From the Archives: Planet Terror
Tags: B-movie, Bruce Willis, Death Proof, El Wray, Fergie, From the Archives, Grindhouse, InDublin, Jeff Fahey, Josh Brolin, Kill Bill, Machete, Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Nancy Drew, Naveen Andrews, Planet Terror, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Rose McGowan, Sin City, Talking Movies, Texas, The Black Eye Peas
A bio-weapon is released over a small town causing its inhabitants to mutate into grotesque zombies. Go-Go dancer Cherry (McGowan) and her mysterious old flame El Wray (Rodriguez) must help the Sheriff (Biehn) kill the zombies while the scientist (Andrews) who created the virus finds an antidote.
When the first thing you see is the fake trailer for Machete you know that this is the real Grindhouse experience. Unlike Tarantino's boring Death Proof released some weeks ago Robert Rodriguez actually made an intentionally ridiculous and highly entertaining exploitation B-movie. There is an infectious sense of fun in Planet Terror which is the polar opposite of his previous movie, the grotesque, witless garbage known as Sin City. It's exemplified by his great score as Rodriguez keeps recycling one great riff in hilarious variations. Tarantino wimped out on the idea of using a Missing Reel but Rodriguez uses it sublimely. The image starts to degrade during a sex scene and freezes on a naked Rose McGowan. The nude image is pulled, an apology for the missing reel is displayed and BOOM, we're back at our heroes' base which is now inexplicably on fire, a key character has been shot, and some crucial back-story has been revealed. We know it's crucial because the characters keep commenting on just how crucial it is, but they never tell us what it is!!
Yes, there is an insane amount of gore and any number of gross out moments which will have the audience moaning in revulsion at the telegraphed shlock effect. Naveen Andrews' scientist likes to 'cut the balls off people who betray' him. If you don't like the castration in the opening scene you should probably leave as you're really not going to be able to handle what happens to Quentin Tarantino towards the end. But for the most part it's all so over the top that unlike Kill Bill it does actually become funny. The zombies begin to resemble water-bombs so easily do they explode in a spray of blood if hit by a single bullet. Bruce Willis, following his turn in Nancy Drew, once again has a ball moonlighting in an uncredited cameo.
Planet Terror lets all its characters say or do something memorable. The sub-plots are all cheerfully small-fry compared to the zombie apocalypse engulfing the town. Dr Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) is cheating on her sinister husband Dr William Block (Josh Brolin) with Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas, while Sheriff Hague is rack-renting his chef brother JT (Jeff Fahey in fine form) who refuses to divulge to him his secret recipe for the best barbeque in Texas. It's all nonsense but Rodriguez delivers the clichés and heroic posturing of bad 1970s horror films so joyfully that you have to salute his faithfulness to his cheesy forebears and can't but enjoy yourself. As for Rose McGowan's rifle leg. Well, that's just the cherry on the cake…