Review of Planet Terror (2007) by Adam P — 06 Aug 2010

Planet Terror is a delightful homage to both the grindhouse film scene of the 70s and the zombie genre. Without a doubt, it was my favorite of the two films released together as Grindhouse in the Summer of 2007--the other was, of course, Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.

Planet Terror is basically a zombie film that blends in a large quantity of characterists from 70s and 80s action films. The film features a slew of classic exploitation elements: a one-legged stripper, a corrupt doctor, a man who collects testicles, a mutating rapist, loads of blood and guts, loads of tintillating shots of cleavage, etc.

, etc. Rodriguez has a lot of fun with this film, and that fun translates into a genuinely delightful film experience. Not to be missed by fans of exploitation and horror cinema who are willing to indulge in a self-conscious, postmodern parody of the genres that simultaneously participates wholeheartedly in those genres.

Sadly, the films have yet to be offered together in their original theatrical configuration on DVD. Planet Terror and Death Proof must be bought separately, and they do not feature all of the brilliant trailers that made the Grindhouse theatre experience so legitimate and engaging.

Of course, the DVD releases add more footage to the films, but you lose the innovative brilliance of the double feature release. Still, Planet Terror is an engaging, postmodern horror film that participates fuilly in its forgery of the Grindhouse experience by including burn-outs, gritty images, and trailers--although only Rodriguez's Machete trailer makes it onto the Planet Terror disc.