Planet Terror Film Review

There are certain directors that even when you hear there names you never really know just what it is that your going to be getting. With the same thing being true for this film director , writer , producer , editor and many more things as Robert Rodriguez usually gives us different things with each passing film that he makes be it his more child friendly films like Spy Kids and Sharkboy and Lavagirl to his more bonkers films like From Dusk Till Dawn well in 2007 he proved just how much of a film nerd that he is by releasing a film that is completely insane and also one half of a double feature with the other film being directed by Quentin Tarantino and so then join me as I review the film that really technically takes place in the world of Kill Bill with the film in question being called simply just "Planet Terror" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when a zombie outbreak occurs in a small town in Texas a ragtag group of survivors have to try and find a way out of town before the zombies get them. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad as this films plot is meant to be crazy and insane and that's exactly what it is as  this films plot is basically an eighties zombie movie but with crazy and insane action sequences thrown in as well as over the top gore and makeup effects with that kind of love and passion for old school cinema that Rodriguez has really shining through in the plot of this film and while yes this films plot could have been alot more better then what it was but given just what it's a love letter to and the fact that zombie movies don't typically gave deep and thought provoking plots to them in the first place this is a case where having a thinly drawn out plot only adds to the overall experience of watching a Grindhouse film as those films don't typically have the best plots in them either with this films plot being alot more fun to watch then it really had any right to be as by all rights this films plot should have been really bad and yet due to the fact that it's just so insane and just so crazy that you can't help but to buy into it despite it not really being the best plot out there with this films plot also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling , Freddy Rodriguez as "El Wray" and Josh Brolin as Dr. William Block. Also starring in this film is Marley Shelton as Dr. Dakota Block , Jeff Fahey as J.T. Hague , Michael Biehn as Sheriff Hague , Rebel Rodriguez as Tony Block , Naveen Andrews as Dr. John "Abby" Abbington , Julio Oscar Mechoso as Romy , Fergie as Tammy Visan , Nicky Katt as Joe , Hung Nguyen as Dr. Crane , Tom Savini as Deputy Tolo , Carlos Gallardo as Deputy Carlos , Skip Reissig as Skip , Electra Avellan as Crazy Babysitter Twin , Elise Avellan as Crazy Babysitter Twin , Quentin Tarantino as Lewis , Michael Parks as Earl McGraw and Bruce Willis as Lieutenant Muldoon.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With all of this films actors turning in some really good performances with it being clear as day that all of them knew what kind of film that they were making and so because of that they just had fun with making this film and that's something that really does shine through in all of this films performances and while it's also painfully clear that Bruce Willis never shot a frame of footage for this film with the other actors something that Rodriguez even admits to in this films DVD commentary it's not something that effects any of the actors performances as it does feel like that he was there filming scenes with them alot of the time in the scenes that is meant to feature his character and one of the other main characters and yet because of how good this films actors really are you don't get the feeling that the scenes were shot on different days with the best actor in this film being both Freddy Rodriguez as "El Wray" and Josh Brolin as Dr. William Block with both actors making their respective characters not only sound really awsome but doing a good job of either making them come across as being more insane then what they actually and also very much in control as they know just what it is that there doing with the acting that's in this film also being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the CGI for this film is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Troublemaker Digital Studios , The Orphanage and Matchframe Video. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with this being something that's true for alot of aspects pf this film as well as this films effects where made to noy only look cheap but also rather cheaply as well as this film was also sharing it's budget with the other half of Grindhouse in Death Proof and because of that corners from both films did have to be cut which in this case does mean having some pretty cheap looking effects in the film but this is something that does add in to the fact that this is a grindhouse film as alot of those types of films did also have some pretty cheap looking effects in them as well with the films effects here mainly being used to remove one of Rose McGowan's legs which is a pretty decent looking effects and while yes granted this film does have some really cheap looking projection shots this is something that could also be chalked up to the fact that it was sharing it's budget and not due to the effects themselves being pretty altho that is also apart of the issues as well with the makers of this films also adding in CGI scratches to the film to make it look like that the film was more beat up then what it actually was with that one effect being the best one in the film as it's something that you don't really think was an effect but due to the fact that this film was shot digitally it was the only way that they could achieve that grindhouse look and it's something that did work well in the finished product as well.

