Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires was the little B-movie that could. In spite of incredible budgetary limitations, he managed to create an atmospheric sci-fi horror film that manages to hold up despite its flaws. The film is a veritable textbook of frugal ingenuity: in-camera effects and forced perspective were extensively used; the meager number of set dressings were multiplied via mirrors and multiple exposures; mist drenched all of the exterior sets to hide the fact that they were, in fact, on a sound stage. Don't have enough to pay for monster costumes? Make your monsters invisible beings who can possess and reanimate corpses! Planet of the Vampires doesn't quite succeed in hiding the fact that it was very cheaply made. But in a strange way, its practical effects give it an endearing quality. The plot might chug along unsteadily and some of the more ambitious effects might fall apart, but I'd rather re-watch this film than any number of modern-day CGI-fests. Plus, the scene where the astronauts investigate a scuttled alien spaceship and find giant skeletons...well, let's just say that I can't blame Ridley Scott for stealing it for his 1979 film Alien.
6/10
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