The visuals were the best thing about this movie. Reading up on it a little, I'm even more impressed by what Bava achieved with minimal resources. Some shots were really stunning, so much so I'm a bit disappointed not to be able to attach a screenshot or two here. The spacesuit/uniform designs were on point, although their little outside-exploration hoods made it even harder to tell the characters apart (it was already really difficult), and I was disappointed that they only wore their nice yellow helmets once, despite having them strewn all over the set, I mean, the definitely completely separate and distinct spaceship sets.
I won't pretend that the plot, dialogue or acting were better than they were, but there were a couple of fun twists that I enjoyed. Perhaps because I wasn't expecting anything so sophisticated (they were not very sophisticated), but shhh.
It's wild to think that a lot of the actors weren't even speaking the same language during shooting. Well done everyone! Except for the thing where you kept leaving people in places, alone, right after discussing among yourselves how it wasn't safe for anyone to be alone.
Hooptober criteria watch:
- Mario Bava 1/1
- countries 2/6 (I'm giving this one to Italy)