Tagarchief: Pulp Fiction

Dungeon Classics #40: Killing Zoe

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Killing Zoe (1993, USA, France)

Director: Roger Avary
Cast: Eric Stoltz, Julie Delpy, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Running Time: 96 mins.

Before Tarantino and co-writer Roger Avary struck gold with Pulp Fiction in 1994, both had written and directed a feature. Tarantino made Reservoir Dogs in 1992. While searching for locations for that film, its producer Lawrence Bender found a great bank in downtown Los Angeles which, although not suitable for Reservoir Dogs, seemed perfect for a movie set in a bank. Bender called every screenwriter he knew, asking if they had a script set in a bank. Roger Avary lied and said he did, then furiously wrote the first draft in under two weeks. Although the film is supposed to be set in Paris, it was shot almost entirely in L.A., with only the opening and closing road sequences filmed in the actual city. The story follows a criminal named Zed (Eric Stoltz) – two links to Pulp Fiction right there – who joins his old friend Eric (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and his gang to pull off a robbery during Bastille Day. Beforehand, he orders a prostitute named Zoe (Julie Delpy), and the two immediately click. The night before the robbery, the crew goes out on a binge fueled by booze and heroin. This stretch of the movie drags, but once the robbery begins, the film shifts into the right gear. The heist goes spectacularly wrong, leading to a series of twisted and disturbing turns. Avary, whose filmmaking career never really went very far, proves himself a quite capable director here. Is this on the level of Tarantino? No, it’s too flawed for that, but this is still a memorable, exploitation movie known for its nihilistic tone and merciless violence.

Reservoir Dykes: Four Times Tarantino Referenced the Netherlands (VIDEO)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

My first video for Jeppy’s Video Circus in 2025 is another pop culture special.

I’m kicking off the year with another deep dive into pop culture – this time, exploring how Quentin Tarantino has (knowingly or not) woven the Netherlands into his cinematic universe.

Most fans remember the famous Pulp Fiction dialogue about Dutch culture (you know the one). But fewer people realize that Tarantino’s nods to the Netherlands go beyond that. In fact, subtle references pop up in Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 – and I break them down in this video.

Right after wrapping up the edit, I stumbled upon something fascinating: Tarantino once had an idea for a movie set entirely in Amsterdam. The film, The Vega Brothers, would’ve brought together Vic Vega (Michael Madsen’s character from Reservoir Dogs) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta’s character from Pulp Fiction) in a prequel.

In a ReelBlend podcast, Tarantino explained the concept: the film would follow Vincent Vega as he runs a nightclub for Marcellus Wallace in Amsterdam. His brother Vic comes to visit, and – naturally – chaos ensues. Honestly, it sounds like it could’ve been an instant classic.

Sadly, the idea was shelved. Tarantino felt both actors had aged out of the roles and didn’t want to go The Irishman route with de-aging tech. A real shame, because that setting and those characters could’ve made for something special.

Anyway, check out the video below for all the Dutch connections you might’ve missed in Tarantino’s films. Hope you enjoy it!

The 10 Best Surf Albums on Spotify

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

In my teenage years, I was crazy about surf music. With surf, I am of course referring to instrumental surf rock and not about vocal groups like The Beach Boys (although I happen to also love that band). Instrumental surf was pioneered in the early sixties by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones amongst others. It is distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves.

The nineties was another crucial decade for this musical genre. Tarantino repopularized it by using Dick Dale’s ‘Misirlou’ as opening track for his masterpiece Pulp Fiction, and there were other groups that came up with clever subcategories of surf rock, like Man… Or Astro-Man? with their science fiction blend and Laika & the Cosmonauts with their Scandinavian influences.

The list below covers the most worthy efforts in the genre currently found on Spotify:

10. Madhur by The Phantom Four

After his first surf band The Treble Spankers broke up after he got RSI and was out of the running for a while, lead man Frank Gerritsen started a new band called The Phantom Four. Their debut album ‘Madhur’ contains 14 original tracks. Gerritsen already flirted with the Arabic sound with The Treble Spankers, and ‘Madhur’ is played entirely in this distinct style. It opens with two brilliant compositions: ‘Kyma’ and ‘Bravado Blue’. This level is not achieved with the rest of the tracks, but it is still a strong album with a consistency in style that is rare to find.

Favorite track: ‘Kyma’

9. Laika & the Cosmonauts in Absurdistan by Laika & the Cosmonauts


The first half of this album is covered in ‘Cosmopolis’ (scroll down below), but the second half contains enough blasting power to make this list. ‘The Freefaller’ with its beautiful melody, the mental sounding videogame tune ‘Syncophant’ and especially the phenomenal ‘Hi & Lo’ make this probably the finest album by the legendary Finish band.

