Grindhouse is a collaborative effort from writer/directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, comprising two feature-length films (called Death Proof and Planet Terror respectively), which will be shown back-to-back, along with fake trailers in the middle!  This project will be released on April 6, 2007 by Dimension Films and I can't wait to see it, for more reasons than one!

The intent of the film is to pay homage to all those "grindhouse" theatres, which used to screen low-budget, exploitative horror films with extreme amounts of violence, gore and sex.  Often, considering the run-down conditions of the theatres they were playing in, the prints of the film used to be scratchy, with missing scenes and all (apparently, if the projectionist found a certain scene appealing, he'd just cut it out of the reel and add it to his personal collection).  This film would also be done in the same style, with digital effects used to wear out and "damage" the print (although I read that Tarantino is shooting on film and not digital, and he is going to wear out the print manually), and apparently, Planet Terror is going to have a reel intentionally missing.

I don't know much about the content of the two films, though Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror seems to be about an outbreak of zombies in a town.  The signature image of this segment is that of Rose McGowan's character, with a gun attached to one of her legs (think Evil Dead's Ash).  Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof seems to be about a psycho driver called Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who menaces people with his car.

The "Grindhouse" seems to be more of an American phenomenon, though I can think of a comparison.  There's a theatre called Skyline in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, and this is not exactly your top-of-the-line movie screening experience.  It is still better though, than a smaller theatre called Sterling, right next to it.  Here, they screen movies that have finished their run in better theatres, and also some obscure movies in the night shows.  There was also another theatre in Hyderabad (don't remember which one it was) where I watched Critters some ten years ago.  I think it ran for about one week only, and only in the night show.  It's actually an experience to attend such screenings, the feel of the theatre itself tends to stick in your memory (that theatre where I watched Critters actually had lobby cards for The Zero Boys also... I don't know whether it actually played in that theatre or not, but I'd certainly have liked to see it).  This is the kind of experience that Grindhouse is attempting to create.

Hence, the posters for the film have that aged look as if they were folded up and scratched.  Ditto for the lobby cards.  And the trailer, which was released a couple of days back, is absolutely amazing.  The editing of the trailer, the voice over, and the "digital damage" all perfectly capture the grindhouse feel.  There's even the official website for the movie which was launched recently, that simulates the feel of such a theatre.

I'm really looking forward to this project, and I'll definitely be following its development up to its release, but for now, here are some links to the stuff I mentioned earlier:

• IMPAwards has the posters for the film.
• Ain't it Cool News has a set of lobby cards for both Planet Terror as well as Death Proof, as well as a standee for the film.
• The official website of the movie is here.
• And Yahoo! Movies has the Grindhouse trailer in all its awesomeness!