Sunday, October 28, 2007

Horror Fest Day Two: Planet Terror

Here's an important thing to remember about watching Planet Terror (or, for that matter, Death Proof): watch it with other people, particularly those who haven't seen it. What's really fun by yourself becomes friggin' awesome in the company of others.

For one thing, the Machete trailer is the perfect warm up for Planet Terror, because it puts you in the right mood for what you're about to see. I know I tend to criticize Rodriguez for putting really cool camera angles and effects gimmicks in at the expense of story, but since the trailer for Machete is just that, a trailer, then it's all he needs. Like Eli Roth said about his Thanksgiving trailer, it's all the best moments rolled into two and a half minutes, so why not go all out?

But Planet Terror doesn't suffer from the same problem I have with Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Sin City. In fact, for the first time in a long while, Rodriguez finds a way to weave all of his ridiculous ideas into a story nutty enough to accomodate them. There's not a second in Planet Terror that feels like he's just dicking around because it looks cool or because there's a neat gag on camera; instead, he just rolls them into the grittiest homage to John Carpenter films and Cannon Studios that you're ever likely to see. (For those of you who think I'm just paying the Carpenter comparison lip service, I suggest you watch The Fog, Assault on Precinct Thirteen, and Prince of Darkness, then Planet Terror, then we'll talk.)

I could probably babble on and on about this movie, but there's still at least one thing left to watch, and sunlight is rapidly approaching...

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