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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grind_house.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Need we say more?]]
3
4''Grindhouse'' is a 2007 DoubleFeature film by Creator/RobertRodriguez and Creator/QuentinTarantino. It [[AffectionateParody affectionately parodies]] 1970s [[BMovie B-Movies]] complete with "Coming Attractions" and in-betweener cartoons.
5
6In Rodriguez's movie, ''Film/PlanetTerror'', a military transaction goes awry and an experimental poison gas is released on a small town in rural Texas, turning the unsuspecting civilians into bloodthirsty zombies. The only people who can stop them are a go-go-dancer with a gun for a leg, her expert gunman ex-boyfriend, a pair of crazy babysitter twins, a [[HeroicBSOD shellshocked]] doctor, a {{Jerkass}} cop, a crusty sheriff, a scientist obsessed with balls, and many other trailer-park freaks from deep in the Heart of Texas.
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8In Tarantino's movie, ''Film/DeathProof'', a stuntman uses his small fame to pick up girls, then kills them with his car. Little does he realize that a few of his second bunch of victims are stunt''women''... and among them is Creator/ZoeBell (playing herself), who also doubled for Creator/UmaThurman in ''Film/KillBill'' in real life. Boy, is Stuntman Mike in for a world of hurt...
9
10The double feature also included several [[RealTrailerFakeMovie fake movie trailers]], a few of which were actually [[invoked]][[{{Defictionalization}} made into real movies]]:
11* ''Film/{{Machete}}'' -- "Mexploitation film" in which a Mexican former federale turned day laborer named Machete, played by Creator/DannyTrejo, becomes a hitman who goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against those who set him up; also directed by Rodriguez. [[invoked]][[{{Defictionalization}} Was turned into an actual movie]] in 2010, and then got a sequel, ''Film/MacheteKills''.
12* ''Werewolf Women of the SS'' -- ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, director Music/RobZombie brings you a brilliant achievement in motion picture history. Finally, the truth about [[{{Nazisploitation}} Hitler's diabolical plans to create a race of superwomen]] can be told. Starring Creator/UdoKier, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tom Towles, Creator/SybilDanning, Creator/BillMoseley, ''*gong clash*'' [[invoked]][[spoiler:[[AndStarring and]] Creator/NicolasCage [[OneSceneWonder as]]... Literature/FuManchu!]]
13* ''Don't'' -- VideoNasties-style Britsploitation ScreamerTrailer with narration by Creator/WillArnett, directed by Creator/EdgarWright, starring Creator/SimonPegg, Creator/NickFrost, Matthew [=McFadyen=], Creator/MarkGatiss, Creator/JasonIsaacs who get caught up in some kind of weird "house of horrors" situation. The main joke of the trailer is that it's the American trailer for a British horror film, and the distributors, in order to prevent the audience from finding out that it's British, have cut the trailer so that none of the characters are heard speaking and we get no idea of the plot.[[note]]The title is a reference to American International Pictures' releases of British or European horror films under "snazzier" titles - specifically, a film whose Spanish and Italian titles translate to ''I Do Not Profane the Sleep of the Dead'', but was released in the USA as ''Don't Open the Window!'' even though there's no particular emphasis on windows in the film.[[/note]]
14* ''[[Film/Thanksgiving2023 Thanksgiving]]'' -- A [[{{Gorn}} gore-soaked]] SlasherMovie featuring a killer pilgrim, brought to you by Creator/EliRoth. Features some of the most over-the-top usage of death by sex yet to be put on film and a RunningGag of [[OffWithHisHead decapitations]], which probably would have gotten ''Grindhouse'' an NC-17 rating were it not for some very strategically-placed film scratches. Ends with a shot of the killer [[invoked]][[CrossesTheLineTwice humping a Thanksgiving turkey]]. [[{{Defictionalization}} Became a real movie]] in 2023.
15And in some select theaters:
16* ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun'' -- ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Hobo takes the law into his own hands. Made by a couple of independent filmmakers from [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]]. This one was also [[invoked]][[{{Defictionalization}} turned into a full-length movie]]. Many other indie trailers were made and considered at the South by Southwest Film Festival, and although this was the one featured in the film, a lot of the others (visible on Website/YouTube) are pretty good, too.
