User Reviews

Astronauts land on a mysterious planet and encounter many strange and dangerous things--like bodies that don't stay dead.

This Italian movie has horrendous dubbing (except for American Barry Sullivan), silly "special" effects and truly laughable, comic book level dialogue. But it's still worth seeing.

Director Mario Bava was a master at creating spooky atmospheres out of no budget. This was a VERY low budget film (it shows), but he covers it up with beautiful, inventive lighting, tons of dry ice and a really scary score. Also the astronauts wear tight leather outfits which are interesting and some of the Italian guys give good performances--Sullivan is horrible and the women are beyond belief. Also the film contains a few nice jolts and some very scary coming back from the dead sequences.

So, ignore the lousy dialogue and preposterous plot and concentrate on the visuals and sounds. Perfect late night viewing.

This new release in the "MGM Midnight Movies" series of DVDs is an absolute must-have. The print of this 1965 classic is gorgeous, and for the first time since its theatrical release viewers can see the film in its original wide-screen format. For those who -- like me -- purchased the HBO Video version on VHS, don't worry: The original spare-but-effective electronic score has been restored, instead of the "updated" abomination that made the VHS print almost unwatchable.

Although I've never heard Dan O'Bannon acknowledge it, certain elements of this film must have been in his mind when he was working on "Alien": Two spaceships are drawn to an eerie, fog-shrouded planet by a mysterious radio signal, then snatched from orbit by an irresistible force. After crash landing, the surviving crew find themselves pitted against their own dead shipmates, resurrected by the parasitic mentalities of the planet, a dying race who must find a new home. There's even a scene where Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell investigate an ancient, derelict alien spacecraft, complete with giant skeletons (any of this sound familiar?)

The set designs -- the cavernous interior of the spaceship and the appropriately alien fixtures of the derelict -- are some of the best you'll find in any pre-1968 science fiction film. Sullivan is suitably stoic as the warrior-scientist Captain; the supporting cast and in particular the luscious Ms. Bengell turn in remarkably understated performances, perfectly conveying dread verging on panic. While this movie may disappoint fans of director Mario Bava who are more familiar with his horror films, as a science fiction film buff I rate it a solid 7.

Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires is one of the films credited as being a major influence on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), and it's easy to see why: there are numerous scenes and elements that are very similar to those in Scott's movie (albeit with a distinct '60s Euro sci-fi flavour). Bava's movie isn't on a par with Alien in terms of overall quality-the movie suffers a little from its low budget and it treads water for a long while-but its sense of style and originality still makes it a lot of fun for those who enjoy retro sci-fi/horror.

The film starts as the crew of the spaceship Argos (a horseshoe shaped craft, much like the alien spaceship in Alien) approach the planet Aura having receiving a strange transmission (as in Alien). They land on the foggy surface of the planet (as in Alien) and are immediately gripped by a compulsion to attack each other. After this spate of craziness passes, the crew walk to their sister ship, the Galliot, which also landed on the planet, and find the crew dead. Further investigation of the surrounding area reveals the wreck of an alien ship (as in Alien) where they discover the giant skeletons of its extraterrestrial crew (as in Alien). Eventually, it transpires that the space signal intercepted by the Argos was sent by a dying race that seeks to inhabit any visitors unfortunate to land on their planet (parasitic creatures - Alien anyone?).

For all of their similarities, Bava's film couldn't be much more different to Alien in terms of style: whereas Scott's film aimed for a gritty sense of realism, Bava's is much more rooted in pulp sci-fi comics, with the strangely spacious spaceship Argus, its crew's snazzy uniforms (the collars and hoods are hilarious), lots of high tech equipment with flashing diodes, a bright colour palette, and strong use of light and shadow. The film also predates George Romero's Night of the Living Dead with the reanimated crew of the Galliot more akin to modern day zombies than vampires.

After quite a bit of filler, the surviving members of the Argus finally escape Aura, the film ending with a twist worthy of an episode of Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the tasty female crew members of the Argus, sexy redhead Sanya (Norma Bengell) and blonde hottie Tiona (Evi Marandi).

