10 Moments That Literally Stopped Horror Movies
5. Grindhouse - A Fake Ad Break
One of the lesser-appreciated Tarantino flicks, Grindhouse is served as a double-feature punctuated by fake adverts. Apparently the fake ads were a product of Tarantino’s wonderful brain, and his own co-director Robert Rodriguez didn’t even know they would be part of the film until he read about it in the papers.
Prior to each segment of the film, the fake ads are shown in conjunction with vintage theatre announcements. It helps add to the double-feature quality of the film, giving it a charming and unusual format.
It is, unsurprisingly, fairly unusual to have a film split into two distinct sub-films (sort of like a very tiny anthology) but the addition of the adverts in the middle made the stoppage feel like it was adding to the experience rather than stubbing out the movie’s momentum.
Making it even cooler, each of the ads was helmed by a different acclaimed director, including Rob Zombie, Eli Roth and Edgar Wright.
The fake films in question range from a Nazi werewolf flick to a Mexploitation starring Danny Trejo. The latter film (named Machete) actually ended up having a full theatrical release in 2010, directed by Rodriugez himself.