Planet of the Vampires

Planet of the Vampires (Terrore Nello Spazio) (1965)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Mario Bava

Starring: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Angel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli

From: I saw the American version released by AIP but it was made by various European companies

Yes there is such a thing as sci-fi horror. For those that don't frequent Twitter, yesterday the film fans of that platform were fired up when they saw some random Australian reporter-and not someone who covers motion pictures-proclaim that “horror can't be set in space.” What? If that wasn't bad enough, that comment was in reply to someone questioning the poll she put up. The question she asked? “Is Alien a horror movie?” Somehow, she was flabbergasted when Film Twitter roasted her; I briefly went to her profile and mention how terrible people were for saying her opinion was stupid. I am not sure what's worse: if she's a troll or "horror movies can't be set in space" is a legitimate belief.

This is why last night's movie was in this exact genre, and one from a famous horror director, and something I (accurately) heard was an inspiration for Alien. A distress beacon draws spaceships to a mysterious planet, and the spaceship Aura lands there to help rescue their compatriots already there. Between that, a ship featuring the skeletons of a huge species and other things, Ridley Scott's classic came to mind a few times. Its American title is not a literal translation-the “vampires” in question are not classic bloodsuckers but rather parasite aliens that wish to leave that chunk of rock, for reasons that are later shown to be understandable.

From the very beginning the movie's low-budget roots are readily apparent. Personally, I was usually charmed by its lo-fi nature, especially the 1960's version of futuristic technology and their idea of what terms would be applied to said technology. As the director was Mario Bava, it was not a surprise that many bold colors and strong lighting was used; not only did the lighting provide a visual delight/atmosphere, this and the frequent usage of a fog machine also managed to help disguise how cheap this production really was.

Mix in an interesting story which leads to plenty of paranoia and I had a pretty good time with this groovy film that still brought the chilling moments.