Italian director Mario Bava has always been thought of amongst the leading giallo and Italian horror directors (alongside Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and others) for films like Blood and Black Lace, Black Sunday and The Girl Who Knew Too Much. While his influence on horror is significant and shouldn't be discredited, Bava is also versatile in ways that go largely unrecognised. From sword-and-sandal action film Knives of the Avenger to heist comedy Danger: Diabolik, Bava has explored far beyond the horror genre and maintains his quality as a director throughout his body of work.
In the case of Planet of the Vampires, which actually doesn't feature any blood-sucking, cape-wearing, garlic-fearing creatures, Bava goes wide. Pulling together elements of camp '50s sci-fi with atmospheric horror, the film makes a strong impression. It follows a group of astronauts who find themselves stranded on a mysterious planet. If that wasn't bad enough, the planet in question appears to be home to hostile zombie-like creatures, and also seems to be able to manipulate the psychology of the astronauts themselves.
The most interesting element of Planet of the Vampires is its dazzling visual style. Enhanced by Radiance Films' new restoration, Bava's work with cinematographer Antonio Rinaldi looks absolutely phenomenal. The use of coloured lighting is gorgeous and the set design of the hostile alien world is chilling and eerie. The use of shadows is effective, as is the sterile grey of much of the inside of the spaceship. The colours pop and bring to mind classic ‘50s and ‘60s sci-fi, while the tone brings to mind what would come later in sci-fi horror.
That tone, largely dictated by the film's sound design and relative plot lessness, is brilliantly controlled. While Planet of the Vampires' lack of narrative movement can be frustrating, the atmosphere created by its form is oppressive and tense. The constant sounds of whirring machinery and howling wind emphasise the isolation of space in ways that sci-fi would later come to hone in on in classics such as Alien, contrasting the pop-art visuals with an eerie and pervading sense of loneliness.
That feeling is the scariest part of the film, by far. Unfortunately, not much else is particularly scary or even memorable aside from the film's chilling ending. Outside of its oppressive isolated feeling and vibrant visual style, the film is lacking. Its performances are terrible, feeling far removed from the danger at hand. The script is completely lacking in drive other than in its first and last 10 minutes. It's deeply flawed… but all of this can be forgiven in the face of such convincing atmospheric work.
This is an influential sci-fi classic from a master director, worth seeing even if it's far from perfect. Considering its 1965 release, the film is ahead of its time with its focus on capturing the real horrors of space and moving away (to an extent, at least) from the playful nature of most sci-fi released up to that point. Considering that the quality of its set design and colours still feels so fresh and inventive, it's difficult to imagine how impressive Planet of the Vampires' visual style must have been when it was first released almost 60 years ago.
Special Features
- 4K scan of the film from the original negative under the supervision of Lamberto Bava and carried out at Fotocinema in Rome in collaboration with CSC Cineteca Nazionale
- High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation of the Italian (89 mins) and English (88 mins) versions of the film
- Alternate Kendall Schmidt score
- Uncompressed mono audio
- Archival audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark (2014)
- Transmissions from a Haunted World – A new documentary which explores Planet of the Vampires, Mario Bava and the connection between gothic and science fiction. Co-directed by Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger; featuring interviews with Guy Adams, Xavier Aldana Reyes, Alexandra Benedict, Johnny Mains and John Llewellyn Probert (2024, 41mins)
- Archival interview with Lamberto Bava (2022, 13 mins)
- Super 8 Version – a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as Planet der Vampire (17 mins)
- Joe Dante and Josh Olsen trailer commentaries – the filmmakers provide a short overview of the film (2013/14, 4 mins and 2 mins)
- Trailer
- Press and image gallery from the Tim Lucas / Alan Y. Upchurch collection
- Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English SDH for English audio
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition 80-page book featuring new writing by Kyle Anderson, Martyn Conterio, Barry Forshaw, George Daniel Lea and Jerome Reuter
- Limited edition 20-page booklet featuring a new translation of Renato Pestriniero's original short story
- A collection of six exclusive postcards featuring promotional material
- Limited edition of 5000 copies, presented in rigid box and full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
Planet of the Vampires will be released by Radiance Films on May 27th