Planet of the Vampires (1965)
"Terrore nello spazio" (original title)

After landing on a mysterious planet, a team of astronauts begin to turn on each other, swayed by the uncertain influence of the planet and its strange inhabitants.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Bava (original version), Alberto Bevilacqua (original version),

Stars:

Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barry Sullivan	...	Capt. Mark Markary
Norma Bengell	...	Sanya
Ángel Aranda	...	Wess
Evi Marandi	...	Tiona
Stelio Candelli	...	Brad / Mud
Franco Andrei	...	Bert / Garr
Fernando Villena	...	Dr. Karan
Mario Morales	...	Eldon
Ivan Rassimov	...	Carter / Dervy
Federico Boido	...	Keir (as Rico Boido)
Alberto Cevenini	...	Toby Markary / Wan

Storyline

In the near future the two spaceships Argos and Galliot are sent to investigate the mysterious planet Aura. As the Galliot lands on the planet her crew suddenly go berserk and attack each other. The strange event passes, but the crew soon discovers the crashed Argos - and learns that her crew died fighting each other! Investigating further, the explorers come to realize the existence of a race of bodiless aliens that seek to escape from their dying world.

---

Plot Keywords:

planet | crew | astronaut | escape | spaceship | 

---

Taglines:

A Close Encounter of the UNDEAD Kind

---

Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

MGM Studios [us]

Country:

Spain Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

27 October 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Demon Planet

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 38,197,071 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

America-International Pictures (AIP), Castilla Cooperativa Cinematográfica, Italian International Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Mario Bava used the mirror-based Schufftan Process to combine live action with miniatures and thereby avoiding the costly matte/optical printing techniques.

---

Goofs

When Toby and Mark duke it out, Toby bumps into and moves the flight seat revealing it to be unattached to the deck.

---

Quotes

[Sanya gasps]
Capt. Mark Markary: Sanya, what is it?
Sanya: Oh, I - I got a shock.
Capt. Mark Markary: How?
Sanya: Touching that.
Capt. Mark Markary: [touches the object Sanya indicated] Ouch!

---

Connections

Referenced in Alien Evolution (2001)

User Reviews

Goofy but good

I enjoyed this movie in spite of the bad acting, bad dubbing, and some incredibly inane plot goofs. My favorite silliness: A woman astronaut touches a device that shocks her. After watching this, the man accompanying her immediately touches the same device and acts completely surprised when it shocks the crap out of him. What a dumbass! I couldn't stop laughing.

Still, Bava does a great job with eerie fog enshrouded landscapes and there are some really wonderful visual sequences. This movie also has a plot that hasn't been done to death. It unfolds as a story and not just as a sequence of monsters and special effects. Not for everyone, but fans of horror/sci-fi who are forgiving of the silly mistakes of low-budget movies would likely enjoy this movie.