A few weeks back, Austin's South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) announced a contest urging all exploitation fans and aspiring filmmakers to craft a "fake trailer" in honor of the release of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's impending intentional schlock GRINDHOUSE.
Some of the entries are appearing on YouTube, and it's a little surprising how many there are considering the whirlwind turnaround required to meet the quick deadline. Some of them, such as STORMTROOPERS OF THE APOCALYPSE and MAIDEN OF DEATH, look more like trailers for low-budget action flicks that I'll admit I would love to see. But a shocking number of them also seem to have a firm grasp of the "grindhouse" aesthetic, or at least how to put together a trailer that would be right at home on one of the awesome 42nd STREET FOREVER collections of grindhouse previews.
My personal favorite for capturing the tone might be
MISTER MUERTE, though it's hard to argue with the thoroughly satisfying stop-motion insanity of the Vietnam zombie flick
CONG OF THE DEAD... Snoop around YouTube for more SXSW Grindhouse contestants and see what strikes your own filthy fancy, brothers and sisters.
Extra Tidbit:
The lead character in the grisly, sordid exploitation flick THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE (aka THEY CALL HER ONE-EYE) provided one of the most enduring costumes to emerge from grindhouse, and heavily influenced the appearance of Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) in Tarantino's KILL BILL.
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