Planet Terror (2007)
★★ — Planet Terror (2007)
Planet Terror was released as one half of Grindhouse, a double-feature project Rodriguez co-produced with Quentin Tarantino, with Tarantino's Death Proof serving as the companion piece. The concept was a deliberate homage to the low-budget exploitation and horror films that played American drive-in circuits during the 1970s, complete with fake trailers, artificial film grain, and missing-reel gags baked into the presentation. Rodriguez shot the film in Austin, Texas, through his own Troublemaker Studios, a setup that gave him unusual creative autonomy for a studio-backed production. The theatrical double-bill flopped considerably on release, taking in just over eleven million dollars against a combined budget well north of fifty million, though both films were later released separately on home media to better commercial effect.
Planet Terror (2007) is pure Robert Rodriguez chaos, a greasy, neon-drenched, zombie-gore fever dream that throws logic out the window and replaces it with machine guns, cleavers, and a prosthetic leg assault rifle. It’s wild, unapologetically gross, and packed with attitude. Rose McGowan’s performance (especially after her character’s brutal amputation) is iconic, defiant, and strangely empowering. The cast is stacked with genre favourites: Freddy Rodríguez, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, and Bruce Willis in full-on grizzled mode. There are genuinely great moments (the bar shootout, the syringe chase, the sheer audacity of the tone) that pulse with punk-rock energy. Rodriguez leans hard into grindhouse aesthetics: fake film scratches, missing reels, jumpy edits, and a plot that barely holds together. And when it works, it feels like a midnight movie cult classic come to life. But “working” isn’t the right word for most of it. Planet Terror is too odd, too disjointed, too self-indulgent to ever fully land. The story is a mess, the pacing lurches from action to melodrama to slapstick, and the satire of military conspiracy feels half-baked beneath all the blood splatter. What starts as fun camp quickly becomes exhausting. Wildly ambitious and occasionally brilliant, but more noise than substance. A love letter to bad movies that sometimes forgets to be good itself. Great cast, great vibes, terrible structure. Not for everyone. Probably not even for most.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2007 | Watched: 2025-09-30
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Robert Rodriguez: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) · Machete (2010) · Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) · El Mariachi (1992)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More horror: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Viy (1967) · Nightmare City (1980) · Angst (1983)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