In the film PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES, there is an undeniable creeping dread, a very real sense of terror, in every scene. Despite the obvious lack of money, Bava wrung some eerie, disturbing imagery out of his sf schlock piece. Considering this is an Italian production of the mid-60s, director Bava infuses some real originality into his story, taking a 1950s crew of square-jawed astronauts and forcing them to confront the future of horror: a horde of gore-streaked zombies, an omnipresent supernatural force invading the crew's minds, and a nihilistic ending.

What is great about POTV stems from Bava, his dynamic camera, and his framing. The marooned spacecraft atop a craggy hillside, approached by rescuing astronauts, looks like a haunted house against the black-clouded sky of the planet. When the living dead begin stalking the pitted, fiery surface of the planet, intent on killing the astronauts, Bava effectively uses the new horror icons of fear: not of fear, but of zombiefication, of characters who could be us, once just human, but now horribly returned as mutilated living corpses set to kill friends and family.

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES is exciting, arresting in places, and nuanced in small ways even by the actors involved, all of them physically fit with numerous fight scenes. Sullivan and Bengall aren't creating their

characters, but they react realistically as human beings in an increasingly hopeless situation. The final scenes, of the

astronauts attempt to escape the planet, set upon by the living dead, have a psychological edge to go along with the action, as these noble travelers overcome their fear of the planet, of the zombies, and the horrible prospect of becoming zombies themselves, in order to end the hungering menace all around them. These scenes predate the best of George Romero's DEAD films or any John Carpenter flick, where a group of survivors are whittled down to just a few, and then to one, by a wave of seemingly unstoppable supernatural force.

It should be noted that "vampires" refer to parasites, not classic monsters, and truly this is more of a "zombie" film than a "vampire" movie. The film Bava made is gory and violent for 1965 when it was released, and as interesting as it was then, it's just as interesting now to see how POTV influenced later horror-film greats, not only in theory but in execution. And it's still better than 95 percent of the recent Hollywood sf-horror films of the past decade, bar none.

(aka: Planet of the Vampires)

And I don't say that lightly because I've seen a number of them such as "I Criminali della galassia" (Wild, Wild Planet), "Diafanoidi vengono da Marte" (War of the Planets) "Il Pianeta degli uomini spenti" (Battle of the Worlds) etc... Cheesy, boring epics, usually directed by the likes of Antonio Margheriti that have crummy atmospherics, bad plots and horrible dubbing.

But "Planet of the Vampires" has something else. Something mysterious and original that even Ridley Scott would pick up on 15 years later. A little known fact except to viewers of this film.

Plus they got some hot looking Italo-babes in this one. Yumm...

This beats them by far, and is certainly original in it's execution, in my opinion. The DVD is a vast improvement over the old Thorn/EMI videotape, transferred from a stunning, original master print that has the AIP logo at the beginning of the titles.

I don't think there was really anything that combined both the Sci-Fi element with the horror element before this film. If someone can come up with one that escapes me, then I'd appreciate hearing about it.

7 out of 10 for originality (for it's time) on the imdb meter...

The spaceships Argos commanded by Captain Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) and her sister Galliot commanded by Captain Sallas (Massimo Righi) travel to the mysterious planet Aura to investigate a strange transmission of a distress signal. The spaceships are protected by the meteor rejector instrument but on the arrival, the gravity increases and the automatic controls go haywire and the Galliot crashes on the surface of Aura. Then the crew-members in Argos go crazy and attack each other in a first moment. Soon Captain Mark finds that most of the crew from Argos is dead after fighting against each other. When the dead members resurrect, Captain Mark, communications officer Sanya (Norma Bengell) and engineer Wess (Ángel Aranda) discover that parasite bodiless aliens have entrapped them with the transmission expecting to flee from their dying world. What will be their attitude?