Whilst this might be a bit of reach but it seems that not only this film but also Death Proof might also take place in the world of Kill Bill. As not only does this film feature the same brand of smokes that are used in those films but both Planet Terror and Death Proof also have Michael Parks as Earl McGraw with Death Proof even having James Parks as Ranger Edgar McGraw roles which they also played in Kill Bill and while Michael Parks also played Earl in other films as well it would be hard to justify the world of Kill Bill also being home to vampires where as here you could very easily say that Planet Terror takes place after the events of Kill Bill which wouldn't be that much of a stretch as wee know from this film that it takes place after the events of Death Proof but it is odd to think that these three films could all be connected and while it might be a stretch as it very well could be written off as those actors simply playing different versions of those characters it is fun to think that somewhere in the world of Planet Terror The Bride is out there beating up zombies and it does also make you wonder if it was always the plan for all of these films to be connected in someway as having the same brand of smokes could be seen as Rodriguez just tipping the hat to his Quentin Tarantino and Rodriguez has used the Earl Mcgraw character in other movies but for Tarantino to then not only use the same character but also bring back his son as well and feature a character from Planet Terror in this case Dr. Dakota Block that just seems like to much of a coincidence but if it is just that then it does also serve as being a fun little easter egg for fans of both directors as well.

This film is meant to be a comedy and yet it's in this aspect where the film fails as it's not really all that funny of a hell. With the makers of this film putting alot more focus on both it's action and it's horror then they did the comedy aspect of the film with the film not even getting that many actual jokes in it with the only two running jokes that the films ha being that everyone says that Cherry should be a stand up comedian even tho she thinks that she's not all that funny and the fact that Tolo isn't the brightest bulb out there and that's really it and while some of Cherry's jokes are so0 bad that you can't help but laugh at them like the fact that she has a snarky quip when Ray just straight up tells her that she's not funny which was a decent enough joke but it's not enough to build an entire running joke out of and the running joke with Tolo while it does work it doesn't work as well as it could have done as you have to know alot of the characters that Tom Savini plays in order for that joke to fully work as the film doesn't give him enough moments to prove that he's dumb due to the fact that the character doesn't appear in alot of the film with the best running joke in the whole film being the fact that there's a missing real in the film which was something that does work as it's in that real where they not only explain what Ray's backstory is but also give Tolo another chance to show us just why he's dumb among many other things and yet t's due to the fact that the film does gave that missing real that it not only plays up the whole grindhouse aspects of it alot more but the film oddly also still works as well which is somethin that makes that joke the best joke in the whole film.

With this film being a zombie film it would be easy to think that they don't really explain where the zombies in this film come from. However this is where this film would surprise you even more as they do exactly that by saying that the zombies or "sickos" as there called in this film come from something scientific that's released into the air which granted is the most basic thing that the makers of this film could have gone with to explain where there zombies come from but given that alot of zombie films and TV shows don't even do that with alot of them not even bothering to explain anything about them the fact that we got this basic origin story for them is something that does work and it's also something that works for this film as this film is meant to be a throwback to the zombie films of the eighties and in those films the zombies did nine times out of ten come from something scientific that was released into the air and with this film being an homage to those films even down to the film using really basic names for it's locations something which again is pointed out in the films directors commentary it does make sense for this film to have that really basic origin story for the zombie with the film even having some really good looking effects for the zombies done by KNB EFX Group which do look really good and while the film doesn't have alot of emphasis on horror as it's more focused on it's action when it does get to be scary it can be pretty effective with the film making great use of old school scare tactics like having a zombie run across the scene as some creepy music plays or like having a group of zombies come out of nowhere to attack someone all of which while yes they are corny they also work really well as well.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and forty five minuets and forty six seconds. Which might not seem like much but when you add in the fact that the film also includes a roughly two and half to three minuet long fake trailer for Machete that now makes the running time even more shorter then what it already was as while the film does have plenty of plot there to cover that running time it also doesn't use it's running time all that wisely either as the film can't develop it's plot as it just doesn't have the time to do so as it now has to rush at breakneck pace to get to the next plot beat which is something that might have been in other Grindhouse type films but they also didn't have fake trailers open there movie and so they could afford to spend a bit more extra time to develop there plots something that this film can't do as it now has to fit an extra trailer for what would become a real movie almost three years later and the film doesn't really develop all of it's characters all that well either as none of the characters get a moment outside of Cherry to showcase any kind of character growth or development but in this case it is something that could be chalked to those scenes being in the films "missing real" and not something that was ever meant to be shown on screen which if that is the case then it really makes Rodriguez out to be a really smart filmmaker who really knows his stuff but if not then it makes him to be a really lazy filmmaker either way there really should have been some character development shown to us on screen as that would have helped us to connect more with the films characters but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is an action film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual action that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really cool. With this films action just straight up being the best part of the film as you can tell right away that the makers of this film where just having so much fun with coming with these over the top and yet still somehow entertaining action scenes and all of them not only work but they also help to get across the fact that anything can and does happen during these action sequences and because of that it does make them all the more fun to watch and while there is room for having more serious action scenes like the ones seen in Taken for example there's also nothing wrong with having action scenes that are filled to the brim with things that are just straight up cool to see as sometimes that's all you need to make your film fun and entertaining to watch and that's something that Robert Rodriguez understood while he was making this movie with the best action scene in the whole entire movie just due to how crazy and insane it is is when the group of heroes have to try and breakout of the Military Base and they do so by having Cherry use the gun that's been attached to her leg to blast herself over the wall to take out several dozen infected army soldiers whilst also using her skills as a dancer to dodge a rocket which is just so cool to see but then you add in the fact that the group also used a diversion by having several explosives go off around them to help to possibly destroy the base as well and the whole thing just comes across as being all the more over the top and fun to watch then it what it already is with the same thing also being true for all of this films action scenes as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall it's not that hard to see why this film is not only the better of the two halves of Grindhouse but also why this films fake trailer would also be the first fake trailer to get it's own feature length film in "Machete" as while yes this film really does have alot of flaws to it it's also just a really fun film that doesn't take itself two seriously in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this verry review and a such that really odes mean that this film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from the official Planet Terror fandom wiki page , Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.

