It came with great fanfare: Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez were going to revive the 70s exploitation double feature. Critics loved it, the posters were eye catching, and in the tradition of sleazy B-Movies, the trailers promised more than possible. Everyone from the most esteemed film critics to fans of the cult movies upon which it was based expected a huge success. How could you go wrong with a scantily clad Rose McGowan shooting oozing zombies with a machine gun prosthetic and Kurt Russel in elaborate car chases?
The April release of date came quickly. Crowds packed the Orpheum theatre, cheering for Cherry Darling (McGowan) and cringing at the infected "sicko" zombies in Rodriguez's blood-spattered gore fest "Planet Terror." As the "Funky Fanfare" signaled the fantastic intermission and "prevues of coming attractions," audiences were teased with trailers for movies never to come, featuring such tantalizing titles as "Werewolf Women of the SS," "Don't," and "Thanksgiving," a slasher very much in the same vein as "April Fool's Day" and "New Year's Evil." The positive reactions continued. Things slowed down with Tarantino's talkative "Death Proof," but the project was a success.
Or so it seemed...
"Grindhouse" crashed and burned. While somewhat popular on the East and West coasts, Midwestern Americans were not drawn to the idea of zombies, blood, and Nazi werewolves. Many factors worked towards the demise of "Grindhouse" that few caught up in the excitement expected. The two films for the price of one added up to a whopping three hours, and the only intermission was clearly part of the show. Also, "Grindhouse" brought audiences back to a time and place to which few were inclined to return. The film's release date of 6 April was not very well chosen; not many families celebrated Easter with exploitation. "Grindhouse" suffered a fate similar to "Snakes on Plane" in that it was too funny to truly be scary, much like the campy films that served as the directors inspiration, but also the extreme violence was too harsh and scary to be funny.
The distinctly American history of the grindhouse itself, an old, run-down cinema which constantly "ground out" double and triple bills of exploitation movies like mince meat, did not translate well to the European market. In a powerful turn of fate that would prove eternally damaging, both halves of "Grindhouse" were extended and split internationally, leaving Rodriguez's "Machete" faux trailer the only one to survive, kept in it's original slot before "Planet Terror."
Grossing a revenue of only $25,422,088, the Weinsteins doomed "Grindhouse." For it's DVD release, the European versions were used. Rodriguez and Tarantino had failed in their quest to triumphantly bring the double feature back into cinemas after a seemingly interminable hiatus and revive exploitation at it's finest (or worst, depending on one's opinions and taste).
Or had they?
In popular culture following the April of 2007, an artistic phenomenon occurred. The aesthetics of grindhouse advertising are brilliant. Always using alluring promises of shocking extravaganzas, bright colours, and decidedly post-modern stylized explosions of text, the exploitation posters grab audience's attentions and never let go. As a result of the "Grindhouse" film, it's directors' presence in the world of film, and the sheer brilliance of exploitation advertising, the style had a resurgence. Notable examples include the below commercial for Fox's television series "Dollhouse" and "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" advertised as a grindhouse double feature.
The film industry has also inclined toward more homages to grindhouses. For example, "Zombie Strippers" could easily be from the era of "The Last House on the Left" and "I Drink Your Blood," but it was actually released in 2008. Even the poster screams 70s exploitation.
Even more blatantly inspired by "Grindhouse" is "Blitzkrieg: Escape from Stalag 69." Despite working perfectly in a double feature with "Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS" or "Fraulein Devil," "Blitzkrieg is from 2008. An interesting experiment in reviving Nazisploitation, "Blitzkrieg" utilizes the same false "ruined celluloid" effect as "Grindhouse."
On a much less extreme scale, the poster for 2009's Seth Rogen comedy "Observe and Report" has a creased poster, reminiscent of the poster for "Grindhouse."
No medium has escaped the sleazy grip of "Grindhouse." Even video games have been influence by the exploitation films of the 1960s and 70s. The 2008 release "House of the Dead: Overkill" is gloriously campy, with fake film scratches and a grindhouse-style trailer that could be played at the drive-in.
"Grindhouse" has showed influence in almost every aspect of entertainment, and yet it bombed in the box office. But revenue from initial releases is not an accurate way of gauging popularity. Cult classics such as "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" have seeped into popular culture, and "Grindhouse" has reached their ranks in less than a year. However, the question remains: is "Grindhouse" a bomb? It's dominance in the public consciousness says that the answer is certainly a resounding "no!"
