Director: Robert Rodriguez
Written by: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton

Year / Country: 2007, USA
Running Time: 105 mins.

After an experimental bio-weapon is released, thousands of civilians are turned into zombie-like creatures. It is up to a small group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release. The group of survivors includes go-go dancer Cherry Darling and her ex-boyfriend, the mysterious El Wray. Cherry is searching for ways to put her ‘useless talents’ to good use. The zombie threat might give her a great opportunity for this.

Planet Terror is Rodriguez’ contribution to the double-bill Grindhouse. It is also a tribute to the zombie genre. Opinions differ on whether Planet Terror or Tarantino’s Death Proof is the best part of Grindhouse. I personally prefer Tarantino’s production. Since the idea behind Grindhouse was to replicate the experience of viewing exploitation films in a ‘grindhouse’ theatre, it is probably not the best idea to make a high budget too apparent. With Death Proof this is the case. Planet Terror on the other hand has so many explosions and spectacular action scenes a la Desperado that it is obviously a movie shot on a major budget. The casting of Hollywood icon Bruce Willis also doesn’t contribute to the exploitation feel. It is however successful in delivering entertainment without any pretensions. There is no film that has a cooler way of showing zombies getting blown to bits.

Some casting choices have also turned out well. Rose McGowan proves to be, especially in the go-go dance-opening scene, to be one of the sexiest actresses around. She gets good support from Rodriguez (no relation), who positions himself well as an action star. As a proper zombie tribute requires, Tom Savini is present for a bit part. Many of the other cast members have worked with Rodriguez before. All in all, Planet Terror is not exactly a masterpiece, not in general nor in its kind. But…there are definitely fun bits. Some extremely gory hospital scenes come to mind.

Rating:

Biography: Robert Rodriguez (1988, Texas) saw John Carpenter’s Escape From New York in 1981 and proclaimed “I am going to make movies”. Ten years later, Rodriguez made his feature debut with El Mariachi, an almost single handedly made action film that cost him only 7.000 dollars. It made Rodriguez a legend of independent, ultra-low budget filmmaking. His further career is a sign for young filmmakers that even the wildest dreams may come true if you are brave enough to follow your own path. He has directed many movies since, often collaborating with Quentin Tarantino. Besides directing, he frequently acts as cinematographer like he did on El Mariachi.

Filmography (a selection): Bedhead (1991, short), El Mariachi (1992), Roadracers (1994, TV), Desperado (1995), Four Rooms (1996, segment ‘The Misbehavors’), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), Grindhouse (2007, segment ‘Planet Terror’), Machete (2010), Machete Kills (2013), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), The Mandalorian (2020, TV episode)