Death Proof (2007)

“[as he drives] Hey, Pam, remember when I said this car was death proof? Well, that wasn’t a lie. This car is 100% death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, honey, you REALLY need to be sitting in my seat. [slams his boot to the brake and sends Pam flying face-first into the dashboard]” – Stuntman Mike

Number of Times Seen – Twice (7 Oct 2009 and 17 Mar 2019)

Brief Synopsis – A stuntman stalks a group of girls after meeting them in a bar.

My Take on it – I’ve always been a HUGE Quentin Tarantino fan ever since I first saw True Romance (1993) and Reservoir Dogs (1993) when they came out.

He once again is able to deliver with this film as he takes on a new genre that tries to replicate the look and feel of 70’s horror/slasher films.

To make it look so much like an older film, they even scratch the film so that it looks even older and more used besides the fact that it then seems like a long lost film finally recovered.

The cast is quite good and they actually help us believe that the events shown really could have conceivably occurred.

Kurt Russell is perfectly cast as the villain and is able to play that character so well due to the charisma that he is able to give off but also have something deep down and cynical about him at the same time.

Tarantino’s specialty tho, has always been the way that he writes such amazing dialogue for his characters to say.

It all seems very down to Earth and normal and it doesn’t matter what kind of situation the characters find themselves in, normal talk helps make it all seem even more genuine the whole time.

The dialogue used in this film helps it stay enjoyable throughout even if this isn’t one of Tarantino’s very best films overall.

Bottom Line – Tarantino delivers once again with this film that is done as a throwback to 70’s horror-type films. The film is purposefully scratched along the way to give us the impression that this may be a long lost film. The cast is quite good as allows us to believe much of what happens, but the genius of this film is QT’s specialty, great dialogue that seems very normal and down to Earth, no matter the situation the characters are in. The action scenes are as thrilling as can be and that also helps keep this film enjoyable even if it isn’t one of QT’s best films. Russell is perfectly cast as the villain in this film because he has enough charisma to pull it off so well. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In an interview with Newsweek, Quentin Tarantino stated he came up with the idea of “Death Proof” when he was talking to a friend about buying a car. Tarantino wanted to buy a Volvo because he “didn’t want to die in some auto accident like the one in Pulp Fiction (1994)”. In regards to the safety of the car, his friend had said, “Well, you could take any car and give it to a stunt team, and for $10,000 or $15,000, they can death-proof it for you.” The “death proof” phrase had stuck to Tarantino after that. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)