Why Kill Bill: Volume 1 Is My Cathartic Feelgood Movie Choice
In an ongoing series where writers select their favourite comfort films, I argue that Quentin Tarantino's bloody revenge saga, Kill Bill: Volume 1, stands as a feelgood winner. Having older siblings had its advantages, primarily granting me early access to age-inappropriate titles. Our towering DVD collection was a sight to behold, and while I cannot recall my exact age when I first watched this film, I was young, probably too young, and it was utterly awesome.
Unforgettable Imagery and Soundtrack
Unlike most films I cherish for their quotable lines, only one line from Kill Bill sticks in my memory, emanating from a particularly repugnant character. What remains unforgettable is its banging soundtrack and striking imagery—the bright yellow tracksuit splashed in ketchup-red blood—and the dizzying, stylised action that whisks me away from mundane obstacles into a fantastical tale of revenge.
Released in 2003, Tarantino's cinematic language was fresh territory for me. The film draws inspiration from the 1973 samurai movie Lady Snowblood, but its rich palette borrows from across Asian and western cinema, with nods to classics like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Miller's Crossing, and Citizen Kane, alongside pronounced references to Bruce Lee movies, exploitation films, and Japanese action flicks.
A Simple Yet Powerful Plot
The timeline hops around a little, but the plot is straightforward. A pregnant bride, portrayed by the magnetic Uma Thurman, is beaten virtually to death in a chapel in El Paso, Texas, while her groom and modest wedding party are gunned down. This brutal act is the work of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, a formidable gang of trained killers played by Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, and Michael Madsen, led by the mysterious gravelly-voiced Bill, portrayed by the late David Carradine.
Lying bloody on the ground as a faceless Bill cocks his pistol, the bride begins to reveal that her baby is his. Bill silences her with a shot to the head, but she survives. Four years later, she awakens in a hospital to find she has lost her child. We soon learn her plan: exact revenge on her attempted murderers. "The Bride" is not to be underestimated—she is a warrior who will go to the ends of the earth for bloody satisfaction.
Cathartic Violence and Wish-Fulfilment
It may not be your classic cosy watch, but Kill Bill provides me with that warm, fuzzy feeling only cathartic violence can bring. Imagine writing the names of everyone who has ever wronged you and promptly opening a can of whoop-ass on them all. Nothing can stop Thurman's laser-focused killer on her mission—not a hilariously huge crew of goons like the Crazy 88, not the rule of law, nor the laws of physics.
Without any explanation, she acquires a bright yellow motorbike, a matching bike suit, and gets her katana through Tokyo airport security, no questions asked. Her hair often looks immaculate, and I am happy for her. Each rewatch shocks me with how, in its stylised cartoonishness, the film's portrayal of female characters stands up to scrutiny.
Female Empowerment in a Male-Gaze World
Though inevitably subject to Tarantino's male gaze, these women are central to the action—they are killers, fixers, and bodyguards who prove themselves just as cool-headed and adept as any man, if not more so. It is uniquely satisfying when they are objectified or underestimated, which happens routinely. For instance, when Lucy Liu's Yakuza boss O-Ren Ishii has her authority questioned, she gracefully slices off a subordinate's head.
When Thurman awakes from her coma, she nearly bites off the face of a man about to sexually attack her and uses a door to smash in the skull of the hospital worker who orchestrated it. Even a Texas ranger at the El Paso shooting scene comments on the bride as a "goddamn good looking gal" and "a little blood-splattered angel," only to be surprised when she huffs, revealing she is still alive and splattering blood in his face.
A Deliciously Twisted Form of Comfort
The reality is that women are rarely afforded such opportunities to get even. Thus, while Kill Bill: Volume 1 was built as an homage to film designed purely to entertain, it also grants a deliciously twisted form of wish-fulfilment, one I am always happy to indulge in. This film is available to watch on Fawesome and to rent digitally in the US, on Netflix and Disney+ in the UK and Australia.
