House of Grind

I knew that there was a big swanky Grindhouse premiere scheduled for Austin (seeing as how 85% of the movie was shot here), but I wasn't sure I'd be able to attend said event. And by "not able" I mean "uninvited." But then the illustrious Matt Dentler asked me to come along as his +1, which only bolstered my opinion that Dentler is a god among men. (He could have brought his flawless fiancee to the flick, but she don't dig on the splattery stuff, god bless 'er.)

The front of the Paramount theater was coated with people: photographers, ticket-holders, autograph seekers, random movie nerds, etc. Matt and I ran into Tim & Karrie League, and since they're two of my very favoritest Austineers, the night seemed to be starting off swimmingly. We had great seats, QT & RR took the stage for a few brief (and entertaining) comments, and then we were OFF! Grindhouse, finally! And it's really a huge sweaty ball of gore-caked fun. I preferred Rodriguez's Planet Terror over Tarantino's Death Proof, but that's not a knock on QT. I just prefer zombies, gore, and a colorful cast of characters over stories about highway mayhem ... but not by a whole heck of a lot. (A considerably more thorough review of Grindhouse will soon appear on FEARnet, so consider yourself warned.)

After the movie we moseyed over to the after-party, and it's always nice to be allowed to wear a badge with the words "VIP" emblazoned on the front, because if you've ever met me, you know I'm neither "V" nor "I." Still it was nice to be invited. I chilled with the Leagues and the awesome horror nerd Zack Carlson for a bit, and then we looked around the party and decided "Yeah, let's go over to the Alamo for Weird Wednesday." It was a 1974 pimpsploitation flick called Willie Dynamite, and it's got the funniest costume design ever committed to celluloid. (Was there ever a time when we were NOT supposed to giggle at pimps' fashions?) Plus I had a big basket of Alamo cheese fries, and it might have been my last one for a month or two. :-(

I was going to take a cab home but it turned out that one of my roommates was around the corner at a bar, drunk, which worked out perfectly. He was unable to drive and I was unable to drink (it being 2am by this point), so I drove the car and everyone got home safely. Another of my roommates was propped up on the couch, stoned on wacky weed and watching An Inconvenient Truth. Weird. A very fun night, and one I couldn't have participated in were it not for a few great Austinites. Thanks to all.

And just so you schlock-obsessed, genre-addicted, carnage-lovin' splattermonkeys know: Grindhouse is your Citizen Kane. Enjoy.

(Photos courtesy of Matt D., as was pretty much the entire evening.)