Quentin Tarantino called this film with a 7.0 IMDb rating his worst. But I adore it

I'm explaining why I absolutely disagree with the opinion of the cult director...

Death Proof is the worst movie I ever made, Tarantino once admitted at a Directors Roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter. But hold up, Quentin... really? This film is your worst?

Here's the thing: you craft a blood-soaked, velvet grindhouse anthem, unleash Kurt Russell as a psychotic stuntman, deliver a bone-crushing finale where the girls get their revenge, and then years later you call it your weakest work? I'm not buying it.

Let's break down why "Death Proof" (2007) isn't a failure at all—it's actually an underrated gem in the director's filmography.

This is cinema with soul... and the pedal to the floor

Sure, the film has a 7.0 on IMDb and a modest 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, but is that really so bad for an unabashed experiment? This isn't "Pulp Fiction" or "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," and it doesn't need to be.

Director Quentin Tarantino in a hat and actor Kurt Russell behind the wheel of a blue car — Quentin Tarantino and a scene from "Death Proof"

"Death Proof" should be appreciated as a wild genre exercise. This is cinema made from pure love of the genre, where style, energy, engine roar, and tire screech matter more than plot. As film critic Damon Wise from "Empire Magazine" put it, this is "engaging cinema, not the half-serious parody it could easily have been." Hard to argue with that.

Kurt Russell delivers one of Tarantino's best villains

As Mike, he radiates so much charisma that even his silent moments crackle with tension. He's terrifying and charming at once—like Darth Vader was born in a Texas backwater and drove muscle cars.

The final act is the director's best revenge sequence

Tarantino flips the script: first he makes you feel the threat, then he lets the women fight back—and they do it so hard you want to give a standing ovation. This reversal doesn't just work emotionally—it absolutely destroys.

Visually, it's pure eye candy

Film scratches, retro title cards, non-linear editing—everything makes "Death Proof" feel like a cinematic construction kit assembled with love.

Actor Kurt Russell in a silver jacket sits behind the wheel of a car and looks to the side — Scene from "Death Proof"

This isn't imitation—it's a sincere love letter to the grindhouse era that only someone who thoroughly studied and absorbed that period could pull off.

What About the Girls?

Tarantino's been slammed countless times for his marathon dialogue scenes—here he lets his characters run wild, and weirdly enough, it works. Sure, there's a lot of "chatter," but within that chatter, real characters emerge that you genuinely root for. Especially Zoe Bell, who single-handedly outshines half the Marvel blockbusters out there.

Tarantino calls "Death Proof" his weakest film—maybe because it bombed at the box office. Maybe because "Grindhouse" as a project didn't meet expectations. Or maybe he's just being too hard on himself (which is more likely).

But if you ask me—no, this isn't his worst film. It's his most honest, wild, and raw experiment. And you don't want to bash work like that. You want to rewatch it.

And damn it, I still put that chase scene on in the background—just to hear that "death on wheels" roar.

P.S. What Is "Grindhouse"?

If you're still not quite sure what style Tarantino was so passionately recreating—here's a quick rundown.

Actor Kurt Russell in a silver jacket standing next to a girl in a bar — Frame from the film "Death Proof"

The term "grindhouse" emerged in the 1970s: that's what they called theaters that would screen two or three cheap, provocative, and often downright trashy B-movies in one night. These films were packed with violence, explicit scenes, monsters, cops, bikers, and all the other hallmarks of "exploitation" cinema.

That's exactly the atmosphere Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez decided to pay tribute to in their joint "Grindhouse" project (2007), consisting of "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof." They shot films with intentional scratches on the film stock, fake trailers, and missing reels—to make everything look as authentic as possible.

So before calling "Death Proof" the director's worst film, it's worth remembering that it was actually made as a love letter to a long-forgotten genre. Earlier on zoomboola.com, we told you about why Henry Cavill won't be able to outshine Christopher Lambert in the new Highlander.