Planet Of The Vampires (1965) ***

I had forgotten how much of the story and design elements of Mario Bava’s Planet Of The Vampires (1965) bear resemblance to Dan O’Bannon's screenplay for Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien (review)—an alien planet, a distress call, giant ancient beings, a ship in need of repair. POTV hasn't aged quite as well as I remembered from previous viewings. The costumes and lighting are well executed, there's a nice sense of dread throughout, and Bava made the most of the production design and special effects on what was clearly a very limited budget. But there is definitely a cheap quality to the film, the pacing is a bit of a slog, and the acting is pretty unremarkable. That said, it's a fun, influential flick that scratches the itch if you're in the mood for pulpy, horror-tinged science fiction.

Mario Bava Feature Films Ranked