Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' Features One of the Most Terrifying Villains in Film

 

Credit to Death Proof (2007) | MUBI

I was recently watching Quentin Taratino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1, and every time I watch any of these films, my mind always drifts to one villain that really stayed with me. Death Proof is one of my all-time favorites from Taratino. I consider this story to be secretly a horror film. This story is split into two parts, featuring two sets of four girls who find themselves going against a monster. 

This man is known as ‘Stuntman Mike,’ who targets only women, and uses his car to crash into them and kill them. And he does this, knowing that he will possibly injure himself too. 

It’s such a unique take on a villain concept, and what I love the most about this villain, is that you never actually learn anything about his past. We do learn about his past as a stuntman, but not as how he became a killer. 

In the first part of the film, Mike talks about his life as a stuntman to the first set of girls he meets. 

Credit to The Enduring Horror of Death Proof’s Stuntman Mike

Mike introduces himself to the first set of his potential victims at a bar. He comes off quite charming, and tells them about his past as stuntman, telling them about all the films and TV shows he worked on. 

But we never actually learn how he becomes a bloodthirsty killer. 

That is why this villain is so fascinating to me. 

My own theory is that all the stunts he did throughout his life probably damaged his brain at some point, making him snap. Again, this is just a theory, and that is why I love villains like this. I love the mystery to them, and Mike is so damn scary to me for this reason. 

In the first part of the film, he uses his charm to convince one of the girls to get a ride from him, and he uses his ‘death proof’ car to kill her from inside of the vehicle. It’s brutal, and so hard to watch. Then he goes after the other four girls, crashing into them from head on. He also gets severely injured, and he lives. 

In the second part, he actually returns to hunt another group of women. 

Credit to Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof Challenger is on eBay — eBay Motors Blog

The second part of the film is my favorite section to this story. And it’s not because he finally gets his ass handed to him. I love how truly creepy he comes off in the second part. The one thing that really got to me, was knowing that he was in the background of several scenes, always near the new group of girls. 

One part that really stood out to me, was when the girls are all hanging out in a restaurant, having a conversation, foreshadowing what is to come with their encounter with the villain. He is actually sitting at the bar of the restaurant, right by them, and they never notice him. 

It’s so terrifying to imagine that a serial killer is hunting them, and they are not aware of his presence. I think that Mike does enjoy the hunt, and his tactic with this group of girls is pretty different compared to the first part of the film. 

These new ladies come off much more aggressive and self-aware, and I think that is why he doesn’t out right approach them and introduce himself to them. It turns out that these ladies are also in the stunt movie business, so I think that is why he never actually goes near them. 

And not surprisingly, these are the women to beat the complete crap out of him and kill him in the end of the film. It’s one of the craziest and most raw beatings you will ever see of a villain, and damn, it’s so awesome to watch his downfall. 

He gets a taste of his own medicine, becoming the prey instead of the hunter.