Just don't watch while you're eating..... (Planet Terror (DVD))

Member Name: midpikyrozziy

Product:	Planet Terror (DVD)
Date:	10/04/09 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliantly acted and directed gore-filled fun-fest

Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea

Planet Terror

Intro:
Robert Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' was originally released alongside Quentin Tarantino's 'Death Proof' to make up the Grindhouse double feature, which was a tribute to the whole Grindhouse genre and their favourite B-movies.The term 'Grindhouse' is an American term referring to a theatre that mainly showed exploitation films, which is a genre of film that relies on the exploitation of something (eg. a big star, special effects, sex, or violence) for it's success. To put it in an exploitation sub-genre, Planet Terror features elements from the early zombie films and splatter films.

It was released in 2007, but was considered a flop, mainly due to a poorly considered release date on Easter weekend and poor advertising, but if you like this sort of film, you will love Planet Terror.

Plot:
In a rural town in Texas, go-go dancer Cherry (Rose McGowan) becomes disillusioned with her work, and attempts to try and use her various useless talents to find a new job. Whilst she contemplates her problems at the 'Bone Shack', the self-proclaimed best steakhouse in Texas belonging to a man called J.T, she meets former boyfriend Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), and he manages to persuade her into taking a lift home with him.

Elsewhere, Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) is trying to escape from her controlling husband (Josh Brolin) who is also a doctor, and plans to run away with her son Tony (Rebel Rodriguez). She plans to make her escape later that day, and leaves for the hospital with her husband for one last time, although he is a bit suspicious.
In another unrelated incident, scientist and black-market dealer Abby (Naveen Andrews) faces a group of renegade military men led by Captain Muldoon (Bruce Willis) at an abandoned military base, and a shootout commences when they attempt to take Abby hostage. During the shootout, Abby shoots a container of an experimental, highly contagious, gaseous biological weapon, and releases the potent gas into the air. Unfortunately, the gas turns people into flesh-eating zombies.

As more and more people become contaminated with the deadly disease, and the hospitals fill with patients about to turn into zombies, it is up to Wray, Cherry, Dakota, the local police force, J.T, and a few other survivors to try and find an antidote to the disease, and keep their lives.

Acting:
Rose McGowan:
Rose McGowan plays the female lead and delivers a brilliant performance. The word 'bad-ass' could have been invented for the character of Cherry Darling, an ex-stripper who is forced to become a brutal fighter when the hordes of zombies attack.

She is very convincing in the role of a woman who is weary of the world, and wants to strike back. This is shown brilliantly when, after the loss of her leg, Cherry returns with a 'customization' that would leave any zombie running in fear.
4/5

Freddy Rodriguez:
Freddy Rodriguez is pretty good as El Wray, the legendary fighter who falls for Cherry. He portrays a classic male action hero, a man who knows how to lead a team of fighters, 'never misses' with his bullets, but also knows how to take care of a woman.

4/5

Marley Shelton:
Marley Shelton is decent as the loving mother and not-so-loving wife Dakota. She manages to pull off the 'determined strong-willed lady' quite well, although there's nothing special about her performance.3/5

Other performances:
There are lots of good performances in this film from quite an impressive cast. Josh Brolin is particularly brilliant as Dr Block, for which he gets a 5/5. Bruce Willis is equally impressive as Muldoon, and he is another 5/5.

Jeff Fahey's scenes are always enjoyable as J.T, and he deserves a 4/5. And strangely, Naveen Andrews, who plays the absurdly posh English scientist with a strange obsession for collecting his victims testicles in a bag, is also brilliant, and gets 5/5.

There are no bad performances in this film, perhaps because it's a deliberately cheap thriller and doesn't require too much ability, but the concept of the film just wouldn't work without this standard of acting.

Directing:
It was a bold move by Tarantino and Rodriguez to try and reproduce a genre of film that only had a small following in the first place, and if you go by general opinion, they failed. But I'd urge you not to avoid this film just by reputation, as I did at first, and to give it a shot.I was pleasantly surprised when I started watching, and the simplistic thrill-a-minute style of the film captivated me. Rodriguez uses deliberately over-the-top special effects, obscene amounts of blood and gore, and comedy, to good effect, and the finished film is a great piece of work.

Before the film even starts, their is a trailer for the fake film 'Machete', which adds to the Grindhouse feel of the film with what could have been a brilliant film itself if they'd chosen to make it. Watch the trailer on Youtube to get the feel of the genre, and if you enjoy it, you should definitely watch Planet Terror.

To further show that this is indeed meant to be a remake of the Grindhouse film genre, Rodriguez edits his shots to make them look old and worn, as if the film had been scratched. The film also stops for a 'missing reel' which, if the reel had ever been made, would have missed about 10 minutes of footage. These little touches just add to the whole feel of the film.

On the whole, the film is superbly directed. There is a great, tense, soundtrack throughout the film, which works fantastically with the film. He gets the best out of his actors, and the plot of the film works perfectly with the way it is brought to life through the directing and editing.

Conclusion:
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone over the age of 18. If you're looking for a film that you can watch and enjoy without having to take seriously, then Planet Terror is the one for you.

It's much more than your average zombie thriller, but it also contains all the elements that make the zombie films so successful and popular. But unlike those horror favorites, this is superbly acted, well directed, and funny, as well as having a number of well-implemented twists to keep you guessing. A great film, just not for the faint-hearted!

Summary: A bad-ass zombie thriller