31 Movies for Halloween: Planet Terror

Hi there!  Thanks for stopping by to my series “31 Movies for Halloween” If you’re just tuning in, I’m talking about movies that get me in the Halloween mood.  For the readers that have become fans because of my security and fraud articles, do not fret, I’m not giving that up.  I’m compelled to get the Halloween out of my system.  It’s just one of those things, but I digress.  Let’s get back to the topic at hand.  To bring everyone up to speed on the movie front, I talked about one of my favorite zombie movies of all time “Shaun of the Dead.”  This British film is extremely intelligent, well written and downright funny; not to mention genre bending.  Today, I bring you a semi-zombie flick that blew me away when I saw it in the theater.  Join me down below, why don’t you?

The Movie: Planet Terror (aka the 1^st, and in my opinion, better half of Grindhouse)
Released: June 21, 2007
Directed by Robert Rodriguez
MPAA Rating: The version I have is unrated

The Main Players:
Josh Brolin as Dr. Block
Marley Shelton as Dr. Block
Freddy Rodriguez as Wray
Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling
Bruce Willis as Lt. Muldoon

For a complete billing of the cast, click on the link for the movie.

The Synopsis:
When an experimental bio-weapon is accidentally released in an arms deal gone wrong, Texas shapes up to look like the beginning of a zombie apocalypse.  Trapped and trying to escape, a tow truck driver with a secret, a one legged go-go dancer with a machine gun for a leg, and a band of survivors attempt to make a run for the border seeking safety.

Why I like this movie:

I have to say this first.  I love Quentin Tarantino and had high expectations for his contribution to Grindhouse, but Robert Rodriguez blew “Death Proof” out of the water with “Planet Terror.”  The story was great, well written, and had everything you could ask for in a zombie-ish apocalypse in the making story.  Not only that, but the way it was shot to look like an extremely crappy 70’s exploitation film was wonderful.  Full of really poor jump cuts, film quality, and audio gaffes, I felt like I was a high school kid again watching a really entertaining, but terrible horror movie that would be on TV.  The writing is what you would expect from Rodriguez, which is really solid.  It’s full of campy humor and the gore is just killer (no pun intended).  I would put this in the must see category for movies.  From beginning to end it’s just one big rollercoaster ride and hardly a dull moment.  If you’re having a zombie apocalypse movie marathon, include this one in the lineup.

With that said, here are some honorable mentions:
From Dusk Till Dawn, The Devil’s Rejects, The Signal

As always, I hope this helps with your Halloween movie line up.  Happy viewing.