First, a word about this childish boycott. "Grindhouse" gave us two brilliant genre films for the price of one in the theaters. It was a once in a lifetime experience for most of us and a chance to see the two most bada$* directors in Hollywood give us 3+ hours of hardcore horror entertainment including the funniest faux-trailers your likely to ever see. And it bombed. Big time. Why? Because lazy America said it'd wait for the DVD because the film was too long and lost the chance to support a truly brilliant idea and show that we are sick and tired of cardboard cutout PG-13 teen horror and bad remakes of beloved cult classics. They went to see "Disturbia" instead. "Grindhouse" was what true horror fans -hell, what all true film fanaticshave been dying for and shame on all of you who missed it. So the studio took a loss for taking a chance on this idea and as a result, they've split the two films up with extra scenes that were cut for time and are giving us these two films as we haven't yet seen them, each in double-dic editions packed with extras. Awesome, right? Weeeeeellllll, now the same whiners who stiffed the films in the theaters are angry they missed out and want both films on one DVD (as if there'd even be room) for a discount price. Sorry, but it don't work that way. The theatrical cut was packaged as just that, an experience for the theaters simulating the double-feature drive-in days of old. Even if that experience would translate to DVD, why would the company re-release it in a form that already failed miserably? The bottom line is this: we now have another chance to show that THIS is what we as horror fans want to see and the only way to do that is to buy these great-looking DVDs. The notion that making the films bomb yet again on DVD is going to lead to some super-duper deluxe theatrical edition must have been conceived in the mind of a five year old on crack. If we don't support these editions, these films will die and the studio will waste no more money on this failed project or any like it in the future. This is basic business sense. Support true horror and boycott crappy remakes and bloated sequels *cough*Spiderman3*cough* instead."Planet Terror" as you already know, was Robert Rodriguez's half of "Grindhouse" and while it's artistically inferior to it's sister film (Tarantino's "Death Proof"), Rodriguez brings the campy action, hardcore gore, and zombie awesomeness hard and fast like you know he can. The music, as always, rocks and grooves, the deaths will make you laugh and recoil in disgust, and Rose McGowan may well be the sexiest thing on the planet. The story is nonsense, of course, and the dialogue is hammy and shooting a grenade launcher directly into the ground will NOT launch you into the air (not in one piece, anyway) like a superhero, but this film is of the kind where this sort of unreal madness only makes you love it more and leaves you drunk and giddy with the chaos. It's silly, but you will love it. Much of "Planet Terror" makes me feel like I'm watching the most kicka$# video game ever made; a game I'd really love to play.
The movie is packed with recurring jokes and funny, memorable dialogue (much of which is based on Rose McGownan's real personality) that pays off in spades down the line. Rodriguez did not skimp on the cast, either. Sure, he cast most of his family plus his doctor and even his freakin' real-estate agent, but they are all fantastic. Bruce Willis chews the scenery, Freddy Rodriguez is THE zombie-killing machine, Quentin Tarantino plays "rapist #1", and you know it's a true undead party when Tom Savini hits the scene. Also, Fergie plays a lesbian who gets her brain eaten by the marauding undead. Yes, I know if this was realistic the scene would have played out like the Simpsons episode where the zombies moan "braaaaaainsss" as they feel her head and then, finding none, leave the so-vapid-she's-sexy pop tart to ponder her 15 minutes of fame; but like I was saying, this is not a realistic movie and any dead Black-eyed Peas member is a good one.
If anyone knows how to do extras right, it's Robert Rodriguez. You've got the standard commentary, plus the audience reaction track from the film's premiere (a personal favorite), his patented "10 minute film school", and yes, the "Machette" trailer still precedes the film. Sweet. The rest of the bonus features largely mirror the "Death Proof" DVD with lots of love for the cast and stuntpeople; very informative and very entertaining. I was actually hoping for more restored footage to the actual movie then we get (more crazy babysitter twins, anyone?) and the visual defects and missing reel -which was fun in the theaterare still there and not nearly as cute, but these are my only gripes. I could seriously write for days about all the things I love about this movie, but I'll just say one more thing before wrapping up: I sure could go for some barbeque.
"Planet Terror" brings some seriously awesome action-horror that delivers everything you want in a zombie film and you'd be a fool to pass on it just because you don't get a whole other movie free. Buy it, buy "Death Proof", and then go wave your copies at the moron down the street who's boycotting.
