filmandcinemapuritans

Creates this lavish colored, textured film starring Barry Sullivan (television famed character actor). Mario Bava’s basic use of composition is his use of color. The film Planet of the Vampires is about a crew of space travelers who get trapped on an alien planet to some catastrophic events. This film is celebrated because of its use of color; many shots contain splashes of color and uses of different lighting techniques. The costume design is actually unique to mention as well, all the actors are dressed in black and yellow leather. As for the story, it might have been one of the first films at the time to focus on the psychology at the time. The movie shows paranoia and confusion perfectly without showing any monsters. That’s an amazing feat, I know what you’re probably wondering: If it’s the Planet of the Vampires, where are the vampires? That’s a good point; there aren’t any vampires on the planet of the vampires. The “monster” or beings is an alien presence that drives the human inhabitants crazy. The reason why the word “vampire” is used because it being a foreign film, the Americans needed it to sell it and what was a popular at the time were the “Hammer” vampire flicks. So to exploit the name of foreign horror they just categorized the space adventure into the vampire category. I actually haven’t really spoiled the film; this film has a great ending and was probably the inspiration for MANY films. This is film, one of many Mario Bava films; I encourage you to check out. Is it campy? Yes, today’s standards where are suspensions of disbelief is hard to obtain; this is a difficult film for modern audiences of keep interest with. But if you can get past the leather outfits and the dicey science this is a real cinematic treat. Planet of the Vampires is a available at www.netflix.com

On a side note:

John Carpenter’s “Ghosts of Mars,” might almost be a remake of this film.

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