Planet Terror

You have go to love Robert Rodriguez's boyish enthusiasm, especially when you see him with his partner in crime QT on the DVD of PLANET TERROR, which is out on March 10. One of the things that really stands out with Rodriguez's DVD releases is the extras, or special features if you prefer. RR has always been a hands-on multitasking filmmaker, and has continued to do so since his first movie success with EL MARIACHI when budgetary constraints were no longer an issue. As the credits to his latest films will attest, he is no longer a one man film studio although his name does invariably appear on the list as producer, writer, director, camera, composer, editor and one suspects on occasions craft services. Such multi-talented filmmakers are a rarity, but the danger with having so much control over a movie is the risk that they can end up self-indulgent rubbish, an accusation that has been levelled at the GRINDHOUSE project more than any of his other films (we'll not mention SHARKBOY AND LAVAGIRL). What the critics seem to overlook is the fact that he is an independent filmmaker because he wants to make the movies not only that he wants to make but also that he wants to see. He has never made any pretensions to being an auteur in the accepted sense of the word, even though he clearly is (just have a look at the categories he is listed under on his IMDb page).

PLANET TERROR is a case in point. It is unashamedly an homage to the films he loved to see as a teenager, the double bill B movie. What he has done is recreate the spirit of those movies but with top-notch movie actors and all the latest digital tools he has at his disposal. Unfortunately that is one of the movie's failings - the whole point of the genre is bad actors and cheap special effects (something Troma is proudly still doing). Considering that Rodriguez came started shooting on film would have made him an ideal candidate for truly replicating the look rather than relying on digital approximations that don't always work and look obviously contrived. The aging on DEATH PROOF looks far more realistic.

Having said all that the movie is great fun if you want to see a pastiche of zombie movies and is all the better for not taking itself as seriously as some entries into the genre. PLANET TERROR definitely has its lolling tongue firmly in its rotting, pestilent cheek. The dialogue is snappy and to the point and is there to quickly move from one action scene to the next.

As I already mentioned, there are plenty of extras, including the obligatory 10 Minute Film School, which is finished with an aside about the full GRINDHOUSE Special Edition DVD that is on its way soon. Speaking of which, the Prince Charles Cinema, off London's Leicester Square, is extending its season of the film into April following the sold out screening of the original GRINDHOUSE, as RR and QT intended it to be seen. Visit their website for show times - www.princecharlescinema.com.

If you missed out on seeing either of the GRINDHOUSE films at the cinema, where they can be enjoyed the most with other people, then why not get together with a much of your mates and watch it on DVD. And if you don't have any mates then the DVD has an additional soundtrack with cinema audience reactions, so you can turn down off the lights and turn up the surround sound and pretend. As QT says on the DVD, GRINDHOUSE is supposed to be like movie night round at his house.

PLANET TERROR is out on two-disc DVD on March 10 from Momentum and is available from major retailers including Amazon and Play.

We have two copies of the DVD to give away, courtesy of Momentum. Click the link below to enter the competition. Entries close March 28 2008.

Watch trailer and clips (QuickTime)

Trailer

Clip 1


Review: Chris Patmore