"Terrore nello spazio", a.k.a. "Planet of the Vampires", despite the low- budget, is an original, stylish and with a surprising plot point. The conclusion shows a great surprise to the viewer. This movie was certainly the major influence to at least Ridley Scott's "Alien" and "Prometheus" that have similar storyline. It was said that the set was a Tower of Babel, with international cast using their own native language (Barry Sullivan, English; Norma Bengell, Portuguese; Ángel Aranda, Spanish; and Evi Marandi, English). My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Planeta dos Vampiros" ("The Planet of the Vampires")

I saw this film in it's 1965 American release, and at the time I was not overly impressed. It was obviously made on a low budget, the dialog dubbing is bad (although far superior to some other Italian imports I have seen), the acting alternates between wooden (Barry Sullivan) and outrageously overdone (i.e., "gravity effects", the reaction of the actor who smashes the "meteor deflector", numerous fear reaction shots of crew members). Time has proven that it has become a trend setter for numerous subsequent sci-fi films (most notably Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979)). I recently viewed it again 37 years after it's release, and the similarities to "Alien" are unmistakable. The attentions of the crews of both films are attracted by mysterious radio signals originating from an unexplored world. The horseshoe shape of the ships in POTV resembles that of the wrecked alien spacecraft in "Alien". There are similar shots of the ship's landing gear in both films. Both crews find ancient wrecked spacecraft and skeletal remains of giant aliens on the planets they land upon. There is an unknown predatory alien presence in both films. Lots of gore footage exists in both films too, although POTV unarguably started this trend (alas, is there any recent sci-fi film that does not fall to this temptation?).I cannot believe that all these similarities are coincidental, and I suspect that Dan O'Bannon must have been heavily influenced by POTV, whether he realized it or not.

The use of lighting and color are also noteworthy. POTV still looks good today due to colorful exterior scenes (forgive the somewhat clumsy use of composite shots of the crew in a few scenes set against an obviously miniature landscape). Please also forgive the overzealous use of the zoom lens, which had just been developed at the time. One big demerit in set design comes from a scene inside the wrecked alien spacecraft. A prominently-featured prop appears to be the taillight lens from a 1957 Packard, complete with the backup light lens below it. It is positioned vertically in the shot, and perhaps the set designer was hoping that Italian audiences would not recognize it. Another detractor is the almost unlimited amount of area inside the ships. No ceilings are visible, and the various compartments look as big as football fields when compared to realistic spacecraft design criteria.

I found this to be an entertaining if somewhat flawed film, certainly more enjoyable than it was when I first watched it in 1965. It deserves a vote of 6/10.

This is a mixed bag.

I thought the wardrobe was great. And I was particularly impressed with the planet. The rocks and colors and smoke all came together nicely. The cinematography is wonderful. The use of color looks beautiful.

On the other hand, the script is bad. Some of the "scientific" dialogue is painfully bad.. trying to sound intelligent, but it sounds like it was written by an 8 year old. The spacecraft itself is also poorly designed. There are no seat belts? This aspect did not age well.

The acting was good all around. Barry Sullivan was particularly good as the lead.

This brings us to the title of the film. It's quite misleading. There are no vampires. This movie was named very badly. At the end of the day, it's a fun flick that will keep you interested throughout, but ultimately didn't age well.

23 May 2008. Fourteen years after "The Planet of Vampires" (aka Demon Planet), Ridley Scott would create one of the most frightening and densely layered science fiction/horror films in history that he titled, "Alien." The strong suggestive set design and atmospheric elements from "The Planet of the Vampires" would re-appear in "Alien." Script plots from the original Star Trek television series that began its run in 1966, two years before, are nicely incorporated into this serious attempt at science fiction/horror. While obviously outdated by time, the eerie, alien sounds and visual designs are outstanding for its time. Overall, this movie stands the test of time for its power, its emotional, visceral impact on the senses and its delivery. Eight out of Ten Stars.

Mario Bava has directed some of the best and most important films of all time; Black Sunday, Blood and Black Lace and Bay of Blood to name a few; but often overlooked is this little gem from 1965. He didn't need to, as by this point he already had several classics under his belt; but Bava has really proved his worth as an ingenious and creative director with this film. With just a small budget, some below average actors and a few sets; Mario Bava has succeeded in creating a great sense of claustrophobia in a very atmospheric little horror flick.

