Death Proof (Blu-ray)

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"It´s better than safe. It´s death proof." – Stuntman Mike

I could be in the minority, but right from the start I´ve always thought Quentin Tarantino´s and Robert Rodriguez´ joint venture "Grindhouse" was an underappreciated notion of brilliance. Their collaboration fused their own modern styles with inspiration driven from the exploitation films of the seventies and the monster B-movies of the early eighties to create a motion picture event well ahead of its time.

I say this because a few critics initially panned the production as they couldn´t wrap their heads around the concept of these B-movie throwbacks, and moviegoers were either turned off by the cheesy-looking trailers or couldn´t make the time in their busy schedules to sit through two back-to-back movies at the theater. And so in North America at least, "Grindhouse" ultimately bombed at the box office.

To try and amend the failure, "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" were surgically separated from each other for overseas distribution as well as on home video. I´m not sure how well the films did on their own in other countries, but from what I´ve read, after the split on DVD the general consensus agreed that both movies truly belong together. Practically every review I´ve come across says the same thing, so you can imagine how I was a bit surprised—not to mention annoyed—when I learned Genius Products didn´t listen to the pleas of the public and repeated the same dumb move on Blu-ray. And as if that wasn´t bad enough, to add salt in the wounds the phony movie trailers that were such an integral part of the "Grindhouse" experience are still nowhere to be found! Talk about a slap in the face.

Anyway, this review is for the Blu-ray of Quentin Tarantino´s contribution "Death Proof," which actually plays out almost like two movies in one. The first half of the film takes place in Austin, Texas where a foxy radio DJ named Jungle Julia (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) is celebrating her birthday. On this fateful day, she decides to go out partying with her friends "Butterfly" (Vanessa Ferlito) and Shanna (Jordan Ladd). One of their stops is Güero's Taco Bar, and they spend the evening drinking, smoking weed, and casually grinding away to atrocious seventies-style music.

After spending a fair amount of time flaunting their feet, legs, and other "assets" to the male patrons at the tavern and the viewers at home, the girls eventually meet an odd man who introduces himself only as "Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell). Stuntman Mike has a massive scar on his face and radiates creepy vibes, yet somehow he´s still surrounded by a peculiar aura of charm. He befriends a young lady named Pam (Rose McGowan) and even manages to score a pretty intense lap dance from Butterfly (which was cut from the theatrical version).

What none of the girls realize, though, is that Stuntman Mike is really a vicious serial killer. First he stalks his prey and gains their trust, then gets his sick jollies by terrorizing and murdering his victims with a unique weapon of choice—his menacing black 1970 Chevy Nova. Unfortunately, the women would have much better chance at survival if they were built to last like his machine—specially modified to be virtually "death proof."

While the first half is an uncanny tribute to seventies B-movies, it is slow going--even for men ogling the babes in tight tee shirts and short shorts. Hardly anything of note actually happens until Stuntman Mike shows up, and the rest of the time there really isn´t much else going on at all. By the time we shift into second gear in the next chapter, though, we enter a realm more in tune with vintage Tarantino.

Over a year later in Lebanon, Tennessee, another group of young ladies--Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), Kim (Tracie Thoms), and Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)—pick up their friend Zoë Bell (starring as herself) visiting from New Zealand for a few days. As the girls chat over a meal and land on the subject of muscle cars, Zoë reveals that one of her dreams has always been to drive a white 1970 Dodge Challenger with a 440 engine--exactly like the one in the film, "Vanishing Point." Her eyes light up even more as she tells her friends that she came across one for sale nearby in the online classifieds prior to her trip. With a little bit of prodding, Zoë talks the others into going down and taking a look at the Challenger so she can take a test drive and fulfill her lifelong fantasy.

However, it isn´t long before Kim uncovers that Zoë has alternate plans. What Zoë secretly wants to do with the Challenger is use it to perform a death-defying stunt called "Ship´s Mast." This takes even more convincing, but soon Zoë, Kim, and Abby are on the road test driving the classic set of wheels--leaving poor Lee behind as collateral.

Meanwhile, now behind the wheel of a 1969 Dodge Charger, Stuntman Mike reenters the picture and has chosen a new set of targets for his sadistic killing spree. Only this time, he sets his sights on the wrong group of women—and when they decide to fight back, the hunter ends up being the one being hunted…

Besides being the final half of "Grindhouse," Tarantino had a secondary motive for "Death Proof." He used the film as a vehicle (pun intended) to build around his favorite stunt woman--Zoë Bell. The New Zealand native had been Lucy Lawless´ stunt double on "Xena: Warrior Princess" and had worked on other projects, but it wasn´t until Tarantino saw the trailer for the documentary "Double Dare" that he became infatuated with her and brought her aboard to be Uma´s double in "Kill Bill." He was so impressed that he decided to write a movie specifically for her. Bell does all of her own stunts in "Death Proof" and is easily one of the highlights of the film.