17----
18!!It was called the Grindhouse, movies featuring unbridled sexuality and hardcore tropes:
19* AffectionateParody: Of low-budget {{B Movie}}s and {{Exploitation Film}}s of the 1970s that would run in grindhouse theaters during the TheSeventies, hence the title of the film.
20%% * AnyoneCanDie
21* ArtShift: The [[spoiler:Fu Manchu]] segment of ''"Werewolf Women"'' looks rougher than the rest of the trailer, indicating that they might actually be two incomplete films merged into one.
22* AuthorAppeal: Tarantino once more indulges his foot fetish.
23** Creator/RoseMcGowan's dance scene at the beginning of ''Planet Terror'' would just be FanService, except that she and Rodriguez became a couple shortly after this movie came out.
24* TheBaroness: ''Werewolf Women of the SS''
25* TheCameo: Several, most famously the one from ''Werewolf Women of the SS'':
26-->[[spoiler: ''"And Creator/NicolasCage as Literature/FuManchu!"'']]
27* {{Camp}}
28* CaptainObvious: "It's blood."
29--> "Son of a '' '''BITCH.''" '''
30* CatchPhrase: ''"Don't"'' has "If you are thinking..."
31* ChekhovsSkill:
32** Kim's training as a stunt driver comes into play as soon as Mike begins his pursuit, [[spoiler: and ends with a savage CarFu retaliation. Meanwhile, Zoe Bell, stuntwoman, is fully qualified to go flying off the hood of a Dodge Charger into a nearby ditch, only to pop up shouting "I'm Ok!"]]
33** Cherry's numerous "useless skills" - she finds a use for almost all of them by the end of the film
34* CreatorCameo: Quentin Tarantino appears in both movies (he technically didn't direct ''Planet Terror'', but Robert Rodriguez has stated he was a large part of the creative process). Rodriguez also appears as one of the terrorists selling the biochemicals at the beginning.
35** Eli Roth appears in the ''Thanksgiving'' trailer as the teen who loses his head while his girlfriend is giving him head.
36* DeadlyRoadTrip: In ''Death Proof'', you do not want to get in that car.
37* DeathByCameo: [[Music/TheBlackEyedPeas Fergie]], Creator/TomSavini, Quentin Tarantino, Creator/BruceWillis....
38* DeliberateValuesDissonance:
39** The girls in the first half of ''Death Proof'' are shown driving while {{drunk|Driver}}, stoned, and not wearing seatbelts. While this is seen as unacceptably [[TooDumbToLive reckless]] and [[LethallyStupid dangerous]] today, it wasn't as stigmatized back in the 1970s.
40** [[spoiler:Creator/NicolasCage playing Fu Manchu in ''Werewolf Women of the SS'']] is likely an homage to the fact that Asian characters (including [[spoiler:Fu Manchu]] himself) were frequently played by white actors in less racially sensitive times.
41* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: ''Death Proof'' is a study in this, spending the ''entire first half of the film'' with a group of women who die with absolutely zero impact on the plot. While some find this tedious, it forces the audience to throw out their expectations as to which characters are important and will survive, creating genuine tension in the final car chase.
42* DirtyCoward: The owner of the go-go dancing club.
43** [[spoiler: Stuntman Mike proves himself to little more than a bully, and as such a coward.]]
44* DolledUpInstallment: The ArtShift when [[spoiler:Fu Manchu]] appears in the ''Werewolf Women of the SS'' trailer may be intended to imply that the scenes featuring him were cut in from a different film to turn ''[=WWotSS=]'' into part of his franchise.
45* DoomedByCanon: [[invoked]][[FridgeBrilliance Whilst their identity may be missed initially]], anyone [[spoiler: recognizing Earl [=McGraw=] ]] knows that, under the assumption that the plot is canon, they '''must''' survive (due to [[spoiler: his appearances in ''Film/KillBill 1'', ''Death Proof'' and ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' (in which he dies at the beginning). There's actually a bit of ContinuitySnarl, since ''Planet Terror'' ends with the world falling to zombies and Earl still alive, while ''Dusk'' has him dying in a perfectly zombie-free world.]]
