Queen of Blood, aka Planet of Blood, is a 1966 color Sci-Fi Horror film produced by George Edwards and Samuel Z. Arkoff, directed by Curtis Harrington, and starring John Saxon, Basil Rathbone, Dennis Hopper, and Judi Meredith. The film is based on the screenplay for the earlier Soviet feature film Mechte Navstrechu ("A Dream Come True"). Director Harrington reused special effects footage from that film, as well as the Soviet sci-fi film Nebo Zovyot (Battle Beyond the Sun).
An alien species contacts Earth to say that they are coming across the galaxy to make formal contact. Their interstellar starship crashes on Mars and an Earthship is dispatched to attempt a rescue. On Mars, they locate the downed craft, but only a single dead alien humanoid is found aboard. They determine that an alien rescue shuttle left the Red Planet but crashed on nearby Phobos. A strange, green-skinned woman is found alive aboard the wreck. As they head back to Earth, the crew begins to die, drained of their blood.
Tropes:
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The alien queen needs to feed on human blood (despite not having evolved on Earth, but this may be the reason her race chose Earth to contact) and reproduces by laying a large clutch of eggs.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: The alien is thought to be the queen of her race and she subsists on blood.
- Frankenslation: Uses footage (and plot elements) from Soviet sci-fi movies, which weren't originally horror-based.
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: The alien queen, whose skin is a pale greenish tinge, though her lips pale reddish. The "babe" part may be a subversion, though: Harrington had to fight Roger Cormannote to include Florence Marly in the role on account of her being an older woman, reckoning he'd prefer to hire "some bimbo".
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The title character is an alien vampire who may or may not be a queen.
- Our Vampires Are Different: This one is an alien, who appears to need to feed on human blood, possibly on account of haemophilia.
- No New Fashions in the Future: The men's turtlenecks and Laura's bouffant and makeup aren't very futuristic.
- 20 Minutes into the Future: Filmed in 1966; set in 1990.
