Planet of the Vampires
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| Planet of the Vampires | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster. |
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| Directed by | Mario Bava |
| Produced by | Fulvio Lucisano |
| Written by | Mario Bava Alberto Bevilacqua Callisto Cosulich Antonio Roman Rafael J. Salvia Ib Melchior (U.S. Version) Louis M. Heyward (U.S. Version) |
| Starring | Barry Sullivan Norma Bengell |
| Music by | Gino Marinuzzi, Jr. |
| Cinematography | Antonio Rinaldi |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1965. |
| Running time | 88 min |
| Language | Italian (U.S. release dubbed into English) |
| Budget | $100,000 (estimate) |
Planet of the Vampires (Italian title: Terrore nello spazio) is a 1965 Italian science fiction/horror film directed by Mario Bava. The film stars Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell. The screenplay, by Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua, Callisto Cosulich, Antonio Roman, and Rafael J. Salvia, was based on an Italian language science fiction short story, Renato Pestriniero's "One Night of 21 Hours". Ib Melchior and Louis M. Heyward are credited with the script for the American International Pictures English language release version.
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[edit] Plot
Two huge interplanetary ships on an expedition into deep uncharted space receive a distress signal emanating from an unexplored planet. Both ships, the Galliott and the Argos, respond and attempt to land on the surface of the fog-encased world. Before making a landing, both crews suddenly become possessed by an unknown force and attempt to violently kill each other. Only Captain Markary (Sullivan), leader of the Argos crew, has the will to resist, and he is able to force all of the others out of their hypnotic, murderous state.
After the Argos makes physical contact with the surface, the crew embarks and drifts across the eerie, rocky landscape in an attempt to locate the other ship. Thick, pulsating mists, lit by ever shifting eerie colors, saturate the terrain. When they finally arrive at the Galliott, they find that every crewmember has been brutally murdered. Markary’s younger brother is among the dead. They proceed to bury as many of the corpses as they can, but several bodies are locked inside the ship’s main control room. Markary departs to get tools that will assist them in opening the sealed room, but when he returns, all of the corpses have vanished.
Some of the Argos’ crew are killed. Tiona (Evi Marandi) sees some of the dead crewmembers walking in the ship, and she becomes paralyzed with fear. Markary advises what remains of his crew that they are all in danger and must escape from the planet. Unfortunately, during landing the ship had incurred serious damage that will take time to repair. During the waiting period that ensues, several more murders occur.
Suddenly, two survivors of the Galliot, Kier (Federico Boido) and Sallis (Massimo Righi) arrive at the Argos and attempt to steal the ship’s Meteor Rejector device. Kier is able to escape with the machine, but Markary overpowers Sallis. During the ensuing fight, Markary tears open Sallis’ uniform, exposing his putrescent, dead flesh and bone. Sallis then tells Markary that he is an alien manipulating Sallis’s corpse. He reveals that he and others deliberately lured the two ships to the planet in order for the aliens to escape from their dying world. With the crew of the Galliott under their complete control, Sallis says they will be able to use the ship to escape to the world the crewmembers came from. Although Sallis tells Markary that they should not resist, Markary responds that he and his crew will fight to the death.
Markary and his crew rush to the Galliott to steal the Meteor Rejector back. They place large explosives in the Galliott, and Sanya (Norma Bengell) successfully captures the device. During a violent struggle with the aliens, Dr. Karan and Tiona are both killed. Markary and Sanya return to the Argos and blast away to safety, with Wes (Angel Aranda) as the only other survivor. Wes notices that Markary is acting erratically, and he admits his suspicions to Sanya. Markary and Sanya then reveal themselves as being possessed by the aliens. They ask Wes to join them. Wes refuses, and sabotages the Meteor Rejector by hitting it with a long piece of metal. However, he fatally electrocutes himself while doing so.
Because the device has been broken beyond repair, the two aliens decide to land on a nearby planet, instead of the one originally planned. This new planet is called…Earth.