The film plays out like an episode of Star Trek, with two teams of astronauts landing on an alien planet that is inhabited by hostile beings. Upon their landing, several members of the crew members of the first ship go insane, but don't do any damage thanks to the quick thinking of their captain. The second crew aren't so lucky...

Planet of the Vampires is a very campy film, most of which is brought on by the acting and cheap looking effects, but it does have several plus points, one of which is it's great atmosphere. As Bava would later go on to do in the horror classic; Baron Blood, he uses smoke and small spaces to create a sense of tension and build the film's atmosphere. Also like in Baron Blood; this creates a brooding sense of dread and anticipation, and this is something that would later be done in the classic sci-fi horror movie; Alien. Also of note is the abandoned alien spaceship in this movie, and another abandoned alien spaceship in Alien. I think Mario Bava can take some credit for the inspiration of that film.

As previously mentioned, the acting in this film is very flat and uninspiring. This is the movie's main flaw; the effects aren't brilliant, but that can be forgiven due to the low budget and the time that this movie was made. Aside from the acting; there's little to fault Planet of the Vampires on, when you take into account the sort of movie it is. There is no doubt that Mario Bava did everything he could with this movie, bearing in mind his budgetary restrictions and overall it is a testament to his directorial talents. Planet of the Vampires is therefore, very much recommended!

This film was one of those that, stated by the screenwriter himself, Dan O'Bannon, influenced Ridley Scott's "Alien", namely in the scenes inside the spaceship. This statement aroused public interest and become a sci-fi cult film.

After this introduction I must say that despite a comic book and typically colorful "pop Art" aesthetic, often used in Italian horror and/or sci-fi cinema, the film is bad and clearly series b.

It even has good ideas scattered throughout the film but very disconnected with weak dialogues, bad representation, very poorly done scenes due to the budgetary gymnastics of these low-budget productions.

But it's a lot of fun, It fell straight into the "so bad, so bad, that it's good" category.

Obviously it's not for all tastes, you have to have a passion for cinema and respect for the dedication and effort of those who try to make it even without money, in short, one has to like cinema series b.

Planet of the vampires is worth for despite its meager budget and meager production resources, it has surpassed itself in terms of aesthetics and cinematography, acquiring, despite the bad script, bad representation, bad scenes, its own identity, mainly aesthetic but not only so. One fun and cool identity that made it, with the help of the publicity of the "Alien" crew, a cult movie.

I recommend it to fans of series B cinema, namely the "so bad, so bad it's good" genre.

"Terror in Space" (I try to avoid using the most popular a.k.a "Planet of the Vampires" as it is quite misleading) is a very creative and trend-setting sci-fi milestone from the hand of the almighty Mario Bava. With an extremely modest budget, Bava put together a colorfully stylish and unsettling adventure in which two collaborating spaceships investigate mysterious signals coming from the planet Aura. Strange events occur when the ships approach the planet and some sort of very powerful and vile force awaited the astronauts. Visually, this certainly isn't Bava's most impressive work.... The effects are dodgy, the cardboard sets are goofy and the flashy light bulbs all over the spaceships are too kitschy! And yet our marvelous director manages to create a claustrophobic tension and an eerie Gothic surrounding. The "aliens" are in fact a breed of body snatchers and when the host bodies rise up from their tombs again (still wrapped in icky plastic) this gives an immensely creepy effect. Bava emphases this neatly with the use of fogs and ominous sounds The ending is brilliant as well and it fits perfectly in the apocalyptic/paranoia/takeover trend that ruled in sci-fi plotting around that time.

I know this film will definitely not appeal to the new generation of sci-fi buffs who're only impressed by boisterous alien-fights but if we, Bava fans, can only get them to realize that THIS was a fundamental film for the further development of the genre! Not surprisingly, many of my fellow reviewers refer to Ridley Scott's "Alien" (perhaps the most accurate definition of SF) as being inspired by this overlooked and neglected little space-masterpiece. I will not go as far and claim that Scott's film stole some of Bava's credit but I do think it's about time that Mario is acknowledged as one of the most influential directors of all time. Highly recommended film!

