Planet Terror
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths
Issue 101 March 2008
(7 votes, average: 7.14 out of 10)
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One-legged chicks in zombie town!
The Lowdown: An experimental bio-weapon causes havoc on a small Texas town and has turned the majority of the population into face-rotting zombies. However, the walking infected didn’t reckon on a one-legged stripper and her rough and ready boyfriend who aim to put things right!
Review: Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror arrives on DVD to complete the Grindhouse double bill, and while the split from its celluloid sibling hasn’t exactly done Planet Terror or Tarantino’s Death Proof any good, Rodriguez’s repulsive trash epic remains the more entertaining as a stand-alone feature.
Squelching its way through 101 minutes of face melting, puss-popping lunacy, Planet Terror is a triumph in bad taste and has no shame about brazenly flaunting its second-rate dialogue or its roster of ridiculous characters. Though silly, inane and undeniably dumb, Planet Terror succeeds where Death Proof failed by being an enjoyable experience. While Tarantino’s flick suffered from a choppy pace and meaningless dialogue, Rodriguez turns the insanity dials all the way up to 11 and lets loose with a high calibre helping of tough chicks with guns for legs, surly sheriffs, mad doctors and hideous zombies. All this is held together by the grainy, jumpy presentation of a film that looks like its been kicked around the filthy floors of 42nd Street cinemas during the 70s. Unlike Tarantino and Death Proof however, Rodriguez doesn’t get bored and give up on the visual gimmick about halfway through.
An impressive cast make up the list of memorable on-screen personalities, from the brilliant Josh Brolin and Tom Savini, to appearances from Bruce Willis and Tarantino. Danny Trejo, who stars in the faux trailer Machete, which preludes the main feature and sees the crazy Mexican as a Charles Bronson-like character hell-bent on revenge, is worth the £17.99 alone.
As well as a better feature, Planet Terror boasts a stronger DVD package than Death Proof too, including a chatty commentary from Rodriguez, who provides a non-stop accompaniment and touches upon all manner of subjects, from the origins of Machete (Rodriguez actually wrote it after Desperado as a vehicle for Trejo) to casting choices and the additional scenes for this extended cut. The ‘10-Minute Film School’ featurette is an entertaining piece that reveals some tricks of the trade, most notably how they did that leg thing with the gun and Rose McGowan. ‘The Badass Babes Of Planet Terror’ and its male counterpart include interviews with the main cast (Marley Shelton demonstrates her supple wrists to eerie effect), while the ‘Casting Rebel’ featurette merely sees Rodriguez banging on about his kid for five minutes. The ‘Audience Reaction Track’ features a real-life audience audio accompaniment, though the riotous laughter, screaming and cries of repulsion (alien to Brit cinema audiences) suggests that even if the Grindhouse double bill did actually make it to UK screens, the concept might not have worked anyway. Perhaps one day, we’ll get the chance to find out.
FILM: 7 EXTRAS: 7
DVD Info:
Certificate: 18
Starring: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Marley Shelton
Directed By: Robert Rodriguez, 2007
Distributor: Momentum
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 101 mins
Price: £17.99
Film supplied by:
Cathy Beck Communications
Special Features:
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Robert Rodriguez
Audience Reaction Track
‘Comic-Con 2006’ Featurette
Photo Gallery
Trailers
‘10-Minute Film School’ Featurette
‘The Badass Babes Of Planet Terror’ Featurette
‘The Guys Of Planet Terror’ Featurette
‘Casting Rebel’ Featurette
‘Sickos, Bullets And Explosions: The Stunts Of Planet Terror’ Featurette
‘The Friend, The Doctor And The Real Estate Agent’ Featurette
Scene Selection
