After a brief interlude comes Tarantino’s slasher flick Death Proof, which sees a retired stunt driver ‘Stunt Man Mike’ (Kurt Russell) using his car to stalk and terrorise two groups of attractive women. Although, Mike soon finds his targets aren’t as vulnerable as he had imagined.

If Planet Terror belonged in the 50s then Death Proof is a definite product of the 70s. It may take place in modern day American but the cars, the music, the cultural references are all mostly from the 70s. It’s a wholly different movie from Planet Terror and brings a welcome change in pace, style and atmosphere. Death Proof subverts the typical slasher movie formula by developing the characters of two carloads of girlfriends to an unprecedented level.

It’s all about dialogue and characterization, something usually completely absent from many modern slasher movies. Tarantino, who’s often been labelled a misogynist, manages, much more successfully than many of his peers, to create believable and likeable female characters with convincing chemistry. He’s ably supported by a wonderful cast including standout turns from Sydney Poitier (yes Sidney’s daughter), Vanessa Ferlito and stuntwoman turned actress Zoe Bell.

The other key factor to the film’s success is the development of the villain, ‘Stunt Man Mike’. There’s no mask or attempt to disguise himself, there’s a surprising level of weakness to the character and there’s no pathetic excuse for a reason as to why he does what he does. Kurt Russell does some great work here, pulling off the achingly cool trademark dialogue and almost nulling out his recent family-friendly paycheck work.

It’s no great surprise that there’s some excellent car chases and also even less of a surprise that Tarantino yet again has a flawless ear for music. Special note to the brilliantly placed piece of music from Brian De Palma’s classic thriller Blow Out. Tarantino’s only major misstep is casting himself in both movies in awkward cameos which only cement the fact that he really is a terrible actor.

Both films are also accompanied by a scatterring of fake trailers. They’re all gleefully well-observed although Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright’s trailer for Don’t was particularly hilarious. Both films are also ‘missing reels’ and the reels that are ‘missing’ come at prime moments.

These little extras help to wrap up the package perfectly. So much time and effort was put into making Grindhouse the most authentic experience possible that it’s hard, even if you disliked the movie, to not admire it at least. The movie geek inside me was smiling, with a ...