Amazon.co.uk Review
The lower-profile half of the Grindhouse double bill that flopped at the US box office in early 2007, Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror comes with lesser expectations. However, don't let that fool you: this is a fun, pacey zombie film, that displays less self-indulgence than Tarantino's Death Proof, and doesn't skimp in the entertainment stakes either.
The plot is thin and quickly covered, but basically amounts to the release of a gas that creates lots of zombies. Stuck in the midst of the zombies is a small bunch of people who try and fight them off (among, er, other things). It doesn't, fortunately, take long for Planet Terror to set all this up, and the stage is soon set for what we all paid our money for. Action. Violence. Characters of ill-repute. And, heck, a bit more action too.
Thus, Rodriguez delivers his tribute to the grindhouse movies he's clearly inspired by, and Planet Terror proves to be a fine piece of work. With fast, exciting action sequences, leg-less Rose McGowan turning in sterling work in front of the camera, and stylish work behind it from Rodriguez, the film gels well.
Its director has perhaps bettered it himself with From Dusk Til Dawn, but that doesn't mean that there's not plenty to enjoy here. Taken either with its double-bill partner or as a standalone dish, Planet Terror is well worth your time. --Jon Foster
Customer Reviews:
Riotously Entertaining!.......2008-03-14
PLANET TERROR : Indisputably the superior half of Tarantino and Rodriguez' ill-fated GRINDHOUSE experiment. Tarantino's bloated effort DEATH PROOF coughed and spluttered along with unremarkable action sequences and painfully dull dialogue. PLANET TERROR, on the other hand, fizzes and sparks with delightfully ludicrous Seventies-style action and bucket-loads of blood and gore!
OK, there's nothing deep or meaningful in this film. But, frankly, WHO CARES? This film is intended to ENTERTAIN! And, rest assured, PLANET TERROR entertains in spades. I sat down to view the movie with a cool beer in my hand and spent the next 2 hours with an insane grin on my face. As the inevitable face-off between the zombies and civilians began, the adrenaline pumped through my body like volts of electricity. I was sat on the edge of my seat like an over-excited child! Did I say SEAT? It felt more like a rollercoaster!
Anyhow, enough of my rambling. Basically, if you loved the previous efforts of Rodriguez such as "Dusk 'Til Dawn", "Desperado" and "Sin City" then chances are you'll be utterly delighted with the gruesome charms of...PLANET TERROR!
Planet Terror WOW.......2008-03-14
When a gas that turns the living into zombie like creatures escapes into the general population a small band of immune survivors must fight to stay alive long enough to try to find a cure. I always was looking forward to Robert Rodriguez' half of Grindhouse more than Quentin Tarantino's and though Death Proof surprised me by being a pretty fun ride it's seriously dull by comparison to Planet Terror. While Death Proof had forty good minutes of chatter before the first real action scene Planet Terror cuts right to the chase; after a seriously sexy dance by Rose McGowan under the opening credits things get seriously bloody even in what, in any other movie, would be a purely expository scene. Robert Rodriguez has completely embraced the over the top feel of Grindhouse cinema and has crafted a non-stop action all the way rollercoaster that grabs you by the balls from the word go and refuses to loosen its grip. This is a silly film, but the film knows as much, and revels in it but what could have pushed it too far into parody is the cast, fortunately they all get the tone just right. Okay so nobody is pushing for reality here but they are playing it straight, there's no winking at the camera and as a result you are able to just go along for the ride rather than being lifted out of it and reminded that, hey, it's just a silly movie. It's tough to pick a stand out among the cast as everyone is so well placed in their roles. Josh Brolin has a nicely sardonic line of psychosis as Dr Block, even before he's a zombie and Marley Shelton is just adorable as Dakota. There are good parts for genre vets Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey and Tom Savini and good cameo work by Tarantino and Bruce Willis. At the centre of the film though are Freddy Rodriguez and Rose McGowan as El Ray and Cherry. Rodriguez, despite his small stature, makes for a pretty convincing action hero and the sequence where he rescues McGowan from a hospital full of zombies is one of the most entertaining in a joyously entertaining movie. But it's Cherry Darling who'll be the iconic image to come out of this movie, and rightly so, how much cooler can it ever get than Rose McGowan, with a machine gun for a leg, taking out dozens of zombies? Rodriguez pushes the boat out visually. The film is wildly over the top, allowing him to let rip with effects gags that would just be too ludicrous anywhere else and drench the screen in blood. He also uses the artifical scratching and aging of the film better than Tarantino did; there it felt like someone had scratched up a new movie, here it doesn't and the technique is used much more consistently throughout. If Planet Terror just sounds stupid as far as you are concerned then chances are that's exactly what you'll find here; a stupid zombie movie. If, however, you are a genre fan; if you love Re-Animator, or The Beyond or any number of schlocky 70's and 80's horror movies then you'll be in heaven with Planet Terror. It's endlessly fun, more so than any other film yet released this year
