Midnight Movie of the Week #35 - Death Proof

Back in the Spring of 2007, I initially struggled with what my true feelings were for Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.  Presented as the b-side feature in Grindhouse, the throwback collaboration between QT and long-time friend Robert Rodriguez, the film seemed out of place after the non-stop cheesefest that was Planet Terror and the batch of fake trailers that surrounded it.

It had been easy for me to see some of the film's charm when Grindhouse hit on that April night, but it just simply wasn't clicking then.  At that moment, I looked at Death Proof the same way I would look at a fabulous Mexican restaurant right after I'd spent three hours downing burgers and dogs at a 4th of July cookout.  It's a completely different brand than what it was packaged with, and I simply didn't have the energy to care at the time.

But something kind of amazing happened when I got the film alone later that year...I kinda loved it.

 Death Proof - in a roundabout way - focuses on the character of Stuntman Mike, played by Kurt Russell.  Putting Kurt Russell in your movie is about the easiest way to catch The Mike's eye (I almost went to that Dreamer movie about a horse just for Kurt!), and he doesn't disappoint as Tarantino's unhinged stunt driver.  Thou shalt not doubt Kurt is one of The Mike Commandments, so I knew that would happen.  But I wasn't prepared for what else the film had to offer.

A majority of the film focuses on the groups of young women who become Stuntman Mike's prey, which is where the film caught me off guard.  I should have known a little better - half of Tarantino's films are scenes where characters sit around a table drinking beverages and yammering about cool stuff - but the hectic nature of Rodriguez' preceding film had clouded my judgment.  As I looked at the film later, I realized that these scenes were quite a bit more interesting than I'd realized.  Particularly enjoyable is the discussion that opens the film's second half (or, Grindhouse's fourth quarter) in which '70s car chase movies become the topic.

While Planet Terror embraced horror conventions thoroughly, this film sits squarely on the ledge of the horror genre, seeminlgy unsure of if it really wants to step inside and join the party.  Stuntman Mike is built up as a likeable character before his "turn", and when he does become menacing the effect is doubled by Russell's ability to fill the role.  But when you step aside from the fact that there's a menacing fellow, there aren't many horror movie trappings here.  The film is more indicative of those "gearhead" films of the '70s - where the cars were the stars - than any horror films of the era. It definitely doesn't matchup with Planet Terror in this regard, as that film plays more like something Lucio Fulci would have thrown up on the screen at the time.

It's incredibly easy to sit here and point out the disconnect I felt with Death Proof while my mind was being manipulated by the horror genre, but nowadays it's also easy for me to point out the things I love about Death Proof as a standalone film.  The pace of the film allows each major character to gain a bit of depth, and Tarantino's camera lingers patiently as they move through the film.  As is always the case with Tarantino, the soundtrack accentuates the mood perfectly, and offers plenty of funky beats.  The car scenes and stunts are most impressive, and are an example of Tarantino succeeding in an arena of film that had rarely been seen in his repertoire before.

Though Stuntman Mike is at the wheel, Death Proof is driven by the characters who may become his victims.  Rose McGowan, Vanessa Ferlito, and stuntwoman-turned-star Zoe Bell are the most interesting characters, though side players like Jordan Ladd and Tracie Thoms also get a few moments to shine.  The film is Tarantino's most dialogue driven work this side of Jackie Brown, and the actresses - for the most part - manage to become characters that the viewer has some interest in.  There are a couple of token victims thrown in to the film - one character seems to appear in a car without having been in the rest of the film - but the characters we're introduced to are well-written and the execution of the characters (no pun intended) carries more weight than many horror films could dream of.

Death Proof is subdued in comparison to the rest of that Grindhouse experience, and even a bit tame compared to most horror films.  Regardless, Tarantino's film is always interesting to me these days, and Russell's sick character still manages to get under my skin at times.  I underestimated it grossly when we first met, and I'm willing to make it up to Death Proof.  I'm incredibly fond of the film these days, and think it just might have a longer shelf-life than anyone - including myself - ever expected.