Although this 1965 film is an Italian production, directed by the famed Mario Bava, it was released by American International and stars American Barry Sullivan as the captain and main protagonist. Its original Italian title is (translated) "Terror in Space," which is better than the American title "Planet of the Vampires" (also "Demon Planet") seeing as how there are no blood-sucking vampires anywhere to be seen.

THE STORY: Barry Sullivan commands a spaceship that goes to a strange unknown planet in response to a distress call from another ship. They soon discover that the creepy planet is home to incorporeal aliens who desire their bodies and ship to leave the planet.

Although "Terror in Space" came out a year before the original Star Trek appeared on television, both the film and Star Trek borrow heavily from concepts introduced in the ground-breaking "Forbidden Planet" (1956). It should be noted that "Terror in Space" did not technically come before Star Trek since the first Trek pilot episode "The Cage" was filmed in 1964. And the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was filmed at about the same time as "Terror" in 1965.

POSITIVES: I've heard a lot of good things about this film over the years, in particular the ultra-cool black leather uniforms with Nazi-like emblems and the atmospheric creepiness of the planet, and was not disappointed.

In addition, the film features two women -- a redhead and a blond -- as prominent figures in the crew of the spacecraft, a notable thing for 1965 (although keep in mind that Gene Roddenberry featured a female first officer in "The Cage" a year before). Both of these women are stunningly beautiful, enhanced by the black leather uniforms.

Although the film borrows heavily from "Forbidden Planet" its story is original and innovative. So much so, in fact, that Ridley Scott's "Alien" (1979) ripped-off every main aspect of the first half (!!). No kidding. In defense of "Alien" Scott did take these concepts and made a BETTER sci-fi/horror picture.

NEGATIVES: The film is from 1965 and therefore has dated sets and effects, comparable to the original Star Trek TV series. If this fact turns you off, stay away.

Unlike "Forbidden Planet" and the original Star Trek the story isn't very compelling. Yes, the set-up is interesting but by the 35-minute mark I was highly tempted to tune out (and did the first time I tried to watch it). It's hard to say why the story isn't compelling despite the film's numerous innovations, but one reason for sure is that, unlike Star Trek, the crewmembers are bland and lack distinction.

Some point out that "Terror in Space" is a darker version of the original Star Trek. This is true only in the sense that the sets and uniforms are darker; certainly not in the sense that it's more serious and mature. I say this because Star Trek was ultra-serious and mature right out of the gate; for verification 9 out of the first 10 episodes were dark, serious and mature in the truest sense -- "The Cage," "Where No Man Has Gone Before," "The Corbomite Maneuver," "Enemy Within," "The Man Trap," "The Naked Time," "Charlie X," "Balance of Terror" and "What Are Little Girls Made Of?".

FINAL ANALYSIS: If it were 1965 I'd give "Terror in Space" a solid B+ (4/5 Stars), but since it's been so outdone by the original Star Trek and "Alien" I can only honestly rate it C+. Regardless, it deserves a revered spot in any sci-fi/horror aficionado's video library.

I enjoyed this movie in spite of the bad acting, bad dubbing, and some incredibly inane plot goofs. My favorite silliness: A woman astronaut touches a device that shocks her. After watching this, the man accompanying her immediately touches the same device and acts completely surprised when it shocks the crap out of him. What a dumbass! I couldn't stop laughing.

Still, Bava does a great job with eerie fog enshrouded landscapes and there are some really wonderful visual sequences. This movie also has a plot that hasn't been done to death. It unfolds as a story and not just as a sequence of monsters and special effects. Not for everyone, but fans of horror/sci-fi who are forgiving of the silly mistakes of low-budget movies would likely enjoy this movie.

Atmospheric visuals dominate this Italian made sci-fi tale about earthlings who get more than they bargained for when their spaceship touches down on the mysterious planet Aura.