Favorite track: ‘Hi & Lo’

8. Intravenous Television Continuum by Man or Astro-Man?



Too bad the album ‘Is It … Man or Astro-Man?’ is not on Spotify: It would have made the top of this list for sure. But two of its most memorable tracks – ‘Nitrous Burn Out’ and ‘Invasion of the Dragonmen’ (alternative version) – and lot’s of other cool tracks make ‘Intravenous Television Continuum’ the next best thing. And where do they keep on finding all of these terrific sci-fi movie samples?

Favorite track: ‘Nitrous Burn Out’

7. Calling Up Spirits by Dick Dale


The 1996 album ‘Calling Up Spirits’ is far from perfect. It contains reworkings from Dale’s 60’s surf hits and a few weak non-surf tracks with vocals (never Dale’s greatest quality). However, it is saved by a number of great calls. ‘The Wedge Paradiso’, a remake of ‘The Wedge’ is a blast, some Eastern flavored originals, including the title track, rock pretty hard, a cover of Jimi Hendrix’ ‘Third Stone From the Sun’ is a worthy effort, and the final track ‘Gypsy Fire’ is an instant surf classic; it’s right up there with ‘Misirlou’.

Favorite track: ‘Gypsy Fire’

6. Hasheeda by The Treble Spankers


This follow-up to their debut album ‘Araban’ opens with three strong Frank Gerritsen originals. Then follows a fantastic surf version of ‘Popcorn’, a definite highlight of ‘Hasheeda’. The middle part of the album continues to be strong and consists mostly of original compositions. The finale is superb with a very atmospheric track with vocals by Arabic vocalist Abdeltif Chehdaoui, followed by ‘Vahim’, one of my favorite surf tracks ever. After this album, the band unfortunately broke up. Shame, because they definitely had something going there….

Favorite track: ‘Vahim’

5. Live In Japan ’65 by The Ventures


In Japan, the instrumental band The Ventures is more popular than… well certainly Jesus, but also more popular than The Beatles. They sold twice as many records there than the Fabulous Four. This compilation of tracks performed live in Japan in the Sixties contains classics like ‘The Cruel Sea’, ‘Walk, Don’t Run’ and ‘Telstar’, but also terrific instrumental versions of famous songs, such as ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and – talking about the Fab Four – ‘I Feel Fine’. Ends with a ten minute performance of ‘Caravan’. Fabulous stuff. The Japanese are 100% right to love this band.

Favorite track: ‘Slaughter On Tenth Avenue’

4. King Of The Surf Guitar: The Best Of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones


The pioneer of instrumental surf music Dick Dale has been credited with popularizing tremolo picking on electric guitar, a technique he mastered and used to create a unique sound. Dale was known as the King of the Surf Guitar, which was the title of his second album in 1963 and this 2012 compilation. It contains most of his signature songs, including the surf classics ‘Misirlou’, ‘Let’s Go Tripping’, Shake N’ Stomp’ and ‘Hava Nagila’. Dale, who passed away in 2019, was one the greatest guitar players ever, and his heritage is captured perfectly on this excellent compilation album.

Favorite tracks: ‘The Wedge’ and ‘Misirlou’

3. Experiment Zero by Man or Astro-Man?



The greatest sci-fi surf rock band in the world returns with the rip-roaring album ‘Experiment Zero’. Man or Astro-Man is the only surf act of which I have seen a live performance. This was in Patronaat in Haarlem in 1996 when they had just released this album. It’s a record I can keep listening to. The sound is harder and louder than on their previous albums, almost close to heavy metal surf at times, but very good. Complimentary to the kick-ass music are the trademark samples from unknown science fiction movies (“I’m a cyborg!”). This formula works great. Even the few tracks that have vocals from lead man (or Astro-Man) Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard, normally not my favorites, are alright on this album. Five stars.

Favorite track: ‘Planet Collision’

2. Araban by The Treble Spankers

‘Araban’ is the first album by the Amsterdam surf band The Treble Spankers, released in 1994 (on Spotify it incorrectly says 1996 and it’s listed after their second album ‘Hasheeda’). It is an exceptional album consisting of original compositions by lead guitarist ‘Phantom Frank’ Gerritsen and stylishly executed covers such as ‘Go West’, ‘Johnny Guitar’ and ‘The Good, The Bad and the Ugly’. Besides Western influences, Spanish and Arabic influences can also be heard. Phantom Frank can truly make his guitar sing. He is one of the finest surf guitarists and composers in the world.

