a deliberate attempt to recreate the experience of a double feature at a B movie house in the mid/late 60s-70s with the prints intentionally marred by scratches and blemishes or, in one case, a whole reel supposedly missing. Trailers for fake movies, like “Machete,” are also part of the package. “Planet Terror” involves a biochemical outbreak in central…

Grindhouse exploits its modern B-movie experience through a bloody expressionistic tribute. Two feature films. Four fictional trailers (five if you’re lucky...). And an authentic conceptual presentation of the 70s exploitation genre, missing reels and all. Rodriguez/Tarantino’s admiration for cinema in general is tangible. Both a credible experiment in genre resurrection and a fetish for babes, blood and bolted machine gun legs. It is, at its core, a retrospective piece of entertainment. But does the double feature presentation, trailers included, work as a solid film in itself? Yes. Just…