They're attacked by an unknown force and later find out that Aura is inhabited by a dying race of vampire beings who have the power to raise the dead and take over the body and minds of the living.

Although obviously made on a very small budget, this film is a lot of fun to look at, although the acting makes it seem like a movie made well before 1965. If anything, it feels like a low budget action or serial feature from the 1940s. The alien body snatcher/mind stealer thing was a pretty common element in these movies well before this was made and was often taken to symbolize subversive communist infiltration, although it's hard to say if that was the intent here. No doubt this movie was good source material for numerous big budget sci-fi features that came later.

A low budge Italian-American co-production deserves respect from the critics and the viewers, it' was a bold enterprise, mixing two genres Sci-Fi and Horror where Master Bava proved be unexcelled, the storyline is fresh and original about two spacecraft that received a S.O.S from the last survives of a dying planet Aura, They headed to there, but landing on the planet strangely the spacecraft's crew attacked each other, some end up dying, they buried them, however they go back to live like a Zombies, apart the lavish giant sets, the conceptive design of the oversized bridge in the spacecraft and others inside chambers expose a careless production, also the special effects were poorly done, the overview is enough and acceptable, some specialized critics state that it was the forerunner of "Ridley Scott's Alien" indeed there's a certain similarity between them, although Ridley disagree, see by yourself, highly recommended!!

Resume:

First watch: 2014 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

It's not the bad acting, bad dubbing, or misleading title (there are no vampires in the film) that got me. It was the terrible script. As the ships crash on the planet they are subjected 40 times the acceleration of gravity. This should have killed everyone on board. Apparently after filming this someone must have realized that everyone would be dead so the doctor mentions how weird it is that everyone survived. Later, when the origin of the weirdness is explained, nothing that is revealed actually explains why the crushing gravity didn't crush them.

The captain is a complete idiot. There's weird things going on, deadly things, and he keeps leaving people on guard duty alone. Even when they disappear or die, he leaves them alone.

When he investigates a downed alien ship he and one of the women get trapped aboard. He figures out how to open the door, but the whole sequence makes no sense. Why would aliens use that particular technology to open a door? At one point we see that the humans have communicators on their wrists. That would have been useful to have earlier and later in the movie. They also have some kind of flame/laser rifle that disappear from scenes without explanation.

There are two plot twists at the end of the movie. One was kind of cute, but the other didn't make any sense within the explanation of how the vampires function.

Mario Bava does it again. The crystal colours, eerie atmosphere and evocative visuals are downright dazzling and haunting in this low-budget Italian Sci-fi outing. Never have I been disappointed in these technical aspects while experiencing the master at work. Many have mentioned it and the influences / similarities to Ridley Scott's 'Alien (1979)' ultimately sticks out. Even with that in mind it does share some ideas with the body snatcher theme, but it was a cleverly done concept done in a slow grinding, but extremely engaging style. The pacing is slow, but the flashy imagery and smoothly placed camera-work was hypnotic that it helped time flow by. My only real gripe was that the script was on the stilted side, but other than that it was one of those subtlety breezy mood pieces. More often the deaths happen off-screen and it's mostly free of action, to really only hit in the dying stages in some rapid set-pieces, but it's the dreary ending that's a strike of genius. Bava's crisp direction lets the otherworldly Gothic vibe take hold and while the sterile set designs look cheap it manages to be effective in its unusually stylish looks (add in seeping fog) and this invokes brooding unease and alienation. The surrounding sound effects and music score are creepily orchestrated. As for the special effects/make-up FX for such a low-cost production, they were well executed and ideally used. The acting can be rather rough in a staged sense with a dependable Barry Sullivan heading the way. Some of the characters were hard to tell apart though. A marvellously old-fashion, but influentially chilling space expedition.