Favorite track: ‘Brunhilde’

1. Cosmopolis 1988 – 2008 by Laika & the Cosmonauts



Mikko Lankinen, Matti Pitsinki, Janne Haavisto and Tom Nyman. That was the extremely talented line-up of the fabulous Finish surf band Laika & the Cosmonauts. There aren’t many Laika albums on Spotify; if there were, I’d have to include them all on this list. They truly had a unique sound and were masters at creating powerful symphonies, often featuring an organ played by Matti. This compilation contains a wide variety of their tunes: from their movie themes (‘Get Carter’, ‘Psyko’) to their trademark feel good surf rock tracks (‘Surfs You Right!’, ‘Land’s End’) to their mental album openers (‘C’mon Do the Laika!’, ‘Disconnected’) to their heavier, moody compositions (‘Experiments in Terror’, ‘Boris the Conductor’). This album was released preceding their final US tour in 2008 after which they sadly disbanded. It’s a fabulous overview of an impressive body-of-work of a band that never got the recognition they deserved.

Favorite track: ‘Delayrium’ (another mental album opener 🙂

10 Reasons the Nineties’ Cinema Kicked Ass

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

I was a little young to realize what a terrific time for cinema the nineties were. Holy crap. Around forty percent of my favorite movies come from the nineties, including my number one of all time: GoodFellas. In this article, I will give you 10 reasons why the nineties kicked complete ass as a movie decade.

1. Tarantino’s Arrival
In 1992, a young film maverick silently arrived with Reservoir Dogs. Many viewers and critics were a little off-put by the violence and immoral characters, but yet loved the non-chronological storytelling, the brilliant dialogues and the awesome performances. The talent of this new writer/director named Quentin Tarantino was undeniable.

Two years later he blew critics and audiences away with his epic Pulp Fiction. Tarantino was for the nineties what Scorsese was for the seventies; a significant promise. And he delivered. The nineties saw him direct an excellent third movie, Jackie Brown (1997), and two of his screenplays were turned into memorable films: True Romance (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1996 he also made From Dusk Till Dawn with another promising young director from Texas. Robert Rodriguez had debuted in 1992 with the low budget miracle El Mariachi which he followed up with Desperado (1995). A duo was formed…

2. It Was a Time to Thrill
The nineties was the decade of the thriller. Especially the detective versus serial killer genre flourished with The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and Se7en (1995). Of course these two spawned countless imitations, but none as good. Another excellent movie in the psychopath category is Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery in 1990. That movie’s villain Annie Wilkes (played by Kathy Bates) is probably even scarier than Hannibal Lecter, Buffalo Bill and John Doe combined.

The nineties also had more than its share in fantastic crime thrillers. Top examples include Brian de Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993), Luc Besson’s Leon (1994), Michael Mann’s Heat (1995), Brian Singer’s The Usual Suspects (1995) and Curtis Hanson’s L.A. Confidential (1997). Special mention in the Thriller department goes to Paul Verhoeven’s erotic contribution Basic Instinct (1992), an absolute classic in its genre.

3. Glory Days For the Coens
They already made an impression as independent filmmakers in the 1980’s. Both their debut Blood Simple and second feature Raising Arizona tasted like more. In the 1990’s they really became film-buffs’ favorites. Miller’s Crossing (1990) is a perfect take on Dashiell Hammett and possibly their finest crafted work. Later, this decade, they had a brilliant black comedy run with the unforgettable classics Fargo (1996) and The Big Lebowski (1998). These Coen Brothers are absolutely terrific.

4. History Can Be Fun
Sure, every period has produced great historical movies, but the nineties had a very impressive reaping in the War / History genre. Way above average to be sure. In 1990 a certain Kevin Costner brought the American frontier to the big screen with the Oscar-winning epic Dances With Wolves. It was a marvelous revitalization of the Western genre. World War 2 is also captured in several Oscar-winning pictures, most notably Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (the ultimate WWII film), but also in Saving Private Ryan (also by Spielberg), La Vita E Bella (by Roberto Benigni) and The Thin Red Line (by Terrence Malick).

Another great war story is spectacularly told in Braveheart (1995), the bloody epic that showed that Mel Gibson is a highly competent director. A number of excellent historical biographies also saw the light of day, most notably JFK (1991, Oliver Stone) and Ed Wood (1994, Tim Burton). And last but least, Titanic (1997, James Cameron) and Forrest Gump (1994, Robert Zemeckis) came out and successfully combined fictional stories with historic events.

