Plan 9 from Outer Space

I agree with many that this movie has many shortcomings, but I don't consider it ''the worst movie of all time''. Yes, it is poorly made, it was cheaply made, but I think that there are many movies that are MUCH worse than this one (MANOS THE HANDS OF FATE and THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS are much more amateurish and poorly made than this) and there are much worse directors than Ed Wood (Harold P. Warren and Coleman Francis for example). And I consider PLAN 9 one of the greatest bad movies.

The many flaws of this movie are: the acting, full of corny dialogue and overacting (especially by Tor Johnson and Vampira); the sets and the special effects may be poor and cheap (I laughed a lot when I saw the pie plates used as UFOs); and lots and lots of stock footage. But I find this movie entertaining for the dialogue and also for Bela Lugosi's final performance (here billed ''Almost starring Bela Lugosi'' since he died before the movie was released). And Ed Wood directs nicely, and except at half-way the movie is very fast-paced.

All in all, a nice and funny time passer and among the cults of bad movies! Not to be missed.

For anyone that wants to make movies, Plan 9 is a must see. Not for it's lush style, great dialogue, fabulous production design, nor for the compelling performances given by the players. It doesn't have any of that. What it does have though, is poor production design, continuity gaps you can drive a space shuttle through, and writing that's so bad, it's amazing anyone had the nerve to show it. That is what makes it a must see.

Ed Wood, Jr. was not talented, but he was determined. He did something that many extremely talented people have not done. He got it released. He wrote it, produced it and directed it. When his star, Bela Lugosi, died during filming, he still finished it. Not just this one either, he put out several films, and not one of them is any good.

So for all of you aspiring Scorseses or Spielbergs, when the world gets you down, and you just don't know how you can get it done, when you feel like you've lost it, pop in "Plan 9". I bet you'll feel better.

When I first watched this motion picture seven years ago I quite enjoyed it. I knew that it was named "the worst movie" and I wanted to find out for myself how true it is. Since then a lot has changed, I've developed my own taste and became very picky about what I watch. And after rewatching it I can tell for sure that I would not be returning to this movie again. "Plan 9 from outer space" is a low-budget movie and the lack of finances feels in every way and in every scene: ragged editing, minimal set pieces, puppet flying saucers on the strings, non-professinal actors who just stand there and say the lines; there's also a narrator whose presence is absolutely unnecessary and who doesn't bring positively anything to the plot which is terrible anyway. I tried to see more in the story than laid on the surface but I couldn't - yes, there was a warning about bomb usage and how people could destroy the Earth by the flick of the switch but Mr Wood only tried to present it as something meaningful and failed miserably. Any movie, low budget or no budget, is supposed to be all about new ideas and getting people to think about something. During watching I thought only about when does this movie going to finally end. But not everything was that bad. Bela Lugosi in his final role was amazing, especially at the beginning and the fact that he died during filming is clearly visible because of a stand-in actor whose face was always half covered with the cape - another thing that could have been handled better. The score is the only thing I have nothing bad to say about: excellent music that creates the scary atmosphere and helps you get through to the end of the movie. So, is it that bad? Yes. But there are way worse pictures out there.

First things first - anyone who calls 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' "the worst movie ever made" needs to watch more movies! To me "the worst" would be one that was dull and has no entertainment value whatsoever. 'Plan 9' is the complete opposite of dull, and is it entertaining? You bet! It's still one of the greatest beer'n'pizza and have a bunch of your pals over movies ever made. Hell, it isn't even the most inept and bizarre movie Ed Wood ever made, that would still have to be 'Glen Or Glenda', which for some strange reason still doesn't have a tenth of the cult following 'Plan 9' does. Speaking of cult, in some ways 'Plan 9' is almost THE definitive cult movie if you consider that it virtually vanished without a trace when it was first released and it still lives on because it was subsequently rediscovered by thousands of enthusiastic movie nuts, collectors, journalists, cartoonists, rock musicians (e.g. The Damned), and other film makers (Joe Dante, Sam Raimi, Tim Burton). I think 'Glen Or Glenda' is Wood's most amazing achievement myself, but I still love 'Plan 9'. I've lost track of how many times I've seen it over the years. I wouldn't go so far as to say I have it memorized or anything, but it's always in the back of my mind. It's like part of the collective pop culture unconscious that I carry around with me at all times. As much as I love Bela Lugosi I think the three main reasons this movie is truly unforgettable (apart from the obvious - silly aliens, laughably bad dialogue and "those" flying saucers,etc.etc.) are Criswell, Vampira, and especially Tor Johnson. Any three of those people being involved would have made this something special, but all three! Man! This is trash heaven! It's hard to believe there's anyone left alive who hasn't already seen this movie, but if by some strange twist of fate you are one of the uninitiated, you MUST, I repeat MUST watch 'Plan 9' as soon as possible! And remember, my friends, future events such as these will effect YOU in the future!

While it thoroughly deserves its reputation as a film only worth seeing so that you can enjoy its remarkably amateurish production, on the other hand it seems a bit unfair to label "Plan 9 From Outer Space" as the worst film ever made. Most of it is quite watchable, it's not at all offensive, and the story - utterly ridiculous as it is - moves fairly quickly, and gives you some reasons to stick around to the end. Those qualities put it well ahead of a great many movies that cost a lot more to make and that involved many more recognizable names than you'll find in this cast.

To be sure, almost everything about it is of amazingly poor quality, from the incompetent directing and acting to the slipshod special effects to the dialogue that produces countless unintentional laughs. The story is goofy, and uses ideas and devices that lack credibility even by sci-fi standards. Everyone who watches it has their own list of favorite examples of this film's complete ineptitude.

If you have any interest in old movies, you should see this if you have the chance, as long as you can do so without paying for the privilege. It says something that so many viewers are still talking about it over 40 years after it was made, which is a lot more than will ever be said about most of the movies you could see in a theater today. Whether you will ever want to watch it again is an entirely different question, although there are those who have managed to enjoy watching this several times. Take a look for yourself and see what you think about this classic example of inept film-making.