46* [[CuteKitten Everything's Cuter with Kittens]]: To remind viewers that these films are X-rated.
47* EvilIsHammy: Creator/NicolasCage as... Literature/FuManchu!
48-->This is my Mecca! HAHAHAHAHA!
49* EvilLaugh: Nicolas Cage does some impressive cackling in stereo as Fu Manchu.
50* ExploitationFilm: Errr, yeah; the whole point.
51** Mexploitation: ''Film/{{Machete}}'', and with it, ''Film/MacheteKills''.
52** {{Nazisploitation}}: ''Werewolf Women of the SS''.
53** FeministFantasy: ''Death Proof''
54** GirlsBehindBars: "Women in Cages"
55** VigilanteMan: ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun''
56* GenreThrowback: To 1970s B-Movies. ''Don't'' even recalls how British horror movies were promoted back then.
57* GlamorousWartimeSinger: In the ''Werewolf Women of the SS'' trailer.
58* {{Gorn}}
59* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: ''Thanksgiving'' was devised as an {{Homage}} to holiday-themed slashers that were so popular in the late-70's, early-80's.
60--> '''Creator/EliRoth:''' My friend Jeff, who plays the killer Pilgrim – we grew up in Massachusetts, we were huge slasher-movie fans and every November we were waiting for the Thanksgiving slasher movie. We had the whole movie worked out: A kid who's in love with a turkey, and then his father killed it, and then he killed his family and went away to a mental institution and came back and took revenge on the town. I called Jeff and said, 'Dude, guess what, we don't have to make the movie, we can just shoot the best parts.'
61* ImAHumanitarian: Both Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the ''Don't'' trailer. Pegg plays the role of the "bearded cannibal" for a split second, while Frost has a [[http://i49.tinypic.com/2im9bgm.gif much more memorable few seconds as the hilariously, dementedly creepy "baby eater" in the nursery]]. Or...baby eater'''s''', since there seem to be three of him.
62* TheKetchupTest: In the ''Thanksgiving'' trailer.
63* LargeHam: [[Creator/NicolasCage Guess]] [[Literature/FuManchu who?]] "THIS... is my '''MECCA!!!''' ''[[EvilLaugh Muahhahahaha!!]]''
64* LogoJoke: The logo for Creator/DimensionFilms at the start of ''Planet Terror'' is fittingly done in the simpler style of '70s film logos. ''Death Proof'' takes this a step further by not starting with the logo of Dimension Films, but instead starting with the logo of Dimension ''Pictures'', which is a defunct film studio that ran from 1971-to-1981 and primarily produced exploitation and horror films.
65* MadwomanInTheAttic: Possibly part of the plot to ''Don't''
66* MaleGaze
67* MsFanservice: Pretty much every female character.
68* OneSteveLimit: Averted; both movies feature major characters named Abby.
69* PaintingTheMedium:
70** The films go to great lengths to give that authentic 1970s grindhouse feel, such as fake trailers, grainy footage, missing reels, jumping scenes, burned film, terrible synthesized music, an ad for a Tex-Mex restaurant which is supposedly next door to the theater you are watching the movie in, etc. It even goes as far as to use real life cinema idents from the 1970s.
71** In one scene of ''Planet Terror'', a large crane is clearly visible. Rodriguez considered removing it by computer, but then decided that leaving it visible would be much more grindhouse-like.
72* RealTrailerFakeMovie: Several of them!
73* RecordNeedleScratch: Used during ''Thanksgiving'' to introduce the pilgrim killer during the parade.
74* RecurringCharacter: Dakota Block appears in both films, as does her father, Sheriff Earl [=McGraw=], who has appeared in various other films by Tarantino and Rodriguez.
75* {{Recut}}: The two features were released separately overseas and on [=DVD=], due to the whole double-feature concept not translating to foreign markets, and both are longer, restoring the "missing reel" that ''Death Proof'' had in the U.S. theatrical cut - the missing reel for ''Planet Terror'' covers up a major plot point, and as such, was [[NoodleIncident never filmed]]. The theatrical cut did eventually make it to DVD, though.
