| Product: |
Planet Terror (DVD) |
| Date: |
20.03.08 (158 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Gory, gruesome, laugh out loud madness
Disadvantages: You may not get with the whole Grindhouse thing
When a shady business deal goes bad, a group of rogue military men release an experimental bio-weapon into the environment. As the contagion spreads, hordes of local people are transformed into bloodthirsty zombies, intent on feasting on everyone in sight. It's left to a small group of survivors to fight their way through the infected and hope that they can stay alive long enough to escape the contagion zone. But there are some who want them to remain exactly where they are.....
When the double-bill movie Grindhouse was released in US cinemas last year, takings were so poor that studio executives were quickly prompted to review their strategy for worldwide release formats. Originally intended to be a tribute to the low-budget exploitation movies of the 1970s and 1980s, American audiences failed to catch on to the concept and so the decision was made that for other audiences (the UK included) the Grindhouse double bill would be released as two separate movies, Death Proof (directed by Quentin Tarantino) and Planet Terror (from Robert Rodriguez). In the UK, cinema audiences, disappointed by the fact that they would have to pay twice to see less than what the Americans saw in Grindhouse, weren't inspired and now the films' last remaining hope comes from their recent release on DVD.
Of the two films, Planet Terror has generally received less attention and interest, given only that the film's director is less lauded; it would seem that a new Quentin Tarantino film still courts more anticipation than his Planet Terror counterpart. The reality is that as far as the two films are concerned, Planet Terror is infinitely more entertaining, with Rodriguez far more capably satisfying the audience need to have their screams split equally between laughter and fear.
In reality, Rodriguez's attempt to produce a tribute is quite ineffective. The "Grindhouse" effects are actually a little forced. The artificially grainy visuals are obviously artificial and the deliberately patchy soundtrack quickly becomes irritating. Other touches are more effective; there's a large missing reel in the middle that creates the illusion you've stumbled across something old and forbidden and the jumpy editing is often quite amusing. The retro, video nasty music also works really well, particularly when the zombies are about to strike. Nevertheless, affection for Planet Terror is really only derived from what the film actually has to offer in terms of action and script, which arguably thrive on the modern budget and effects that the film's 1980s counterparts would have lacked.
The premise behind Planet Terror is simple and generally quite ridiculous. Nothing really makes any sense. Human actions seldom seem motivated by any real logic or sensibility and any scientific detail included is sketchy at best. This is, of course, entirely deliberate and the resulting output is both hilarious and gross; a perfect exploitation combination. Feeling rather more like the zombie splatter movies of the 1980s than 1970s Grindhouse, Planet Terror picks its way relentlessly through a barrage of genre musts. When a film's opening five minutes include involuntary castration and the release of a gas that causes men's faces to melt, you know exactly what you're about to get - and it's virtually non-stop from there on in. The 18 certificate is an appropriate reflection of the often gory and gross content, but there's nothing even remotely frightening about Planet Terror; it's just too wacky.
True to the film's roots, Planet Terror boasts a wild selection of camp, over-the top characters. The local doctor (Block) is a bit of a psycho. His wife (Dakota) is a blonde, lesbian nympho. Our main heroine is a stripper-cum-comedienne named Cherry, who, in the process of being attacked by the zombies, loses a leg, to have it replaced by a wooden stick and then later on a machine gun. Our hero (Wray) is a mysterious drifter, who just happens to have a cab full of guns and body covered in bizarre tattoos. The villains include an English mad scientist who insists on collecting his enemies' testicles in a jar, and a lunatic soldier, whose men deliberately release the noxious gas into the system believing that they can find a cure from the infected. Throw into the mix a local diner owner, who can think only of the magic recipe to produce the best barbecue ribs in town, an incompetent policeman who keeps accidentally shooting people and a pair of psychotic baby-sitters whose tempers are only slightly shorter than their cut-off denim shorts. If it sounds like a lunatic combination, then that's because it completely is, and did I mention that it's a riot too?
The zombies are absolutely ineffective, and are generally dispatched in a flurry of blood and bullets, exploding like a bag of bloody water when something hits or shoots them. A sequence involving a truck systematically running over them is hysterically over the top and a similar action piece in the hospital sees Wray despatching them with knives and fancy moves, resulting in a relative torrent of claret. It's difficult to agree a candidate for the film's grossest moment, but the sight of one of the zombies squeezing an enormous oozing pustule and then smearing the discharge all over the doctor's face is probably a strong runner. It's actually quite clever stuff, given only that the director is deliberately trying to make things look a certain way and Rodriguez's approach is very effective. The bigger budget special effects mean that he can do far more than his 80s counterparts, so effects that would almost certainly have looked dreadful in the 1980s actually look really good here. (Cherry's wooden leg and machine-gun replacement are particularly strong examples.)
Rather unlike the original Grindhouse movies, the film actually boasts a strong cast of well-known actors, most of whom seem to be having a whale of a time. Bruce Willis is sneeringly over-the-top as maniac military man Muldoon and mad scientist Naveen Andrews hits the right camp notes every time. Freddy Rodriguez is hilariously mean and moody as leading man Wray but is rather outshone by one-legged Cherry who cavorts around in a suitably erotic fashion before promptly blowing lots of things up. (How exactly DOES she fire that gun?) Josh Brolin also has a good time as evil doctor Block, quickly realising that his wife is about to leave her and attempting to anaesthetise her, with hilarious results. Dakota (Marley Shelton on top form) is another strong leading lady but most of the lads will be disappointed that her erstwhile lover (Fergie from Black Eyed Peas) doesn't last long enough to get down and dirty with here. The only irritant is Jeff Fahey's diner owner, who is too much of a distraction whenever he appears on screen.
For the DVD release, the running time is extended over the original cinema release, taking the film up from 84 minutes to 105. The new, longer running time helps the film breathe and enables the effect to be rather less hasty (though that infamous missing reel will still tantalise fans of the genre). It has to be said, however, that the Grindhouse audio-visual effects are rather more engaging on the big screen and the retro feel is lost somewhat in the transfer to DVD. (The film opens with the faux-trailer for Machete, but three other "mock trailers" are noticeable in their absence).
Nonetheless, the finished product is still enormous fun, and far less pretentious than Tarantino's Death Proof. Planet Terror is absolutely hilarious, surprisingly more so if you ignore its attempts to tribute and just enjoy it for what it is.
Recommended
The region 2 DVD was released on Monday March 10th and can be picked up for around £12.
Summary: Grindhouse's better half
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