Buy Planet Terror (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2007) Now
Robert Rodriguez ("El Mariachi," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico") and Quentin Tarantino (do I need to list references?) have famously teamed up on a number of projects ("Desperado," "Sin City"). While these two cinemaphiles always appear to have a blast making their movies, the "Grindhouse" project may be the paragon of their mad-cap filmmaking self-indulgence."Grindhouse" was a double-feature in which RR and QT each provided a flick designed to be a homage to the low-budget horror/exploitation films of the 60s and 70s. "Planet Terror" is RR's entry, although QT makes quite an impression in an extended cameo as a deranged military nutcase. QT's half was "Death Proof," which I won't review here, but it's definitely of a piece with "Planet Terror."
Zombie films are seemingly as popular now as ever, so RR's spoof/tribute is timely. The flick opens with a hilarious mock trailer for "Machete," an X-rated revenge flick. The film quality of the trailer is terrible RR fakes wear-and-tear on the film and includes skips and flaws in the soundtrack as a tribute to the grindhouse experience. This works fine in the trailer, but as it continues into the feature film, it gets more than a little annoying after 60 minutes.
"Planet Terror" opens up with a zombie outbreak in Texas, thanks to military hijinx led by Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) for reasons unknown. Soon zombies are tearing across the countryside, rending the innocent and not-so-innocent limb from limb. Unfortunately, "Planet Terror" is aiming more for humor and gross-outs rather than genuine scares, so be prepared to wince rather than cringe. Some of the jokes really work, such as several close-ups of the "humps" of Black Eyed Peas singer/ornament Fergie, just before the zombies tear her humps apart. There's also a clever "Missing Reel," alert, with apologies from theater management, just when a love scene between stripper Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan) and Wray (Freddie Rodgriguez) gets its most "exploitative."
Ultimately, this is not a good horror movie in that it will not create any genuine terror, a la the original "Halloween," "Nightmare on Elm Street," or even "Dawn of the Dead." But it must be said that there are two types of horror movies, and this is the second type the kind that goes for dark humor, ridiculiously-sensational death scenes, and blood by the barrelful. That kind of horror movie doesn't appeal to me all that much, truth be told, but if that's your game I expect "Planet Terror" will find its way to the top of your DVD stack pretty quickly.
For what it is, I cannot imagine a movie doing a better job of hitting its target than "Planet Terror." It is a tribute to bad taste and bad movies and for what it is, almost as much fun as RR and QT had making it.
Read Best Reviews of Planet Terror (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2007) Here
What makes Planet Terror so good is that it is just simple fun. The plot the characters, the acting, the effects...they are all horrible. The film is simple one-liners, idiotic characters and over the top mayhem. It is an excuse to blow stuff up and spout cheesy lines while taking down zombies in a rain of blood. There are a few clunky "heavy" moments in the film that feel bogged down and are quite painful but if you can make it through them there is a fun ride in store for you. The filming made me laugh when the missing reel message popped up and the warbles and pops are a fun throwback to horrible, horrible "grindhouse" films.I think there is a lot of the experience that was lost when the movies were split up outside of the theater. I wish that a true theatrical running of double-feature with advertisements and trailers was available because that is what I really want. By themselves, I wouldn't purchase either Planet Terror or Deathproof but I'd rent them for a weekend with the guys while knocking back a few and tearing into some good BBQ.
Want Planet Terror (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2007) Discount?
After seeing Grindhouse in the theaters, it became an instant favorite of mine. I've gone through a few DVDs so far (US DVD and Japanese 8-disc set) before getting the blu-ray I have to say there definitely is an upgrade here (despite the old/torn up/dragged through the dirt look of the film). I'll start off by saying that it looks exactly as it was intended to look (and I hate it whenever people say that, as it usually means "It doesn't look that good, but it's not supposed to, so I give it 5 stars") there is a significant increase in the sharpness of the film, but the blu-ray also includes an exclusive version of the film without the "grindhouse look" a nice clean print if you ever just want to sit down and watch it without all of the damage (a very cool extra, even if just to check out). Overall the video is a significant jump from the DVD Release and looks very nice. Great audio track to go along with the video definitely a fun action/horror movie to sit back and crank up the volume to. All extras from the DVD release are carried over and round out the package nicely (the only new extra being the scratch-free version mentioned above)For anyone who has seen Grindhouse in theaters, it's important to note that this is only the Planet Terror portion of the film it has been extended (almost half an hour longer) this may be a good or bad thing based on which version you like. I personally like both versions (extended individual versions and the double-feature) for different reasons currently, the double-feature isn't available on DVD or Blu Ray in the US, so there aren't many options.
What could have made it better? Picture in picture track and all of the theatrical trailers on the disc (currently the disc only has Machete on it).
If you don't have it on any format, I highly recommend it. It's a nice zombie/action movie don't expect too many scares, but if you want to sit back and have a fun time, this is the perfect movie. If you own it on DVD, I still recommend the upgrade to the Blu Ray for the extra feature (scratch-free version) and the significant A/V upgrade.
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