Grindhouse Film Review

Double feature films are sadly a thing of the past with them only being remembered by the most die hard of cinema lovers. With two of those lovers being Hollywood heavyweights Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino doing something to set that right and as a result of that is in the year 2007 we got a double feature from two directors who really just make whatever kind of film that they want to make and so then join me as a I review that really should have been a hit film with the film in question being called simply just "Grindhouse" enjoy.

The plots of this film is in Planet Terror a group of survivors find there small Texan town overrun by zombies and have to do whatever it takes to survive where as in Death Proof a group of people have to outwit a deadly stuntman who wants them all dead and buried. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually feature / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty not that bad with the plot of Planet Terror being the better of the two films plot wise as it not only embraces the zombie genre but also has alot of fun with it where as the plot of Death Proof just felt like that it was Tarantino on auto pilot that's not to say that it's a bad plot because it's not it's just that you expect better from the writer and director of Kill Bill and The Hateful Eight with the plots of the films both being really entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in these films is Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling and Pam , Freddy Rodriguez as El Wray and Josh Brolin as Dr. William Block. Also starring in this film is Marley Shelton as Dr. Dakota Block , Jeff Fahey as J.T. Hague , Michael Biehn as Sheriff Hague , Rebel Rodriguez as Tony Block , Naveen Andrews as Dr. John "Abby" Abbington , Julio Oscar Mechoso as Romy , Fergie as Tammy Visan , Nicky Katt as Joe , Hung Nguyen as Dr. Crane , Tom Savini as Deputy Tolo , Carlos Gallardo as Deputy Carlos , Skip Reissig as Skip , Electra and Elise Avellan as The Crazy Babysitter Twins , Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike McKay , Zoë Bell as Herself , Rosario Dawson as Abernathy Ross , Vanessa Ferlito as Arlene , Sydney Tamiia Poitier as Jungle Julia Lucai , Tracie Thoms as Kim Mathis , Jordan Ladd as Shanna , Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lee Montgomery , Death Proofs writer , director and producer , Planet Terrors producer and the producer of Grindhouse Quentin Tarantino as Warren and Lewis , Marcy Harriell as Marcy , Eli Roth as Dov , Omar Doom as Nate , Michael Bacall as Omar , Monica Staggs as Lanna Frank , Jonathan Loughran as Jasper , James Parks as Ranger Edgar McGraw and Bruce Willis as Lieutenant Muldoon.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good for the most part. As while we do have some really good solid actors turning in some good performances in this film at the same time tho we also get alot of really bad performances in both of these films with the worst offender for this film being Planet Terror as that films writer , producer and director Robert Rodriguez just straight up hired his friends for alot of the roles and alot of them just can't act but at the same time the friends that he hired to do the film aren't actors and as a result to expect a good performance out of them just wouldn't make sense and of course we get some really good acting out of Death Proof as Quentin Tarantino knows how to get a good performance out of his cast with the acting for both films really being helped by the fact that the scripts of both of these films are so good that all these films casts have to do is just the say lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to improve the overall quality of the acting that's in this film.

