Planet Terror (2007)

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Stars: Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodríguez, Josh Brolin
Runtime: 105 minutes

Synopsis: After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it's up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 5/10
Editing: 7/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Entertainment Factor: 7/10

Verdict: Being the second half of the Grindhouse double feature, it's difficult to watch "Planet Terror" without comparing it to "Death Proof". The two share many similarities as they both pay tribute to exploitation films that were popular back in the 1970s and do a more than efficient job at recreating the over-the-top - almost to a ridiculous extent - tone that used to make them loved by so many people. They serve no other purpose than providing a fun experience to the audience and achieve exactly that.

However, I did feel that "Planet Terror" focused a bit too much on the cool factor, which unfortunately came at the expense of character depth. "Death Proof" was a blast for me because I cared about the protagonists, the dialogue, and the story. The stunts and action scenes were just icing on an already delicious cake. Robert Rodriguez's film is pretty much all icing and barely any cake to come with it, which is enjoyable at the start but begins to become exhausting and repetitive as time flies by.

"Planet Terror" may not be as good as "Death Proof" but is certainly still fun to sit through. It's well crafted, well acted, but does lack some dimension to it that would've made it a lot more compelling. I enjoyed it enough to give its spin-offs a try in the near future, and would still recommend it to people who find that genre to be interesting.

FINAL GRADE: 6/10