Planet Terror (2007)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Cast: Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling, Freddy Rodríguez as Wray (as Freddy Rodriguez), Josh Brolin as Dr. William Block, Marley Shelton as Dr. Dakota Block, Jeff Fahey as J.T., Michael Biehn as Sheriff Hague, Rebel Rodriguez as Tony Block, Bruce Willis as Lt. Muldoon, Naveen Andrews as Abby, Julio Oscar Mechoso as Romy, Stacy Ferguson as Tammy, Nicky Katt as Joe, Hung Nguyen as Dr. Crane, Cecilia Conti as Paramedic Cecil, Tommy Nix as Paramedic Nixer

While Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof seems to be a much more authentic
representation of 1970s grindhouse pictures, Robert Rodriguez' Planet
Terror is more of a loving caricature of 1980s zombie splatter films.
Nothing in the film is played straight, and virtually every scene is
accompanied by a wink and a grin at the audience.

If Tarantino's effort is accused of being slow (or deliberately paced,
depending on your opinion), Planet Terror never even thinks about
slowing down. From the exploitative opening credits through to the
final frames of the film, this is a roller coaster ride of a film that
doesn't let up.

With Planet Terror, Robert Rodriguez continues his "everything and the
kitchen sink" mentality when it comes to his film-making by throwing
everything at the wall just to see what sticks. While it sometimes
feels like this technique gets in the way of Rodriguez finding a true
film-making voice, it works quite well for a film like Planet Terror
where there's no room for subtlety.

The cast that Rodriguez assembled is a glorious ensemble of bygone
action heroes, horror icons, and Rodriguez stock actors. They all bring
their parts to life in a cartoonish sort of way that fits the tone of
the movie beautifully.

While the uncut DVD edition of Planet Terror doesn't change the film
drastically in any way, it definitely improves the film. It gives the
film smoother transitions and fills in some gaps in the plot (though
that missing reel is still there and will always remain there as one of
the many comical winks at the audience). The large cast of characters
are also given more beats here and there that help fill out their
personas a little more. All in all, this uncut version simply allows
the film to breathe a little more, rather than having to jump
frantically from scene to scene in an effort to make the 84 minute
running time.

At the end of the day, Planet Terror isn't going to win any awards, and
it's certainly not meant to. It's simply an extremely enjoyable guilty
pleasure of a film that virtually anyone with the stomach for it can
probably have a good time with, especially if you're a horror fan. Take
a couple of classic John Carpenter films like The Fog and Escape From
New York and throw them into a blender with a couple of classic zombie
splatter films like Evil Dead 2 and Dawn of the Dead and you've got a
pretty good idea of what Planet Terror is like. And at the end of the
day, you could definitely have a worse combination of films to pay
loving homage to.