Doing the CGI for these films is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Double Negative , The Orphanage and Troublemaker Digital Studios. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about thew actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in these very films well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual CGI that's actually featured / presented to us in these very films was in all honesty really good with Planet Terror having some really good use of CGI as it's only used to create something that would be physically impossible to create practically which is a really great way to use CGI as it's something that couldn't be done practically and has to be done in a computer which is a great way to use CGI instead of using to replace someone or something that was there on the day and replacing with something or someone else and it helps that the effect on the CGI good really does look really good and as is an effect that has aged really well all of these years later.

This film whilst not successful at the box office still somehow managed to spawn three spin off films all from the films many fake trailers. Which is a great way to continue on with this franchise without having to make a Grindhouse 2 but at the same time tho those films don't recapture the magic that is this film this is despite the fact that alot of those films are still really good films in there own and heck even two of those film have managed to spawn sequels with Machete getting Machete Kills and Thanksgiving is getting a sequel in 2025 but there's one trailer that's perfect for it's director and that's Werewolf Women Of The SS with this fake trailer making it seem like that it's the absolutely perfect film for it's director Rob Zombie as it has alot of things that Rob Zombie is known for however just going of the fake trailer it comes across the type of the film that would be perfect for a director like Rob Zombie to make as it's just balls to the wall insanity and given how much love Rob Zombie has for the horror genre it makes you wonder why he hasn't tried to turn Werewolf Women Of The SS into an actual movie.

Out of the two films while Death Proof is the better made film it's Planet Terror that's the more entertaining film to watch. As that film despite being very cheesy and like a low budget horror film it's also a film that has alot of the more cooler and just pure fun moments where as Death Proof on the other hand despite having the better acting out of the two and the more interesting premise out of the two films it's also the one that's the more boring of the two films as not alot actually happens which makes you wonder Quentin Tarantino decided that this script was good enough or decided that he was doing a good enough film as we know for a fact that he can make great films just look at the rest of his filmography as prove of that but while Death Proof isn't that good of a film it's still a good example of the director showing his love for classic cinema as we get very little to know CGI in Death Proof with it being all done practically and was most likely shot on film where as Planet Terror was shot digitally and it's that small attention to detail that makes this film a great throwback to something that will never be coming back. 

To give Death Proof some credit it's main villain Stuntman Mike is a somewhat good villain as while he does have a great way of killing people we the audience don't get the chance to find out why he is the way that he is. Where as with alot of the more villainous characters from Planet Terror we do get to understand why they are the way that they are and that makes it easier for us the audience to hate them where as with Stuntman Mike despite him being the more villain who is just a pure joy to watch in Death Proof just comes across as being very one note and as a result of that it makes it harder for us the audience to dislike him as we're not really given a reason to hate him outside of the fact that he's the villain and that's really it and as a result of that is the fact that he comes across as being a really forgettable villain when on paper he sounds like one of the more memorable horror villains and yet people don't talk about him and that's because of the fact that he is a forgettable villain where as the more villainous characters in Planet Terror are alot more memorable.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly three hours and eleven minuets and twenty one seconds. With each of this films two separate films being around one hour and thirty minuets each with that running time being a great running time for either film to have as both films have more then enough there interms of plot to really cover that large amount of running time with both films using there running time as best that they could have done in the short amount of time that they both had an while yes both films would have been better if they were slightly longer as then they could fully flesh out characters a bit more and make them stand out from all of the other horror characters and thus become alot more three dimensional in adding on even fifteen more minuets they'd be stretching there already pretty thinly drawn out plots even thinner but I will admit that both films really do have some really good pacing to them tho.

So now then as these are horror films that means that to have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in these very films well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in these very films were in all honesty not that bad. With both films having some really good kills and while Planet Terror has the more over the top and outlandish kills which are always fun to watch it's Death Proof that has the better kills in the fil just due to the fact that the kills main weapon is so unique in that it's his car and seeing him use that car to take out his victims in the films first half was really entertaining to see with and while the second half of Death Proof does have truly iconic car chase scene at the end of the film the film itself doesn't live up it's slasher name with Planet Terror having more kills all of which are just balls to wall fun to see in the film and it's those kills that help to make this film really fun to watch as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Overall out of the two films whilst Death Proof is the better made of the two films it's Planet Terror that's quite the more entertaining and better of the two films overall and both films go along way to showing you there respective directors love for cinema as a whole as both films are something that really do need to be seen to be believed in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in these very films in this very review and such that means that this very film really does earn itself a grand old total combined score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review ell then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review from Tenor , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this episode up on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.