While some aspects of this movie are far from great (especially when you first watch it),the longer you watch the more interesting and worthwhile the movie becomes. Yeah, the sets are pure 1960s Italian--sort of like a cross between FORBIDDEN PLANET and BARBARELLA--but it still looked pretty good (though odd). And, if you ignore the silly outfits the crew wore and the odd look of the film, you will be more than entertained. That's because the basic plot was far better than the stupid title (in the USA "PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES"). That's because there were no vampires in the film whatsoever!!!!! It was a zombie movie, of sorts, where an evil race of intelligent beings use their fantastic powers to one-by-one kill off the crew of two space ships and then put their consciousness into their dead bodies. This didn't seem all that stupid or silly, either, as they did a good job of making it all seem possible (in a sci-fi way) and the mood was creepy throughout.

However, the best aspect of the film, by far, was the end. While I won't say how the movie ends (it would spoil it),I love how the movie only gets better at the end and it shows great imagination.

This movie would appeal greatly to lovers of sci-fi or anyone willing to give an Italian-made movie a try.

This intriguing science fiction tale from the master of atmospheric horror, Mario Bava, is a lot different from the norm. Instead of having an alien planet packed with drooling nasties, instead we get the tale of an invisible race of alien 'vampires' who can take over dead bodies and are hell-bent on continuing their race by moving to another planet via the visitors' spaceships.

As with most of Bava's films this is dripping with atmosphere, in the eerie fog-bound and wind-swept location of the alien planet. The landscape is full of bubbling lava and dark, brooding shadows cast by ugly rock formations. It's easy to believe that anything could be lurking out there in the shadows and this fear of the unknown is what Bava plays on and exploits to the maximum. It's definitely creepy if not downright scary. Any fan of the film ALIEN and the first sequel to it will notice the resemblance between the bleak, lonely planets as PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES was very influential on that particular saga. The acting is fine, especially Barry Sullivan who excels as the charismatic and commanding leader of the group, a fine leader if ever I saw one.

The supporting cast is varied although a few of the faces lower down in the cast are not particularly distinctive and blend into one, serving the same purpose as the 'red suits' in STAR TREK, i.e. cannon fodder, or in this case vampire fodder. Lower down in the list you may just spot a young Ivan Rassimov before he got caught up in the cannibal films of the '70s. The outlandish costumes in this film are inevitably truly '60s in design, leather bodysuits with winged collars. The film is most frightening when dealing with our fear of the unknown, with crew members disappearing into the night, taken by a presence we do not know. When the vampires do appear as glowing balls of light, the special effects inevitably disappoint due to dating. While this might ruin the carefully set-up atmospherics, these effects are still passable and enjoyably old-fashioned, with flashing lasers and such. Bava obviously created the film on a low budget and frankly did wonders with it.

The violence content is kept low, although there are some bloodied bodies which return from the dead to provide visceral impact. Actually, scenes with the bodies rising from their graves and ripping plastic sheeting from their torsos is extremely unnerving, reminding me of similar scenes in THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES where the zombified dead claw their way from the earth. There are also some great bits where three crew members discover the giant skeletons of long-dead beings, very spooky indeed. The twist ending is expected yet still hits home, and there's even a cheesy yet effective closing scene. Be warned, it is downbeat though. PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES has something for everyone, and thus excels as an example of borderline science fiction/horror.

The spaceships Argos commanded by Captain Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) and her sister Galliot commanded by Captain Sallas (Massimo Righi) travel to the mysterious planet Aura to investigate a strange transmission of a distress signal. The spaceships are protected by the meteor rejector instrument but on the arrival, the gravity increases and the automatic controls go haywire and the Galliot crashes on the surface of Aura. Then the crew-members in Argos go crazy and attack each other in a first moment. Soon Captain Mark finds that most of the crew from Argos is dead after fighting against each other. When the dead members resurrect, Captain Mark, communications officer Sanya (Norma Bengell) and engineer Wess (Ángel Aranda) discover that parasite bodiless aliens have entrapped them with the transmission expecting to flee from their dying world. What will be their attitude?

"Terrore nello spazio", a.k.a. "Planet of the Vampires", despite the low- budget, is an original, stylish and with a surprising plot point. The conclusion shows a great surprise to the viewer. This movie was certainly the major influence to at least Ridley Scott's "Alien" and "Prometheus" that have similar storyline. It was said that the set was a Tower of Babel, with international cast using their own native language (Barry Sullivan, English; Norma Bengell, Portuguese; Ángel Aranda, Spanish; and Evi Marandi, English). My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Planeta dos Vampiros" ("The Planet of the Vampires")