Planet of the Vampires (1965) is a film that Bava uses his talents as a film-maker to create a movie by literally using "smoke and mirrors". Utilizing the most out of a shoestring budget, Bava creates a spooky and haunting planet by using colored smoke, matte paintings, toy models, lighting and mirrors. If he had a decent script and better actors he could have created a classic. But an artist is only as good as his materials. What you see is what you get in this picture. Bava is a genius but he's not god. Recommended, so you can see the Maestro at work! Maybe the acting is better in the Italian track, who knows?

A+: For Bava's technical work and direction.

C-: For the writing and acting.

Seriously, I kept starting awake from the sleep that this film had sent me into, and having to reverse the DVD to check what I'd missed.

I watch all kinds of films, pulp, schlock and highbrow, and usually I enjoy them on their own respective levels. I've enjoyed a few Mario Bava films. Black Sunday is a favourite. The costumes in Planet of the Vampires reminded me of Danger Diabolik, which I understand Bava directed uncredited.

Sadly, there's really no reason I can think of for anyone to watch this dreadful mess. The only hint of the Gothic splendour Bava brought to some of his best stuff is a giant skeleton which the spacemen find. I had high hopes of that, but it didn't actually do anything, just sort of the sprawled there... as you'd expect. Oh, and there was a bit of scenery that looked a bit like a petrified tentacle. But no-one actually seemed to notice it.

In the end, there was just a bunch of talking heads. Maybe he should have made a radio play from the script. But I think it would still have sent me to sleep.

This film has the unusual distinction of costume design that later provided visual inspiration for an opera. One of the films on which the cult status of Mario Bava rests, 'Planet of the Vampires' represents a curious hybrid of Italian giallo and glossy sixties sci-fi.

The mouth-watering title under which this film is popularly known is actually something of a misnomer (the original title literally translates as 'Terror in Space') since the plot is actually closer to 'Night of the Living Dead' transposed to outer space; but in place of the later film's bleak black & white and the grungy look of 'Alien' Bava treats us to a ravishing colour production, depicting a luxuriously spacious spaceship and it lacks that depressing grubbiness and ugly colour that characterised Bava's films of the seventies.

Bit slow in waiting for the Vampire take over to appear... But they did get the leather high collar before Elvis in 68.

The crews of two giant interplanetary ships. the Galliott and the Argos, head to an unexplored planet shrouded in fog and mystery after intercepting a distress signal. When landing the two crafts lose contact with each other, and the Argos, lead by the experienced Captain Markary (Barry Sullivan), lands safely after some brief but heavy turbulence. Upon arrival, the crew of the Argos inexplicably attack each other, with only Markary able to resist the strange urge to kill. After they've been knocked out of their trance-like state, they travel to the nearby Galliott to find the entire crew either missing or dead. They bury the dead they find and set out to explore the vast wasteland, but Tiona (Evi Marandi) keeps having visions of the walking dead.

Though far more experienced in horror, gialli and sword-and-sandal pictures, the great Mario Bava turns Planet of the Vampires into the most gorgeous sci-fi of its era. The planet, Aura, is desolate but strangely beautiful. Using bold primary colours and going overtime on a smoke machine, Bava infuses the planet with a suitably otherworldly atmosphere, which helps distract from the relatively formulaic plot. The director's love for horror can barely be contained as the crew start to rise from the dead. Placed in makeshift tombs and wrapped in a plastic sheet, they rise like blue- faced ghouls. Free from any distracting edits and backed by Gino Marinuzzi's eerie score, it is the most visually arresting moment in the film.

It often gets cited as one of the inspirations for Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), though Scott and writer Dan O'Bannon claim to have never seen it prior to making the film. While Markary and his crew's discovery of giant humanoid skeletons does bring to mind the space jockey found in Scott's masterpiece, the two share little else in common. Behind the visual splendour, Planet of the Vampires suffers from a cheesy script and wooden acting, the common bane of the B- movie. Aside from an exciting set-piece involving an escape from a locked room having its oxygen sucked out, the film is actually quite plodding when it forces us to spend time with its collection of cut- out archetypes. Beautiful, certainly, and perhaps inspirational, but mark this amongst Bava's more mediocre efforts that are still worth checking out.