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What would be the Perfect grindhouse for you guys

posted 12 years ago by TornaventoFilms
7 replies | jump to latest

Howdy fellas !

I'm a young french director who did a fake trailer of a french "Grindhouse" called "Le Baroudeur Red Band Trailer" (not subtitled).

Even though it's not perfect, it made it's little effect on a low scale. I met a crazy guy willing to invest in a longer treatment for a feature film. The budget will be extremly low, (mariachi style) but enough I think to make some kickass violent hardcore twisted little film. I'm writing the script with a friend, but I think it would be interesting to have some advices from fans of the genre. Hence, my quick questions:

What would be the most exciting stuff to see for you in a modern low-budget Grindhouse flick ?

What are the key elements to a good old fashion Grindhouse ?

Do ou have any great oldies in the same kind to recommand ?

Thank you.

Check out my channel http://www.youtube.com/user/Tornaventofilms?feature=mhee

[–] dalldorfw 12 years ago

:"Do you have any great oldies in the same kind to recommand ?"

The 'Her Flesh' trilogy
Bloodsucking Freaks
Killer Condom
Tarz & Jane, Cheetah & Boy
Blood Feast 1&2
Thriller: A Cruel Picture
This Stuff'll Kill ya'
Color Me Blood Red
Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
Foxy Brown
Street Law
Dolomite 1&2 (see 'Dolomite 2: The Human Tornado' on VHS; DVD is edited)
The Grove Tube
Big Bad Mama 1&2
Rolling Thunder
Battle Beyond The Stars
Forbidden World
Galaxy Of Terror
Yakuza Graveyard
Branded To Kill
Wolf Lake
Comin' At Ya'!
The Big Racket
Keoma
A Man Called Blade
Bucktown
Truck Turnner
House Near The Edge Of The Park
Last House On Dead End Street
Zombie Holocaust
Any early John Waters films
Anything by Russ Meyer
The 'Ilsa' series
Django
Black Caesar
Silent Rage (Chuck Norris vs. Michael Myers)
Slime City
The Undertaker And His Pals

Hope these give you some inspiration

[–] TornaventoFilms 12 years ago

Thanks a lot for your answer. The list looks awesome, I've seen some of them (Rolling Thunder is the closest to the movie I want to make) but it's gonna be exciting to discover all the others (many I've never heard of). I'm pretty sure I'll learn a thing or two watching them.
Any idea what I should start with ?

Thanks a lot anyway.

[–] dalldorfw 12 years ago

For what to start with, I may have to know a little more about your project. You did say you want it to be like 'Rolling Thunder', so I'm thinking that something like 'Truck Tunner', 'Yakzua Graveyard' or 'The Big Racket' might be a good start.

[–] brendanfoy 12 years ago

I think what an intentional grindhouse film needs to be enjoyable are talented actors who get it. Too many of these newer "grindhouse" movies have a cast that clearly isn't on the same page and it distracts from the experience. This was my problem with Hobo with a Shotgun and Machete, in Hobo's case only Rutger Hauer truly got what he was doing while with Machete Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez were just playing the parts they always play. Don't intentionally make a bad film either, put some sincerity into it and gently spoof the exploitative content.

That's my advice anyway. I think Planet Terror does it the best. Black Dynamite is a great modern example of the similar blaxploitation genre, it's a clever film with fun call backs to the otherwise terrible movies from a different time, but it doesn't try to be a terrible film itself.

[–] TornaventoFilms 12 years ago

Thanks a lot for your advices.

Actually, me being french and not fully aware of the subtility of the american sub-genre culture, I might have wrongfully used the term "Grindhouse".
By Grindhouse, I didn't want to imply that the movie should be "humouristic" or openly terrible but rather gritty, dark, low budget, sexy and extremly violent. I could have used the term "Giallo" or "B-Movie" since it fits to the description.

I see exactly what you mean with "Hobo With a Shotgun", I felt the same way, I thought that the Drakes were totally absurd characters and hurt the movie (but it was still kind of nice to see).

My movie is much more a self-defense movie, a revenge movie, Rolling Thunder would be the main inspiration for the initial situation (suffering from PTSD and getting divorce) but the character would be a mix of the Bad Lieutenant character, Travis Bickle, the Butcher from "I Stand Alone" and stubborn like Lee Marvin in "Point Blank"

My guy will be fighting a system he doesn't understand and his revenge will lead him to kill innocent people for his selfish purposes. The more we will be with him, the less we will be able to root for him because the character will become worse than those who hurt him: it is someone who needs violence to exist because he doesn't know how to behave otherwise. Is hatred will bring him to a place he will never be able to come back from.

[–] brendanfoy 12 years ago

Sounds like you're on the right track. I like French cinema myself, so as long as you're borrowing what you personally like from American b-movies while still maintaining your own distinct French cultural touch, then you're off to a positive start as far as I'm concerned.

I've never made a full film myself, I probably should some day because life is short, but the only way any artist really knows what works and what doesn't is through trial and error. People aren't shy about pointing out what they like and don't like about a film, so make it, have fun, and wait for the feedback. ;)

Your main character sounds interesting, I like the idea. It could work as a dark comedy too, it depends how hard you want to hit the audience without turning them off. Good luck.

[–] richwicz 11 years ago

Re-Animator
Basket Case
Zombie
Shogun Assassin
Make Them Die Slowly (aka Cannibal Ferox)
Dr Butcher MD
Humanoids from the Deep
Burial Ground
The Mutations
Horror Hospital
Gates of Hell (aka City of the Living Dead)
The Evil Dead
Frightmare
House of Whipcord