76* RefugeInAudacity: Basically the whole thing.
77* {{Retraux}}
78* ReversePsychology: ''Don't'', a fictional movie trailer included in the film, spoofs the horror movie version of the trope; a narrator repeatedly issues warnings to not go into the haunted house, not look in the basement, etc., while the characters on screen do just that.
79* RunningGag: Several, most notably the missing reels.
80* SexSignalsDeath: A running gag in the ''Thanksgiving'' trailer. You've got a cheerleader stripping on a trampoline then getting a knife through her vulva, a guy getting decapitated mid-fellatio, and another decapitated while making out with someone.
81* SharedUniverse: In ''Death Proof'', Stuntman Mike kills his first victims of the movie just outside the small town ''Planet Terror'' takes place in, the sheriff of that town is seen in the hospital scene talking about the "Accident"
82* ShoutOut:
83** Creator/GeorgeARomero makeup artist Creator/TomSavini's death in ''Planet Terror'' is very similar to another character's death in Romero's ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985''.
84** ''Death Proof'' makes a lot of references that have already been made in other Tarantino films. Kim's car has the same pattern as the Bride's jumpsuit in ''Kill Bill 1'', but before that, it was Creator/BruceLee's jumpsuit. Abernathy's ringtone is the "Twisted Nerve" whistle used in ''Kill Bill'', but Bernard Hermann originally wrote it for something else. The only honest-to-God self-reference is when Mike mentions Big Kahuna burgers, a running gag in Tarantino's films.
85*** Also, there are Red Apple cigarettes in ''Planet Terror''. There's even a shout out in ''Planet Terror'' to ''Death Proof'': a DJ on the radio dedicates a song to [[spoiler: Jungle Julia, in honor of her death]]. And if you watch closely, Dakota in ''Planet Terror'' has a small notepad listing stuff to do. The last thing in that list? ''Kill Bill''. Her husband is Dr. ''William'' Block...
86*** And Rosario Dawson's character complains about her crush having sex with Daryl Hannah's stand-in. Daryl Hannah played Elle in "Kill Bill"
87** Stuntman Mike's car has a [[Film/{{Convoy}} 'rubber duck' hood mascot]]
88** The scene of the weapons on the table in the ''Machete'' trailer is straight out of ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork.''
89* SlasherMovie: Parodied in ''Thanksgiving''.
90* SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror
91* StupidJetpackHitler[=/=]{{Ghostapo}}: We repeat: ''Werewolf Women of the SS''
92** And the Nazis even bring [[spoiler:Literature/FuManchu's YellowPeril!]]
93* StylisticSuck: The theatrical release features a lot of grainy footage, broken frames, missing reels, and a few [[invoked]][[SpecialEffectFailure Special Effect Failures]] to simulate how poorly made most grindhouse films back in the day were made, used, and stored. They were cleaned up for the DVD release of ''Death Proof'', but ''Planet Terror'' kept them all in.
94* TooDumbToLive:
95** The girls in the first half of ''Death Proof''. They drink a ridiculous amount of alcohol, and then spend an hour or more smoking weed, before [[DrunkDriver driving]] down the road in the middle of the night, wearing no seat belts and paying more attention to the radio than the road. [[spoiler:It's a miracle they didn't die before Mike even got to them.]]
96** ''Planet Terror'': Granted, it was during a zombie epidemic, but [[spoiler:giving your young son a fully loaded gun without even teaching him how to use it seems pretty stupid. And it ends up as well as you would expect.]]
97* YellowPeril: In the fake trailer ''Werewolf Women of the SS'', ThoseWackyNazis are in league with the Literature/FuManchu syndicate. Whether he's PiggybackingOnHitler or supposed to be a GreaterScopeVillain is hard to tell because of the few seconds he's onscreen.
98* {{Yellowface}}: Parodied with [[spoiler:Nicolas Cage]], a white man, starring as the Chinese Fu Manchu in the ''Werewolf Women of the SS'' trailer.
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