Director – Darin Wood (Monster from Bikini Beach, Badass Monster Killer)
Starring – Liesel Hanson (Happy Haunting, Tales of Halloween), Jawara Duncan (Smosh, Badass Monster Killer), and Stephanie Hyden (Nite Tales: The Series, Alleluia! The Devil’s Carnival)
Release Date – 2011
Rating – 3.5/5
Some of you may recall a review of mine from a few weeks ago for the film Badass Monster Killer. This review was very popular social media. Several horror fans retweeted it on Twitter and it had a few dozen comments on Facebook. The film was very unique in how it was presented and I really enjoyed checking it out.
After I shared my review of the film with the film’s Facebook page I was offered the opportunity to review two more films from director Darin Wood. The first film is a sci-fi/horror mash up titled Planet of the Vampire Women. Thank you Darin and company for sending these films my way. I appreciate it greatly.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a group of space pirates who stage an armed robbery at a space casino. They make away with the money but the police is hot on their tail. They try to get away and find themselves in a strange part of the galaxy where they encounter an electrical storm.
They make an emergency landing on a planet that is in ruins and find their captain dead. They soon learn that the electrical storm they encountered was actually vampires possessing the living. Now they must fight for their lives while vampires hunt for their blood.**Spoiler Alert**
Badass Monster Killer was a mash up of two things I never thought I would see, Lovecraft and blaxploitation. The film knocked my socks off which is rare among the indie film scene. Most films have everything going for them but fall short due to budget constraints. BMK did not. It delivered and is one I recommend to someone at least once a week. I knew that Planet of the Vampire Women would not be on the same level but I was still very impressed by the sci-fi and horror medley.
The acting in this one leaves plenty of room for improvement but it not that bad. The characters are very vibrant and fun but they have a hard time interacting with others in a genuine fashion. Some of the scenes are awkward to watch due to their forced dialogue and unnatural delivery.
The story for this one is fun as hell and could easily be a movie from the early 2000s on the SyFy Channel. The film is very fast paced and has very little boring spots which is something that is very unique to indie horror. The story is well written and and very well put together.
Finally, the film is full of visual and practical effects. The visual effects are stale and very low budget but the practical effects looks great. A good chunk of the visual effects could have been left out of the finished film and you would still get the same result. Overall, Planet of the Vampire Women is a fun nod to the campy sci-fi and horror films of the drive-in era of cinema. The film would be the perfect pairing with Vampire Whores from Outer Space or Space Truckers. Check it out.
