Planet of the Vampires (1965)

"If there are any intelligent creatures on this planet, they're our enemies." - Capt. Markary

A team of astronauts are stranded on a dangerous planet.
Starring: Barry Sullivan, Angel Aranda, Norma Bengell, Evi Marandi

Link to IMDB

Capt. Markary

A crew of scientists led by Captain Mark Markary are aboard the spaceship Argos, but they are forced to land on a mysterious planet when their sister ship, the Galliot, crash lands there.
As soon as they land the crew of the Argos all go bonkers and start attacking each other! Thankfully, this inexplicable violence is brief and they're soon back to normal, and they focus on their rescue mission to the Galliot.

The mystery deepens when they find that the Galliot's crew have all killed each other, and there seems to be some alien force on the planet that can influence people's behaviour. Trapped on this haunted planet, Markary and his crew need to find some answers if they want to survive this unseen enemy, but uncovering the history of the planet might prove to be deadly.

The first of many surprises comes when the dead crew return to life! They're not just mindless zombies though, but they do need something from the survivors, and they're willing to destroy anyone that tries to stop the ancient and enigmatic plans that the planet is hiding!

"If I wasn't so wide awake, I'd swear I was dreaming." - Wess

The crew of the Argos

This was horror master Mario Bava's first sci-fi movie, and his fantastic gothic style works surprisingly well in the space setting. The plot slowly builds tension and an eerie mood as the crew's fear of the unknown begins to translate into a fear of each other. The "vampire" title is misleading, but there is something just as paranormal at work.
John Carpenter is a big fan of Bava's work, and I can see how this might have influenced The Thing in some scenes. This movie also feels like a direct precursor to Alien, with many similarities in the plot development. Although surprisingly, Ridley Scott claims to never have seen this before making Alien.

Something moves in the fog

The style and presentation are top notch for the times, but it does give the movie an outdated feel. Much like the original Star Trek series, you need to look past the melodramatic acting and papier-mâché rocks, and appreciate the story for what it is. That's not to say this movie looks cheap, because the special effects (which were all done in-camera,) look pretty awesome and create a gloomy, yet colourful world for the actors to get lost in.

This is a solid yet peculiar sci-fi pulp from the 60's, straddling the line between gothic vibes and futuristic aesthetics. It's got inventive atmosphere and tension, and one of the greatest Twilight Zone twist endings I've ever had the pleasure to be surprised by.

Be sure not to miss:
- Damn, Bava sure does love his fog machine.
- Those leather spacesuits remind me of what the heroes wore in the first X-Men movie.

Internet review:
"Marvelously old-fashion, but influentially chilling space expedition." - lost-in-limbo

Should I watch it?
Yes.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

Planet of the Vampires gets...