Planet of the Vampires

1965 [ITALIAN]

Action / Adventure / Family / Horror / Sci-Fi

22
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 73% · 15 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 52% · 2.5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.2/10 10 6959 7K

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Plot summary

After landing on a mysterious planet, a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants.


Uploaded by: FREEMAN
July 13, 2016 at 02:48 AM

Director

Top cast

Barry Sullivan as Capt. Mark Markary
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
620.82 MB
1280*694
Italian 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 2
1.31 GB
1920*1040
Italian 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 7

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by BA_Harrison 7 / 10

Better than Prometheus

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).

Reviewed by MartinHafer 7 / 10

surprisingly good Italian sci-fi flick

While some aspects of this movie are far from great (especially when you first watch it), the longer you watch the more interesting and worthwhile the movie becomes. Yeah, the sets are pure 1960s Italian--sort of like a cross between FORBIDDEN PLANET and BARBARELLA--but it still looked pretty good (though odd). And, if you ignore the silly outfits the crew wore and the odd look of the film, you will be more than entertained. That's because the basic plot was far better than the stupid title (in the USA "PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES"). That's because there were no vampires in the film whatsoever!!!!! It was a zombie movie, of sorts, where an evil race of intelligent beings use their fantastic powers to one-by-one kill off the crew of two space ships and then put their consciousness into their dead bodies. This didn't seem all that stupid or silly, either, as they did a good job of making it all seem possible (in a sci-fi way) and the mood was creepy throughout.

However, the best aspect of the film, by far, was the end. While I won't say how the movie ends (it would spoil it), I love how the movie only gets better at the end and it shows great imagination.

This movie would appeal greatly to lovers of sci-fi or anyone willing to give an Italian-made movie a try.

Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 8 / 10

A thoroughly atmospheric - not to mention influential - sci-fi/horror combo

This intriguing science fiction tale from the master of atmospheric horror, Mario Bava, is a lot different from the norm. Instead of having an alien planet packed with drooling nasties, instead we get the tale of an invisible race of alien 'vampires' who can take over dead bodies and are hell-bent on continuing their race by moving to another planet via the visitors' spaceships.

As with most of Bava's films this is dripping with atmosphere, in the eerie fog-bound and wind-swept location of the alien planet. The landscape is full of bubbling lava and dark, brooding shadows cast by ugly rock formations. It's easy to believe that anything could be lurking out there in the shadows and this fear of the unknown is what Bava plays on and exploits to the maximum. It's definitely creepy if not downright scary. Any fan of the film ALIEN and the first sequel to it will notice the resemblance between the bleak, lonely planets as PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES was very influential on that particular saga. The acting is fine, especially Barry Sullivan who excels as the charismatic and commanding leader of the group, a fine leader if ever I saw one.

The supporting cast is varied although a few of the faces lower down in the cast are not particularly distinctive and blend into one, serving the same purpose as the 'red suits' in STAR TREK, i.e. cannon fodder, or in this case vampire fodder. Lower down in the list you may just spot a young Ivan Rassimov before he got caught up in the cannibal films of the '70s. The outlandish costumes in this film are inevitably truly '60s in design, leather bodysuits with winged collars. The film is most frightening when dealing with our fear of the unknown, with crew members disappearing into the night, taken by a presence we do not know. When the vampires do appear as glowing balls of light, the special effects inevitably disappoint due to dating. While this might ruin the carefully set-up atmospherics, these effects are still passable and enjoyably old-fashioned, with flashing lasers and such. Bava obviously created the film on a low budget and frankly did wonders with it.

The violence content is kept low, although there are some bloodied bodies which return from the dead to provide visceral impact. Actually, scenes with the bodies rising from their graves and ripping plastic sheeting from their torsos is extremely unnerving, reminding me of similar scenes in THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES where the zombified dead claw their way from the earth. There are also some great bits where three crew members discover the giant skeletons of long-dead beings, very spooky indeed. The twist ending is expected yet still hits home, and there's even a cheesy yet effective closing scene. Be warned, it is downbeat though. PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES has something for everyone, and thus excels as an example of borderline science fiction/horror.

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