Planet Terror

Starring: Rose McGowan, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Biehn, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Naveen Andrews.

Synopsis:

A small town is besieged by zombies created by a military toxic gas...

Review:

I’m a genuine Quentin Tarantino fan. I became one after watching a ropey copy of Reservoir Dogs in 1994. It blew me away with the Shakespearian-like dialogue, acting and direction. Unlike some, who attended QT movies to be seen as “cool” I firmly believed that this man is one talented S.O.B.

Why am I talking about Tarantino when I’m reviewing a Robert Rodriguez movie? Ok, Quentin cameos in Planet Terror. But, it’s got more to do with the fact that Planet Terror is part of Grindhouse, a proposed double bill of two B-movies that you would find in a Grindhouse cinema (something that the UK’s Scala was, once upon a time). The copies of movies were damaged and/or missed reels of film, so there could be a jump of plot at a wholly inappropriate moment.

So, with Grindhouse, this is what Tarantino and Rodriguez set out to do; create a double bill complete with digitally added damage with one reel removed.

When the two films were available together, in the US, Planet Terror was shown first: A big mistake in my opinion. I said in my first paragraph that I am a fan of Tarantino, and that I am. It doesn’t mean that I will blindly enjoy everything he directs. In the case of Death Proof, I found the exercise tedious. The performances were top notch especially from Kurt Russell, but the movie didn’t work for me.

Planet Terror was by far the most entertaining.

Like most of the cheap zombie films out there, the plot is ridiculous. With PT, it’s both intentional and important but the film doesn’t really look cheap despite its director’s intentions.

A secret weaponised gas is developed for military use and is accidentally released on to an unsuspecting town in Texas. Chaos ensues.

Ok, there actually is more to that story;

Cherry Darling, a go-go dancer, is fed up with her life and is looking to change careers, when her heartthrob, El Wray breezes back into town. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, an experimental gas is infecting the townsfolk and turning them into zombie like creatures hungry for flesh (natch). In and around their story, mixtures of characters have side stories that are right at home in a Tarantino or Rodriguez movie.

Although this is a Rodriguez film it does feel like a Tarantino movie with a Robert Rodriguez stamp and that is no disrespect as the two worked closely. The main reason for me to feel this way is the generous casting these two exercise in their film’s production. Tarantino arguably was responsible for re-invigorating John Travolta’s movie career. Rodriguez brought back Mickey Rourke to our screens in both Once Upon A Time in Mexico and Sin City. Rodriguez does this with Michael Biehn, a seriously underrated and underused actor. Although Biehn has had a distinguished career and one to be proud of, I always felt that he deserved to be a bigger star. That’s just my view and not based upon any particular reason. So with this attitude in mind it was a joy to see Biehn back in a genre role.

If there’s any celluloid burnt outs it’s due to Rose McGowan. Rodriguez shows a side of her that I’ve not seen before, in her movie performances. No, I’m not referring to her dance routine or lack of clothes; she oozes sex appeal through her time onscreen. Tarantino’s character likens her to Ava Gardner and you can see why throughout the film.

Freddy Rodriguez plays the “bad boy” to good effect. He’s not the obvious choice for this kind of role but, again, I think that was the director’s intention, to pick a unique cast for an unusual film. Case in point – Josh Brolin as a doctor with murder in mind.

Verdict:

If you’re a fan of this type of movie I thoroughly recommend it, but feel that it won’t court any new viewers to the genre.

7/10 (Wayfarer)