Again, based on the stand-alone Japanese cut, presumably the same as the stand-alone European cut.

Grindhouse was something of a cinematic conjoined-twin. Upon release, the film struggled at the box-office, and so, with the two parts of the film’s interests in mind, they were seperated, and released separately.

Tarantino’s Death Proof still had difficulty maintaining a steady pulse, but what of the other half - Robert Rodriguez’ Planet Terror?

The prospects were undoubtedly stronger for this one. Rodriguez had undoubted genre credentials, having helmed From Dusk Till Dawn. His El Mariachi Trilogy proved no slouch in the over-the-top action stakes either.

However, whereas the above films had plenty of neat characterisation and style going for them, Planet Terror is unashamedly crude, in-your-face an outright stupid.

The plot, what little there is, sees a small town in Texas overrun by mutants as a result of a leak of chemical weapons at a nearby army base. A motley band of survivors are formed, charged with cleaning up the whole mess.

And that, essentially, is it. Unlike Death Proof, the trailer succinctly captures the film. It’s a film comprised of gruff men, victimized women and lots of gory, tongue-in-cheek action. Rodriguez is clearly in his element, stuffing the film with gratuitous head-shots and corny lines (You killed Bin Laden? I put two in his heart, one in his computer…) and it accomplishes what it set out to do very well. Fans of the genre won’t be disappointed.

However, the film is by no means a classic, nor up there with some of Rodriguez’ other works. No amount of knowing winks and nods to the audience can elevate the silliness to a higher station. It’s shallow stuff, and probably won’t leave a lasting mark on the audience.

So, to return to the awkward analogy: it is definitely the stronger twin, but the long-term outlook isn’t very good. (groan.)