Grind

Awesome isn’t a strong enough word when describing the super ultra outstanding exploitation action horror flick Grind, directed by Mark Cantu. It opens with a cavalcade of classic grindhouse trailers for movies that will be appearing at an exploitation showcase at a local art house ran by Connie (Lynn Lowry). One of the stars of the movies is Dr. Emily Ritter (Kelsey Rhea), who is now a film professor. Her daughter (Felissa Rose) is helping organize the event, along with Hutch (Daniel Thomas Ebeling) and Joey (Chanda Rawlings), who is a hardcore fan of the movie Subway Samurai. A rare print of that movie will be screening, as the fans of this type of film savor the real film look, print damage included. As an extra special treat, a forgotten can of film in the basement turns out to be the lost print of a never fully screened horror movie, The Creeping Chaos.

Decades ago, during the film’s ill-fated premiere, something happened when screening the movie that destroyed the theater. The addition of the belated world premiere of a never-screened picture is seen as a great boost to the marathon. It also helps the small theater compete with the comic fan convention, in town the same weekend, run by the nefarious Cory (Ginger Lynn), who is looking to sabotage grindhouse night. But when it runs through the projector, The Creeping Chaos opens doors between this dimension and other, older ones. Cosmic terrors run up the aisle as the blood starts flowing for real.
Cantu is a movie magician, as he can summon up otherworldly wonders out of a budget of thin air. His concept for Grind is a sure-fire winner, as the story’s love of cheap-looking exploitation creates an allowance for all the budgetary limitations it faces.

“…during the film’s ill-fated premiere, something happened that destroyed the theater…”

One of the joys of the grindhouse sector of independent cinema is the enshrinement of repeat commercial success with the lowest budget by appealing to the lowest tastes possible. However, more often than not, Cantu is able to elevate the low-brow feel with high-end ingenuity. In other words, this film is a finer, riper cheese than the pre-wrapped American slices it emulates. The array of less costly FX is outstanding in its creativity and potency, at times outdistancing its inspiration. By manipulating the focus and adding glowing eyes, Cantu creates a theater full of scary monsters without extensive makeup. There is also a cool-looking animated purple haze and lightning that is used heavily throughout that works splendidly. It is a delicious visual concoction that went a long way in One Dark Night and goes even further here.