Planet Terror
Friday, 09 Nov 2007 14:51
Bruce Willis makes a welcome cameo appearance in Planet Terror
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, out in cinemas November 9th, starring Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton and Bruce Willis, running time 105 minutes.
In a nutshell…
Trashy, chaotic, blood-soaked, explosive, carnage.
What's it all about?
Planet Terror marks the second release from the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino project, Grindhouse, which aimed to recreate the experience of attending a trashy double bill at a run-down cinema of the 1970s.
Tarantino's offering, Death Proof, was released in September and focussed on the kind of tough but sexy women that could be found in grindhouse classics such as Switchblade Sisters and I Spit on Your Grave.
On the other hand, Rodriguez's Planet Terror goes directly for the jugular by offering a town ravaged by zombies, a unit of infected soldiers and a one-legged machine-gunning stripper named Cherry Darling.
Who's in it?
Rose McGowan, former Scream actress and star of teen witch TV series Charmed, takes the lead role as the feisty but damaged Cherry Darling who reunites with her long-lost lover El Wray, played by Ugly Betty and Six Feet Under star Freddy Rodriguez.
Terminator hero Michael Biehn makes a welcome return to the big screen as the tough talking Sheriff Hague and Lost star Naveen Andrews plays the testicle collecting, ruthless scientist and businessman Abby.
Guest appearances from Bruce Willis and Quentin Tarantino also add some darkly comic relief in their respective roles as Lieutenant Muldoon and the tellingly credited Rapist #1.
As an example…
Having just discovered she has had her right leg amputated, Cherry Darling assesses her career: "I was gonna be a stand-up comedian … now everyone's gonna laugh."
Later, Quentin Tarantino's Rapist #1 offers Ms Darling some words of comfort: "I've seen me a stripper with one breast and I've seen me a stripper with twelve toes. And I've seen me a stripper with no brains at all but I ain't never seen me a one legged stripper … and I've been to Morocco."
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
There is more chance of a bio-chemically infected military regiment taking control of a town full of zombies, deranged doctors and machine-gun toting strippers than this film being revealed as a contender come January … but fingers crossed, eh Mr Rodriguez?
What the others say
"While this is the Grindhouse film that suffers most from being presented solo, it's still the most fun. Watch with beer in hand and tongue in cheek for optimal effect," - Nick de Semlyen, Empire Magazine.
"If somebody chewed your head off, would you at least forget this mess?" - Monisha Rajesh, Little White Lies.
So is it any good?
In one scene from Planet Terror, a medical team surround a hospital gurney draped with blood-spattered sheets. When this is whipped back to reveal the ravaged corpse of a young girl, one nurse tilts the head of the victim to reveal the back of the skull has been eaten away. "Looks like a no-brainer," she says "What does that mean?" asks the doctor - "no brain," is the reply.
This exchange just about sums up Rodriguez's entry into the Grindhouse double feature, where Tarantino went for the authentic approach of long periods of dialogue followed by a spurt of action and minimal effects reliant on the skill or stupidity of the actors involved, Planet Terror oozes action, explosions and gore - lots and lots of gore.
Where splatter movies of the 1970's such as I Drink Your Blood and The Toolbox Murders allowed gore-hounds to salivate over a few sickly scenes of graphic violence, films such as Last House on the Left and Shivers introduced a darker social commentary to the genre. However, with Planet Terror there is really neither on display.
For sheer kicks the movie is unbeatable. Rose McGowan is fantastic as Cherry Darling and proves that not all one-legged women are as single-minded and scary as Heather Mills McCartney. The effects and stunts are first class and the dialogue is witty, however, again this begs the question: what film was Rodriguez trying to make?
If modern audiences were forced to sit through the likes of Mardi Gras Massacre or Island of Death they would see that the marketing for these films was often far superior to the end product. Sadly, in contrast, Rodriguez's reverential look at 1970s horror cinema is slick, funny and well executed. However, in Planet Terror's attempts to make audiences sit back and say "whoa, cool!" it may have missed the original point.
6/10
Noel Mellor
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