Good fun film..........2008-03-10
... As long as you don't take it seriously! I enjoyed this film greatly maybe because when compared to "DeathProof" its a masterpiece. Its fast paced and full of action. A great film to watch with mates especially to find which of your mates is most squeamish
gr8 film.......2008-03-08
this is is a brilliant film i haven't seen death proof yet but i am wateing for the grind house dvd to be released to get the full effect of both films but don't that stop that buying this dvd on its own
pure cheese/gore fest entertainment!!!!.......2008-03-05
this is a great movie, where death proof failed to nail the grindhouse homage, planet terror hit the jackpot, zombies, hot girls, a mysterious hero and lots of action n' gore. THIS is what grindhouse films are all about. if your the type of person that likes to be entertained by a movie without the film being too intelligent or thought provoking, then this movie is for you, with a great balance of humour and action this is a 'get ya mates round with beers and pizza' film time.
Customer Reviews:
Rodriguez has really topped Tarantino with this.......2007-10-27
This movie is great and the ones that watch it with me had a blast. Rodriguez had already indulged himself to his heart's content in From Dusk Till Dawn (Dimension Collector's Series) which was also about a group of people fighting off warring vampires in a night club from, as the name indicates, from dusk till dawn, which makes "Planet Terror" an encore exercise of pretty much similar plot, similar format and similar execution. As his other movies like El Mariachi (Special Edition) and Desperado (Special Edition) are themselves (quite stylish) derivatives of the exploitative genre, it is difficult to find any redeeming value in the repetition, even if it is done in zest and playful ribbing, which reduces "Planet Terror" a Cliff Notes' version to "From Dusk till Dawn".
"Planet Terror" features a giant cast of big names, small names, and names a few of us grin fondly at. The most fun, though, comes from the lead characters of Wray and Cherry, handled deftly in regards to pure entertainment by lesser-known Freddy Rodriguez Rose McGowan. Wray seems like an insignificant nice guy who drives a wrecker, but he has a mysterious past and combat skills that are brutally efficient. Cherry is a go-go dancer that used to be involved years ago with Wray and happens to find herself back in his company on the bloody night our story transpires. Watching Wray take charge of the survivors and kick butt all over is fun, doubly so because he is such a likable and unassuming hero. And Cherry, who loses one of her legs early on for the sake of "running" gags and a wonderfully absurd series of action scenes where a machine gun has replaced her leg, is mostly pleasant as a damsel in distress who must become an involuntary mistress of destruction. This movie has so many fantastic moments, subtle touches, and ridiculous humor.
Rodriguez has always handled the cinematography, editing, and music for his pictures-- he coined the phrase "shot, chopped, and scored" for his Renaissance man approach to his pictures. While I have often wished he would find himself an editor, he has always excelled at the shooting and scoring, and not only does he deliver a nuclear explosion of talent for those this time, his editing manages to work superbly in this genre's already choppy format. The film is a visual extravaganza, not only for the gore and make-up artistry (be aware this is one of the biggest gross-outs I have ever seen on screen recently), but for Rodriguez's keen eye for photography on films of this ilk as well as the artificial flaws he implants in the movie to lend authenticity to the idea that this film was meant for another era. Scratches on film, color errors, skipping frames, burn outs on reels as well as a missing reel (a humorous tool Tarantino employs in his offering as well) give "Planet Terror" an atmosphere of cool.
Product Description
A group of college friends enjoying adulterated shenanigans on a camping trip become the quarry of a homicidal maniac who begins to murder them in innovative yet grisly ways. This DVD is an officially released overseas import which is compatible with all UK & European DVD players. It has the original English soundtrack which can be selected from the DVD setup menu.
UK DVD:
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