Everyone loves a good zombie flick, right? Planet Terror is a grindhouse film for the GTA generation, complete with gratuitous, hyperbolic violence, sex and a slightly contrived sense of 'cool'.
Set in Texas, a zombie outbreak has taken place, turning its victims into disease-ridden, pustule popping living dead. The storyline is utterly ridiculous, complete with crude special effects and over the top violent action. And just when you think it couldn't get any more absurd, in steps producer Tarantino, whose cameo has the most disgusting penis joke I've ever seen. But, you're not watching this film for the story are you? The film is an hommage to the grindhouse films of the 1970s, complete with grainy visuals and a spoof trailer at the start (now extended into the soon to be released Machete) which perfectly sets the tongue-in-cheek tone of the film. Planet Terror will frequently have you squirming in your seat with equal measures of disgust and hilarity. It suffers somewhat from style over substance, but is successful as a piece of unsolicited yet entertaining revulsion, though doesn't quite hit the heights of Rodriguez's previous Sin City. You won't want to watch, but you just can't help it.
3/5
