Planet of The Vampires

Planet Of The Vampires Poster Available DVDs Fun Facts Soundtrack Comments

Also Known As

• Demon Planet
• La Planète des vampires (France)
• Planet der Vampire (Germany)
• Planet of Blood
• O Planeta dos Vampiros (Brazil)
• Schrecken im Weltall (Germany)
• Space Mutants
• Terror en el espacio (Spain)
• Terror in Space
• The Haunted Planet
• The Haunted World
• The Outlawed Planet
• The Planet of Terror
• The Planet of the Damned

Taglines

• This was the day the universe trembled before the demon forces of the killer planet!

• 10,000 YEARS AGO, or 10,000 YEARS to COME, Are they beings of the Future or of the Past, these "men" who rule the DEMON PLANET?

• Outlaw Planet on a Killer Orbit!

Main Details

• Released in 1965
• Color
• Running Time: 86 min | Italy:88 min
• Production Co: America-International Pictures (AIP) | Castilla Cooperativa Cinematográfica | Italian International Film
• Distribution Co: American International Pictures (AIP) (1965) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) | Astral Films (1965) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)

Cast and Crew

• Directed by Mario Bava
• Written by Mario Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua, Callisto Cosulich, Louis M. Heyward, Ib Melchior, Renato Pestriniero, Antonio Román, Rafael J. Salvia
• Starring Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli, Ivan Rassimov
• Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, Salvatore Billitteri, Fulvio Lucisano, James H. Nicholson
• Original Music by Gino Marinuzzi Jr.
• Cinematography by Antonio Pérez Olea, Antonio Rinaldi, Mario Bava (uncredited)
• Film Editing by Romana Fortini, Antonio Gimeno

Film Review

The dialogue borders on the absurd; the optical effects aren't up to par even for a 60's science fiction film; the actors frequently give zombies a good name. Yet, despite its major drawbacks, Planet of the Vampires stands as an influential film. When making Alien, Ridley Scott took his cue from this imaginative but low budget film. The alien planet, spacecraft and many of the more atmospheric sequences clearly were an influence on Scott's highly praised horror film (it's stretching it to call Alien a science fiction film). It's also clear that POTV had impact on director Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce.

So will you enjoy this movie? That depends on how forgiving you are. Mario Bava's direction and the cinematography are quite imaginative and the atmospheric production design make this a triumph of style over substance. Because this was shot in Rome (with a mixture of American and Italian actors), the acting and dubbing adds an odd quality to the film. Barry Sullivan's frequently detached performance isn't one of his best but given that his director and almost all the crew didn't speak English, It's understandable.

Bava's direction and the inspired production design make this a very influential minor film classic. It's clear seeing the film again after some years, that Bava was trying to create an atmospheric Forbidden Planet and he suceeds for the most part. Overall I really enjoyed this, creepy, highly atmospheric science fiction thriller, and it was really interesting to see various concepts in this early film adapted in other, more popular films released later on, specifically Ridley Scott's 1979 feature Alien.