Review of Planet Terror (2007) by Jackson H — 12 Apr 2011

Back in the 70s and 80s, the cinema of exploitation; reveling in gory, sexy and depraved reigned supreme and after dark. Such classics include Shaft (1971) , a progenitor of the "blaxsploitation" genre: Black exploitation.

While this demented and sexual form of cinema earned it's fans, it died out eventually with a few films reminiscent thereafter. Two directors that have been instrumental in resurrected some of exploitation cinema's tropes are Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.

We got a taste of both directors' taste for the hyper gory (Kill Bill) and hyper crazy (From Dusk Till Dawn) during their earlier years; but in '07 Tarantino and Rodriguez teamed up to really bring back the Grindhouse!

Rodriguez' segment, Planet Terror is packed with insane violence (Naveen Andrews collects balls, Jeff Fahey finds the key ingredient to his Texan barbecue sauce in blood), super sexy (Rose McGowan anybody?), and utterly amusing (Cherry Darling's aspirations to become a stand up comedian). Rodriguez succeeds brilliantly in homaging the Grindhouse, and also creates a film destined for cult status. The cast are fantastic, the effects are fittingly camp and the humor dances between the wry and the camp.

While the movie is an excellent homage, it is also a great piece of cinema that brings a modern and intelligent take to the genre. While Death Proof is far more dialogue driven, Planet Terror is equally as good for its own merits.

Consensus: Entertaining as it is gory; for all the trophy ball removals, finger loses, misfired shots, lost limbs, missing brains and melting genitals and an inspiring story on how Bin Laden was killed by the Willis; Planet Terror is both a fantastic homage and modern take on Grindhouse cinema.

5/5.