AFTER Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof comes the second part of the Grindhouse project, with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror.

The two directors’ homage to 70s slasher and Xploitation movies were originally intended for release as a double feature but the idea failed to grip audiences in America, and the films were turned into single features.

Planet Terror is deceptively named, as this is very much played for laughs – the violence is comic book and often hilarious. The earthquake which hit Waterloo as I was watching it was far scarier!

A virus hits a backwater American town, turning inhabitants into flesh eating Zombies. A group of survivors led by Wray (Freddy Rodriguez from Six Feet Under) and Cherry Dawson (Rose McGowan, whose stand-up career is destined to fall flat due to her leg being eaten off) lead the fightback. There is lots of subtle undermining of many other genres, including porn and TV drama series, while the print is decidedly B-movie for that extra authentic feel.

This is not my genre, but I fell under its spell eventually. The sight of Rodriguez escaping a Zombie posse on a kids’ motorbike throwing a wheelie will stay with me for ages.

Rating: 4/5

Extras: 5/5

• Post to:
•  del.icio.us
•  Digg
•  Newsvine
•  Nowpublic
•  Reddit