Planet Terror

Rodriguez's half of the original 'grindhouse' double bill , which consisted of his TERROR PLANET with Tarantino's DEATH PROOF. Likely audience reactions led to the two titles being separated and issued apart. As a homage to the drive-in tradition and genres beloved by Tarantino et al, the two films are resolutely exploitative, but PLANET is the most overtly tongue in cheek, and the most enjoyable, being a good old shoot 'em up Zombie flic. Unlike SIN CITY which was inspired by good source work which led to it being rather self consciously 'cool', PLANET tries hard to mimic bad work that, by definition of its admirers is *unconsciously* cool. This reviewer at least found the results less pretentious, the trash origins not being made more of than they ever were - the sexist treatment of women for instance less insidious.

The illusion of viewing much watched, much loved bad 70's junk cinema is extended even to the point of deliberately introducing blemishes to the film, also plot holes, as well as a whole 'missing reel' which interrupts the continuity, with suitable management apologies, half way through the action. Interestingly these artifacts on screen have a vivid presence, counterpointing key words and moments with an abstract, but deliberate commentary of colours, flares, clicks and splices that practically qualifies them as a 'character' in their own right. One especially relishes the colour balance slide to red as Tarantino (in a self-directed sequence playing a rapist) works his menace, or the apt film flare or burn outs during the erotic moments. Some great lines (e.g. Bruce Willis' opening words "Where's the sh*t?") and over the top gore add to a fun mix.

Perhaps the only miscalulation is the length of the film; most cheap exploitation flicks struggled to reach the 80 min mark, which meant their weaknesses did not always outstay their welcome. Clocking in at almost 2 hours, PLANET TERROR forgets eventually that more of the 'bad' to the Nth degree is not always to the best, revealing the self indulgence common to some of the later works of the Rodriguez-Tarantino school, but this is a minor quibble and fans won't mind. Whether or not those unfamiliar with the original inspiration will get the joke for that long is a different matter, although an audio track which includes live audience reaction makes things easier. The DVD comes complete with a splendid fake trailer for MACHETE, a supposed Mexploitation revenge drama - which incidentally IMDb seems to think is actually slated for production next year!

Everyone who thinks Grindhouse was a mindless piece of cinema and completely useless needs to shut up.

And as for telling people who like this movie to get a real brain, get off your high horse.

These movies were supposed to trashy and gory and cheesy, that's what makes them so great. Being immature and ridiculous everyone once and a while just for the hell of it is fun, and that's the spirit these movies were made in.

get the sticks out of your you know where people. It's not like I'm putting them on a pedestal with movies like Schindler's List, I enjoy them for the pure enjoyment of it.

these movies are brilliant for what they were made for. It's not like

Robert Rodriguez is back this time with a Grindhouse movie. I have always liked his movies. Even though they are somewhat formulaic, I enjoy the action and energy and there is a certain unique South American touch to them. I also disagree that he casts women as mere sex objects. Yes, he does work with incredibly sexy women who look hot on screen but they have much more to do than to look, be and act hot.

'Planet Horror' is his tribute to the 70s exploitation films. Many of such movies have become cult hits and even though hardly anyone would admit (except when among friends) to liking them, they have a growing niche audience and actually sell well. 'Planet Horror' also has the look of a movie on bad old film reel which is pretty cool.

Needless to say, the execution is pretty solid. The wild cinematography, adrenaline filled soundtrack and healthy doze of sex, violence, gore and humour work together excellently. The cast is terrific. While there Freddy Rodriguez (as El Wrey) and Rose McGowen (as Cherry) are leading the film and kicking ass, they are supported by Marley Shelton (lesbian doctor), Michael Biehn (as a Sheriff, what a comeback!) and Jeff Fahey (as the owner of a diner searching for the best sauce ingredient, what a comeback!). They are being hunted by a bunch of pus drooling zombies that include a psycho doctor (Josh Brolin) and a lieutenant (Bruce Willis). Meanwhile Naveen Andrews (a testicle-obsessed scientist) and Stacey Ferguson (a hot lesbian) make hilarious appearances. All the parts are played well by the great cast.

Rodriguez's homage is a thrilling watch. It's funny, energetic, visceral and adventurous. Rodriguez has succeeded again in entertaining his viewers. Now, I'm going to go watch Tarantino's 'Death Proof' (which is the second Grindhouse movie).

While Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof seems to be a much more authentic representation of 1970s grindhouse pictures, Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror is more of a loving caricature of 1980s zombie splatter films. Nothing in the film is played straight, and virtually every scene is accompanied by a wink and a grin at the audience.

If Tarantino's effort is accused of being slow (or deliberately paced, depending on your opinion), Planet Terror never even thinks about slowing down. From the exploitative opening credits through to the final frames of the film, this is a roller coaster ride of a film that doesn't let up.

With Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez continues his "everything and the kitchen sink" mentality when it comes to his film-making by throwing everything at the wall just to see what sticks. While it sometimes feels like this technique gets in the way of Rodriguez finding a true film-making voice, it works quite well for a film like Planet Terror where there's no room for subtlety.

The cast that Rodriguez assembled is a glorious ensemble of bygone action heroes, horror icons, and Rodriguez stock actors. They all bring their parts to life in a cartoonish sort of way that fits the tone of the movie beautifully.

While the uncut DVD edition of Planet Terror doesn't change the film drastically in any way, it definitely improves the film. It gives the film smoother transitions and fills in some gaps in the plot (though that missing reel is still there and will always remain there as one of the many comical winks at the audience). The large cast of characters are also given more beats here and there that help fill out their personas a little more. All in all, this uncut version simply allows the film to breathe a little more, rather than having to jump frantically from scene to scene in an effort to make the 84 minute running time.

At the end of the day, Planet Terror isn't going to win any awards, and it's certainly not meant to. It's simply an extremely enjoyable guilty pleasure of a film that virtually anyone with the stomach for it can probably have a good time with, especially if you're a horror fan. Take a couple of classic John Carpenter films like The Fog and Escape From New York and throw them into a blender with a couple of classic zombie splatter films like Evil Dead 2 and Dawn of the Dead and you've got a pretty good idea of what Planet Terror is like. And at the end of the day, you could definitely have a worse combination of films to pay loving homage to.

Planet Terror is a homage to the trash that used to play at drive-ins back in the 70s, particularly, its a zombie film. Being a lover of zombies I was stoked when I sat down to watch it. The movie delivers everything a fan of the horror-comedy-action genre could want, over the top action, over the top gore, and at times over the top acting. We follow a few main characters, all of which are enigmatic and end up having connections that no one would have seen coming, which reminded me of the low budget films that used to come out back in the day, where the director would try to weave in so many subplots the whole thing becomes silly (and a lot of fun)...

The movie is heavy on gore and there's a ton of beautiful women, therefore its a visually pleasing film to watch, especially with the premature aging effect they use to make the movie seem old.

Another factor I was excited about was Micheal Biehn, I haven't seen him in an action oriented roll in a while and it was good to see him back in action (whatever happened to him anyway?). The plot is fairly simple, a zombie outbreak in which the survivors are the cure for the zombie infection and have to survive.

Its a really fun movie, and is the better half of Grindhouse (Death Proof seemed like a very ODD chick flick). I recommend it highly to anyone who likes zombies...