Planet Terror (18)

WHEN Quentin Tarantino attaches his name to a movie you always expect something a little bit different.
But nothing prepared me for Planet Terror.
Produced by Robert Rodriguez and Tarantino, it's a zombie-fuelled blood bath with more cinematic references to the B-Movie genre than I ever thought possible.
The film follows Cherry (Rose McGowan), a go-go dancer in Texas who decides to leave her job to better her life. Meanwhile up the road in a remote military base an experimental bio-nerve gas is accidentally released, with those exposed turned into flesh-eating, mutating zombies out to kill.
After losing her leg in a zombie attack – and replacing it with a far more useful (given the circumstances) machine gun – Cherry and her gun-handy, mechanic ex-boyfriend Wray, lead a misfit group of the non-infected to fight against the undead.
This is a clear tribute to the zombie B-Movie genre, with its self conscious use of the genre's aesthetic techniques – including bad synching, poor picture quality and missing reels. It's horror done to the absolute excess, with fountains of blood and outrageously disgusting death scenes.
Though some people may struggle to see the appeal, it's a guaranteed treat for fans of the genre and a great homage to all the awful flesh-eating zombie flicks ever made.

8/10