[edit] Production
American International Pictures had achieved a great deal of commercial success in the early 1960’s with Bava’s La maschera del demonio and Black Sabbath, as well as dozens of lesser Italian films, including several gladiator pictures. Eventually, AIP heads Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson decided to coproduce some of these films, rather than just pay for the rights to distribute them, in order to have more control over their content. Planet of the Vampires was one such coproduction, financed by AIP and Italy’s Fulvio Lucisano, along with some Spanish production money. AIP provided the services of writer Ib Melchior, whose previous movies had included such modest hits as The Angry Red Planet and Reptilicus, as well as the relatively big budget Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Melchior wrote the screenplay for the English language version of the film, with some assistance from AIP producer Louis M. Heyward.[1]
American Barry Sullivan and Spanish Norma Bengell led the cast of international actors. Writer Robert J. Skotak reported that each castmember "used their own native language on the set, in many cases not understanding what the other actors were saying." [2]
Restricted by a low budget, Bava was unable to utilize opticals, so all of the film’s extensive visual effects work were done “in camera”. Miniatures and forced perspective visuals are used throughout, with lots of colored fog adding atmosphere but also obscuring the sheer cheapness of the sets.[3] Bava explained: "Do you know what that unknown planet was made of? A couple of plastic rocks -- yes, two: one and one! -- left over from a mythological movie made at Cinecittà! To assist the illusion, I filled the set with smoke."[4] According to Tim Lucas, the two plastic rocks were multiplied in several shots by mirrors and multiple exposures. The planet's exterior sequences were filmed on an empty stage obscured by mists, table top miniatures, and Schüfftan process shots.[4]
[edit] Response
Although it is not generally considered one of Mario Bava’s great films, Planet of the Vampires has enough style and potent shocks to have accumulated some critical praise over the years. Joe Dante, in his review in Castle of Frankenstein, said that the “…fabulous comic strip sci-fi shows director Mario Bava at his most visually inventive…”[5] Variety's 'Dool' opined, "Plot is punctuated with gore, shock, eerie music and wild optic and special effects...Color camera work and production value are smooth and first class...Flash Gordon type story...should keep the young on the edge of their seats and the older set from falling asleep."[6] Phil Hardy’s The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction noted the film was “A gorgeous atmospheric confection from Bava…Bava’s ever-moving camera creates a chilling sense of menace. The result is a triumph of the pulp imagination.”[7] Glenn Erickson (aka “DVD Savant”) wrote that “Bava's stunning Gothic variation weaves a weird tale of flying saucers, ray guns and zombies that looks like no other space movie ever filmed.”[8] In Fangoria magazine, Tim Lucas said "Planet of the Vampires is commonly regarded as the best SF film ever made in Italy, and among the most convincing depictions of an alien environment ever put on film."[4]
One of the film’s most celebrated sequences is when the astronauts perform an exploration of an alien, derelict ship discovered in a huge ruin on the surface of the planet. The crewmembers climb up into the depths of the eerie ship and discover the gigantic remains of long dead monstrous creatures. In 1979, Cinefantastique noted the remarkable similarities between this atmospheric sequence and a lengthy scene in the then-new Alien. The magazine also pointed out other minor parallels between the two films.[9] However, both Alien’s director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon claimed at the time that they had never seen Planet of the Vampires.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ McGee, Mark Thomas. Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures, McFarland & Company, Inc., 1996. ISBN 0-7864-0137-0
- ^ Skotak, Robert J. Ib Melchior: Man of Imagination, Midnight Marquee Press, 2000. ISBN 1-887664-41-6
- ^ Erickson, Glenn. DVD Savant Review: Planet of the Vampires. DVD Savant. Retrieved on 2006-07-09.
- ^ a b c Lucas, Tim. Fangoria Magazine, #43, pg. 31, "Bava's Terrors, Part 2", article on Bava's career
- ^ Dante, Joe. Castle of Frankenstein Magazine, issue #22 (Volume 6, Number 2, 1974), pg 42. "Frankenstein TV Movie Guide" review
- ^ Willis, Donald (editor). Variety's Complete Science Fiction Reviews, Garland Publishing Inc., 1985, ISBN 0-8240-8712-7
- ^ Hardy, Phil (editor). The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Aurum Press, 1984. Reprinted as The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction, Overlook Press, 1995, ISBN 0-87951-626-7
- ^ Erickson, Glenn. DVD Savant Review: Planet of the Vampires. DVD Savant. Retrieved on 2006-07-09.
- ^ Frentzen, Jeffrey. Cinefantastique Magazine, Volume 8, Number 4, 1979, pgs. 24 - 25. "Alien: It! The Terror from Beyond the Planet of the Vampires"
- ^ Carducci, Mark Patrick and Lovell, Glenn. Cinefantastique Magazine, Volume 9, Number 1, 1979, pgs. 10 - 39. "Making Alien: Behind The Scenes"
