Planet Terror (2007)
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Planet Terror (2007)
PLANET TERROR was originally released in theaters as part of the double feature GRINDHOUSE, with DEATH PROOF. The box office was pretty bad. On DVD, it was released as its own feature.
ROSE McGOWAN! FREDDY RODRIGUEZ! JOSH BROLIN! JEFF FAHEY! MICHAEL BIEHN! NAVEEN ANDREWS! MICHAEL PARKS! TOM SAVINI! and BRUCE WILLIS!
This film from Robert Rodriguez emulates the low-budget sci-fi/horror movies of the seventies, with Quentin Tarantino helping out and also appearing in a surprise (and disgusting) role. Back in the seventies, it seems like there was even less restraint in showing questionable material and there was this 'anything goes' attitude. The plot here, such at it is, involves a nasty nerve gas, developed by the army (of course) which gets released into the local rural area and very quickly there are zombie-people running around feeding on the normal populace.
The whole film takes place at night - just one night. Much of it takes place at the local hospital; Brolin plays an unpleasant doctor. There's also a local chili joint, run by Fahey, who has a secret recipe. McGowan is a pole dancer who plans on becoming a stand-up comic (yes, that kind of wry humor). Soon she loses a leg, hyuck-hyuck. The climactic action moves to an army base. So, yes, it's another take on the Dawn of the Dead staple, with the killer-zombies as quick as the ones in the remake. Rodriguez amps up the gross-out factor as far as it will go, mostly with tongue-in-cheek. It actually resembles the parody Return of the Living Dead (1985) more than George Romero's films.
This isn't for everyone, especially not for those uninterested is seeing Rodriguez push the envelope for grotesque visuals and lowbrow dialog (curse words in almost every line). I found it amusing, but some others may not get 'into' the joke. I include this film on this sci-fi site for the science fiction element of science going awry - the development of some weapon which turns against us - Warning Sign (1985) is another film about a biological weapon, a serious attempt, which this resembles in theme. But, there's nothing really serious here. I will issue a warning, not about the usual horror material but regarding one scene involving the accidental death of a young boy; if you would find a scene such as this too objectionable, then maybe you ought to avoid this all together.
Much of the footage is purposely scratched and damaged a bit to add that sense of a drive-in movie-going experience, where old, used-up prints were screened. There are purposeful jump cuts and even a missing scene (as if the film tore off in the projector). On the DVD, there's even a soundtrack that was recorded during an actual screening in a theater; so, you have the option of watching the film pretending that you're sitting in the middle of a crowded theater; the audience laughs at all the appropriate moments. Get the pepperoni pizza ready or grab some hot chili; wash it down with tequila as you watch the ultimate grossfest of zombie madness. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
Last edited by BoG on Sat Jun 13, 2015 12:08 am; edited 2 times in total
Planet T
I'm usually not very impressed by the work of Robert Rodriguez, whose main strength seems to be in completing these films cheaply, without all the inflated costs of a typical studio picture, and he puts in a lot of flash, not much substance. By all accounts, he appears to be a very nice guy and a family man, so it's surprising that he tries to gross-out / disturb us more than all other films (Sin City is another one).
Planet Terror worked better with me because of the intentional absurdity he laced the film with, winking at all the horror/sci-fi fans. Take the character played by Rose McGowan, the young woman who loses a leg early on (zombies take it). The next scene shows her being wheeled into the hospital; how her boyfriend got her there is not shown; the attack was in the middle of nowhere; I didn't see any phones around. By rights, she would need... I dunno, a month (?) of recovery time in the hospital before being released for further convalescence. Yet, an hour later (remember, the whole film takes place during one night), she and her boyfriend are escaping the hospital. A couple of hours later, she has a gun attached to her leg and has turned into some kind of weird super-hero.
I think this approach tells the audience to relax and not take anything seriously. This is basically a comic book / cartoon come to life or some alternate reality, where wounds heal almost instantly, unless it's to the head or the heart (another female character also endures painful injuries, yet these are also ignored about an hour later). It gives the audience permission to laugh, sneer and chuckle at the screen, to go with the flow of some absurd, dark fantasy. You know how it is in cartoons - characters are smashed, blown up, etc. but they always recover. The approach here is similar, just with some limitations - the injuries which can't be reasonably ignored, like losing one's head. Usually, this approach by Rodriguez and others in action/horror pictures renders almost everything meaningless and I would consider such films a waste of time; but, in Planet Terror, it mostly works - it's a comedy.
Anyway, the other reason this one stuck out for me is that DVD option of watching the film as if you're in a theater with an audience. This isn't done much on DVDs - I think there was only one other DVD I've seen that had such an alternate audio track and I don't remember which film it was. But, it's a gas. I actually enjoyed the film more with that phantom audience; I wonder that this isn't incorporated into more DVDs.
Planet Terror worked better with me because of the intentional absurdity he laced the film with, winking at all the horror/sci-fi fans. Take the character played by Rose McGowan, the young woman who loses a leg early on (zombies take it). The next scene shows her being wheeled into the hospital; how her boyfriend got her there is not shown; the attack was in the middle of nowhere; I didn't see any phones around. By rights, she would need... I dunno, a month (?) of recovery time in the hospital before being released for further convalescence. Yet, an hour later (remember, the whole film takes place during one night), she and her boyfriend are escaping the hospital. A couple of hours later, she has a gun attached to her leg and has turned into some kind of weird super-hero.
I think this approach tells the audience to relax and not take anything seriously. This is basically a comic book / cartoon come to life or some alternate reality, where wounds heal almost instantly, unless it's to the head or the heart (another female character also endures painful injuries, yet these are also ignored about an hour later). It gives the audience permission to laugh, sneer and chuckle at the screen, to go with the flow of some absurd, dark fantasy. You know how it is in cartoons - characters are smashed, blown up, etc. but they always recover. The approach here is similar, just with some limitations - the injuries which can't be reasonably ignored, like losing one's head. Usually, this approach by Rodriguez and others in action/horror pictures renders almost everything meaningless and I would consider such films a waste of time; but, in Planet Terror, it mostly works - it's a comedy.
Anyway, the other reason this one stuck out for me is that DVD option of watching the film as if you're in a theater with an audience. This isn't done much on DVDs - I think there was only one other DVD I've seen that had such an alternate audio track and I don't remember which film it was. But, it's a gas. I actually enjoyed the film more with that phantom audience; I wonder that this isn't incorporated into more DVDs.
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