5. Great Stand Alone Triumphs
While many masterpieces made in the nineties are part of a larger oeuvre or movement, there were also loads and loads of standalone triumphs. Movies that seemingly came out of nowhere and surprised friend and foe. Below, I picked one of my favorites of these surprises for each year of the nineties. Choosing just one was very difficult in some cases…

1990 Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
1991 Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott)
1992 Hard Boiled (John Woo)
1993 Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis)
1994 The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
1995 Toy Story (John Lasseter)
1996 Bound (Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski)
1997 Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson)
1998 Festen (Thomas Vinterberg)
1999 Fight Club (David Fincher)

6. Harvest of Horror
O.k., so the eighties ruled in the Horror territory. That doesn’t mean the nineties sucked. What is so great about it then? Well, Wes Craven’s re-invention of the slasher genre with Scream (1996) and Scream 2 (1997) was a terrific postmodern treat leading to many new series, such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), and new installments of old horror series like Bride of Chucky (1998). It goes without saying that some of these were better than others.

Abel Ferrara made a significant contribution to the genre with Body Snatchers (1993), a very effective remake of the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Addiction (1995), a great original take on the vampire genre. Speaking of vampires, what to think of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola? It’s the best version since Tod Browning’s original from 1931.

The formidable Sam Raimi completed his magnificent Evil Dead trilogy with Army of Darkness, the funniest installment yet. Peter Jackson also combined humor and supreme gore in Braindead (1992) and also delivered The Frighteners (1996). Anything else? Certainly. A selection: Joe Dante’s Gremlins 2 (1990), Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder (1990), Ron Underwood’s Tremors (1990), David Fincher’s Alien 3 (1992), Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection (1997) and Taylor Hackford’s The Devil’s Advocate. Last but not least, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project (1999) spawned a new horror genre with its handheld camera. It’s also the first movie that successfully used the internet to create a hype.

7. The Brits are Back in Town
After a period of recession, the British film industry bloomed again in the nineties. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) launched the career of Hugh Grant and was a smash hit at the box office. In 1995 James Bond returned after a long period in the pretty awesome Goldeneye. What’s really great about British cinema in the nineties is the emergence of new talent though. The trio John Hodge, Danny Boyle and Andrew MacDonald made a terrific debut with Shallow Grave (1994) and followed it up with one of the best films of the decade: Trainspotting (1996). In 1998 Guy Ritchie was another positive British surprise with the very funny and exciting Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

8. Scorsese Scores Big-time
He delivered brilliant work in the seventies (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver) and eighties (Raging Bull). In the early nineties the maestro showed that he could deliver masterpieces in every decennium. He started by breaking all cinematic conventions in GoodFellas (1990), the greatest film ever made about the real Mafia. Then he made the highly influential thriller Cape Fear (1991) and the excellent costume drama The Age of Innocence (1993) before returning to the mob genre with the superbly realized Casino (1995). He ended the decade with the underrated Bringing Out the Dead (1999).

9. Indie Cinema to the Max
Tarantino and the Coens are already honored in this overview, but there are many other great independent American directors who made their entrance in the nineties or definitely established themselves as masters. In the debut department, we saw Richard Linklater arrive with Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995). Kevin Smith also made a super impression with the low budget comedy Clerks (1994).

Other indie directors delivered some of their finest work in the nineties. For instance, Jim Jarmusch made Dead Man (1995) and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (1999), David Lynch made Lost Highway (1997) and The Straight Story (1999), Steven Soderbergh made King of the Hill (1993) and Out of Sight (1998) and Todd Solondz made Happiness (1998). If we could only go back to re-experience this richness in indie cinema again. Oh boy.

10. Sci-Fi is Booming
The early nineties saw Schwarzenegger star in two of the most kick-ass Sci-Fi / Action movies of our time: Total Recall (1990) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The director of the first one, Paul Verhoeven, would write more sci-fi history in 1997 with Starship Troopers (1997). Other excellent movies in this genre that came out in the nineties are: Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future III (1990), Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993), Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys (1995), Roland Emerich’s Independence Day (1996), Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997), Paul W.S. Anderson’s Event Horizon (1997), David Cronenberg’s ExistenZ (1999) and Dean Parisot’s Galaxy Quest (1999).

The final year of the millennium also saw Star Wars return to the big screen, but Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) was not an all positive experience. It was another sci-fi film released in 1999 that formed the perfect transition into the new millennium: the cyberpunk story The Matrix by the Wachowski brothers (now sisters). An exciting (and very, very good) surprise hit and the greatest ending imaginable for a movie decade that completely rocked.