After crash landing on a harsh, barren planet, a group of spacemen must fight back against the reanimated corpses of their fallen comrades.
I'm not much for Mario Bava, but I recognize the debt many of my favorite genre films (particularly those by Dario Argento) owe to his work. So, at least once a year I'll give another Bava film a shot. Mostly, that results in me watching a lot of forgettable movies (Shock) and unwatchable crap (Twitch of the Death Nerve, 5 Dolls For an August Moon), but every now and then you find a good one, like Black Sabbath or Blood and Black Lace.
Planet of the Vampires is more in the forgettable category, but that at least is preferable to unwatchable crap. It's a low budget sci-fi/horror film with a promising setup, but a languid pace that sputters its way to an underwhelming climax. What almost saves the film is Bava's style. He gives it a bold, comic book vibe, using sparse sets light with bright, solid colors. It looks cheaper than an episode of "Lost in Space," but Bava doesn't shy away from it, and instead turns the cheapness into a sometimes effective aesthetic choice.
Grade: C
2 comments:
Ha, this is also on my instant view. Though I'll most likely delete it; doesn't sound that fun.
Also, speaking of Italian horror flicks on instant view, I watched New York Ripper with some friends and we all kind of dug it. It's not as good as a House by the Cemetary or anything, but it's no Aenigma, and certainly not as shitty as you always said it was. The first half especially I thought had some pretty cool things in it, and it's really sleazy which is fun.
Okay, well I'm not opposed to giving it another shot some day. If I recall, I watched it that summer I worked at Hollywood Video after work one night at probably 3 in the morning, so maybe I was just tired and unresponsive.
Also, I've been trying for years to remember what was up with that bearded guy. He plays chess by himself (maybe?) and has some soliloquy about how he's smarter than the cops. Am I remembering it right at all?
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