1959 B-movieRating: 2/20
Plot: The first eight plans didn't work, so aliens (from outer space) try a ninth plan to contact humans (on earth) and attempt to stop them from building some sort of super-weapon capable of destroying the entire universe. Plan nine involves resurrecting the dead and having them move about a really lame graveyard set very slowly. Some brave police officers and a handsome airline pilot try to get to to bottom of things and put a stop to. . .plan nine from outer space!
Contrary to what Seinfeld things, this isn't the worst movie ever made. It is a really entertaining B-movie with everything a B-movie buff would want in a crappy movie--crummy repetitious sets, atrocious dialogue, visible wires, actors who die and need to be replaced by shorter actors who don't look all that similar, actors who seem too confused by what they're supposed to say to deliver their lines well, continuity errors galore. For me, it's hard to separate this movie from the other immortal works of Ed Wood Jr. Together, they're an amazing display of ineptitude. This one's special because it's Bela Lugosi's final screen appearance and because somehow some iconic imagery (Vampira or The Beast of Yucca Flats' Tor Johnson menacingly penetrating gray fog as they approach the camera) sneaks in. It's also got Criswell's enigmatic narration, another thing that links this to Yucca Flats. But really, it's that dialogue that stands out and makes this the classic that it is. At times, it seems like it's written by a person who has never actually heard human beings communicate. As bad as this movie is, you've got to credit Wood for making something that is impossible to forget and likely a film that will be enjoyed for another 50 years.
It is a fun bad movie. Someday I need to watch it back-to-back with "Ed Wood".
ReplyDeleteWell said, burymore. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd much rather watch 'Plan 9' (or another good bad movie) twice back-to-back than a single bad bad movie through once.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, have you seen 'The Happening'? I've tried to pass that off as a good bad movie since I saw it some time last year, but I can't find anybody who enjoyed it as much as I did. They definitely don't make 'em as good bad as 'Plan 9' anymore, but I think 'The Happening,' 'Ghostrider,' and 'The Wicker Man' remake have their moments.
I thought the first 'Transformers' movie was bad bad enough to not want to see any sequels. I don't remember Joe Dirt, won't see any of those modern spoofs despite how clever the previews make them look, and have no interest in the Twilight series.
I do have an interest in 'Showgirls' though...
That was well said, Burymore.
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