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6
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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With
this eerie, influential sci-fi thriller Italian
director Mario Bava (Black
Sunday, Whip And The
Body) again demonstrates not only his mastery
of cinema visuals, but a marvelous knack for squeezing
maximum potential from the smallest of budgets.
Two interstellar spacecraft,
the Argos and the Galliot, are on
a mission to investigate a mysterious distress
call emanating from a distant, uncharted planet.
The moment they arrive in orbit something goes
terribly wrong. The crews are knocked unconscious
and the ships appear to land themselves. Aboard
the Argos, crewmembers inexplicably attack
each other with murderous intent. Only the quick
thinking and decisive actions of Captain Markary
(Barry Sullivan), skipper of the Argos
and overall mission commander, prevent disaster.
After their brief moments of madness the Argos
personnel recover their wits and set about taking
stock of the situation. The planet, though possessing
a breathable atmosphere, is a dark, hellish landscape
of craggy boulders, bubbling lava pits and omnipresent
fog.
A desperate message from the
Galliot is received but then contact is
lost. Markary organizes the Argos crew
to look for the downed ship and safeguard their
own. The Galliot, having also landed, is
soon located but its captain and crew are found
dead — murdered by their own hand. It would seem
that the same "space madness" which affected the
Argos' crew took a much more deadly toll
aboard their sister ship. Markary and his science
officer begin to suspect that an alien intelligence
is at work, acting against them. Their suspicions
are confirmed when the bodies of some of the Galliot
crew mysteriously disappear…
By no means a sci-fi classic,
Planet Of The Vampires
is nonetheless an entertaining excursion into
the wonderful visual universe of Mario Bava. The
late Italian maestro, a special effects artist
and cinematographer before becoming a director,
is perhaps unmatched in cinema history for his
ability to make the cheapest productions look
far more expensive than they actually were. In
the case of Planet Of The
Vampires Bava recycled sets left over from
a sword and sandal ("peplum") picture. By manipulating
predominantly red and green gel lighting and the
addition of massive amounts of smoke and fog,
he not only camouflages the cheesy sets but effectively
conjures an eerie, haunted alien landscape that
puts to shame anything seen on, say, original
Star
Trek. (In that show, the Cartwright clan of
Bonanza would not have looked out of place
on some of its "outdoor" planet sets.) The toy-like
spaceships are another matter. Unfortunately they're
just a step up from the laughable effects seen
in The Green Slime.
But again Bava is able to work his visual magic.
The landing of the Argos is remarkably
effective, especially when one considers it's
a model being lowered into a cloudy fish tank
with colored lighting shining through the glass.
Only Bava and his team could make "bad" special
effects look so cool! Speaking of cool, the Dracula-collared
leather uniforms worn by the Argos crew
are as groovy as they are impractical. (Fashions
from Mistress Dita's Jetsons Collection?) All
female astronauts in Italian sci-fi flicks are
babes, of course, so the two shapely space gals
strutting around in this one fill theirs out nicely.
NOTE: Planet Of The Vampires
was an obvious influence on Ridley Scott's Alien,
the plot of which is an amalgam of this film's
story and It! The Terror From
Beyond Space. As in Scott's 1979 hit, the
Argos crew discovers a derelict alien ship
— the tomb of unlucky space travelers who arrived
on the planet centuries before they did.
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MGM's
release of Planet Of The Vampires
is, like most titles in the "Midnite Movie" line
of DVDs, devoid of any extras besides the original
theatrical trailer. The film is presented in widescreen
format, however, which is the only way to see anything
directed by Mario Bava. The transfer appears a tad
soft in some scenes but given the movie's age and
obscurity looks remarkably good. Though the Dolby
Mono audio mix is nothing special, dialog and sound
effects are crisp and clear.
The best
aspect of the DVD —
indeed, of all the Midnite Movie titles —
is that they're "budget" discs. Priced at less than
$14 on e-merchant websites, they can be picked up
at some retail stores (when you can find 'em!) for
under ten bucks. This is one helluva deal; MGM is
to be commended.
8/23/01 |
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