Death Proof is an underrated gem but Tarantino’s first Grindhouse idea would have been much more controversial: a ghost story about a slave.
Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof is an underrated gem, but his original Grindhouse contribution would have been far more controversial: an exploitative ghost story about a slave. Grindhouse, a collaboration between Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, hit theatres in 2007 to relatively little fanfare, with audiences seemingly unable to grasp its throwback presentation style. Harking back to the exploitation boom of the 1970s, Grindhouse offered two movies for the price of one: Rodriguez’s Planet Terror followed by Tarantino’s Death Proof, with fake horror movie trailers in between from a slew of genre directors, including Edgar Wright and Eli Roth. Later, Tarantino released Death Proof in an extended, solo presentation; which remains the best way to experience his underappreciated opus.
Exploitation cinema is an acquired taste; brash and lurid, but undoubtedly important in the history of film. Enticing audiences by exploiting current taboos and trends, these movies generally played in low-rent, ‘grindhouse’ theatres and can be categorized into various exploitation sub-genres. These range from ghost movies to blaxploitation; slasher films to car-crash features. Those last two genres combined make up Death Proof’s premise: A disturbed stuntman stalks and kills women via his ‘death proof’ car. The first two almost became Tarantino’s (sole) focus.
Reporting on a BFI interview in 2007, AMC noted that Tarantino’s initial Grindhouse premise was a blaxploitation ghost movie. Tarantino said: “The first idea was a bunch of young college history students that were going through a tour of the plantations of the old South and there’s a ghost of an old slave that is part of [black] folklore. The opening scene would take place in the classroom, with the professor telling the story of Jody the Grinder in a big four-page monologue. I would probably have had Sam Jackson playing that part.” A ghost story starring Samuel L. Jackson with an opening monologue straight out of an M.R. James chiller sounds like an interesting movie. Unfortunately, there’s a catch.
In a 2012 interview with TVV, Tarantino shed more light on his Jody the Grinder idea, using harmful stereotypes about Black bodies to sell his concept. The general premise involved his "Jody the Grinder" character being cursed by the devil, and thus compelled to sexually assault white women. This is problematic for several reasons. It highlights a painful, racist history where Black people have historically been commodified, seen as monstrous, and are often depicted as preying on "innocent" white women. It also likely would have caused rightful outrage from audiences upon release, making Grindhouse a nearly impossible sell. Because of the movie's general concept and obvious racism, it's blindingly apparent why he decided to change lanes and focus on Death Proof instead. A schlocky B-movie with a Black antagonist who preys on white women certainly misses the mark in terms of progressive content, but, as always, success lies in the execution of an idea.
Perhaps Tarantino had some good story twists that subverted the outwardly offensive premise? Either way, it would have been controversial at best. Death Proof was a surprisingly feminist effort, despite its contrary premise, so Jody the Grinder could have taken a similar turn, but was too risky to pursue, even for a boundary-pusher like Tarantino. As is befitting Tarantino’s MO, ‘Jody the Grinder’ is probably a reference to a Rudy Ray Moore track of the same name, rather than literary folklore. For the uninitiated, Moore was a comedian turned filmmaker who starred in a string of blaxploitation hits as the legendary Dolemite, of which Tarantino is a big fan. Moore’s comedy albums were famously foul-mouthed, featuring rhyming riffs on black folklore that earned him the nickname "the Godfather of Rap". Moore was recently played by Eddie Murphy in the 2019 biopic, Dolemite Is My Name.
It’s likely that Quentin Tarantino had his Jody the Grinder idea partly in mind while writing Django Unchained—the latter project taking a similar folkloric approach, but creating a Black hero as well as a Black antagonist (the titular Django, played by Jamie Foxx, and Stephen, played by Samuel L. Jackson). While Grindhouse failed at the box office, its legend lives on—the double feature inspired a wave of exploitation pastiches; like Rodriguez’s Machete movies, Hobo with a Shotgun, and the phenomenal Black Dynamite.
