Plan 9

To be honest, I cannot believe that somebody had the balls to remake Plan 9 From Out Of Space since this was voted the worst film ever made and boasted the worst dialogue and scenes ever put on celluloid. Even though it flopped it later gained a classic status for its wrongness. I have to say I have a warm place in my heart for it.

So when I caught the trailer for Plan 9 I knew I had to give it at least one viewing.

The major trouble with the movie is the writer and director John Johnson. When you take on a project such as this one you have to decide what to keep, what to change, what to eradicate, and what to add and it's here where all his problems arise. The original is loved because it is so bad on so many fronts so you have to keep some of these bad issues in the movie as well as add some, though you have to make it humorous to keep your audience. In some of the other reviews, it's been noted about all the fourth wall shout-outs to other films. I believe this to be intentional and in the "bad" mode, though he may have taken it too far. Also, there are lots of similarities to Romero's Night Of The Living Dead and other Zombie films. I believe Johnson took Plan 9 down the zombie road to pay homage to the movie and send up the sub-genre (it's also not a bad thing as there's a lot of Z-lovers out there, so it gives him a ready-made audience - which is what Edward D Wood Jr did). Though he does keep enough science fiction elements to keep it in this genre. For me the Z's took second place, it wasn't about them it was about the annihilation of mankind so we could all be used as cheap fuel.

As for the acting, most of it is average, though on Mr Lobo's part I believe this was intentional, and he does gloriously over-act at times. Whereas, Brian Krause is back on form as the male lead role Jeff Trent. Though it's James Rolfe as the policeman that gets some of the better, and funnier, lines and scenes. I found Sara Eshleman as Lucy Grimm a little wooden though again this could have been intentional in homage to the original. If this is the case then she's a good actress as she does wooden well. However, it does make for enjoying the movie a little difficult as it's a great excuse for anything which didn't work too well... it was a homage!

It would have been nice for Johnson not to pay homage to the film by trying to add elements to his remake but to make a straight forward sci- fi flick based on the original story. He proved he can add tension and an atmosphere of dread as is shown with the arrival of the aliens themselves. They were a nice twist as they came to the town members as human, they clearly weren't. Johnson even did an okay job with the action when the heroes go after the aliens. If the same mood and quality had been used throughout we might have had a decent film and not this strange homage.

On the whole, the movie works and is nicely filmed. I would gladly recommend it as it is a decent "leave your brain at the door" waste of time. It definitely isn't the worst movie out there... that's the original... Though this is at least worth one viewing on a cold and wet night when there's nothing better to do. However, I do believe this film to be of the "Marmite" Syndrome - you'll either like it or loathe it. It made me smile and laugh more than grimace and frown, so I love it.

I think the best visual representation of this film is the last time we see Lt. John Harper. He looks exactly like he does from the original-goofy trench coat, silly fedora, waves his gun around like an idiot. Sadly he only lasts less than a minute as he is quickly devoured by a very modern zombie probably getting all of his insides ripped out in excessive gore.

This Plan 9 has a very different plot to the point where if it weren't for the name I wouldn't connect them at all. The small town of Nilbog (GET IT!!) gets hit by a meteor and all of a sudden, the dead start rising from the grave. Because of this, the quirky citizens of this town have to band together in order to survive as well as find out what is causing this epidemic.

While many of the same characters are here, they have added tons more and the story resembles Night of the Living Dead or most other zombies movies than the original Plan 9. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it is an odd choice. In fact remaking Plan 9 from Outer Space is an odd idea altogether. The point of a remake is to take a film that has promise but was held back by it's problems or the technology of the time and make it better. But everybody loves Plan 9 BECAUSE of it's problems and mistakes so why remake it?

The characters are just boring stock characters like the original. The editing and cinematography is good say for a few spots here and there. The acting and direction though is pretty lackluster. Most everyone seems to have a straight face during the whole ordeal and taking this whole zombie thing really well-too well! Others though act pretty realistic. Its a mixed bag for sure. The writing feels about the same. It has some good moments and good pieces of dialogue in there-both funny and dramatic-but for the most part, it just feels flat and boring. The worst part is also when something really tragic and dark has just happened so of course moments later, they make a stupid joke or a sarcastic statement. They spend most of the film just running around but because we don't really know all that much about these people, I couldn't care less what happens to them.

The thing that annoys me the most is all of the references. Seriously, they mention Predator, Monster Squad, The Fog, Psycho, Troll 2, The Shining, etc. The fourth wall jokes are pretty annoying too. Normally I like that kind of stuff but it's all about context. The movie isn't a comedy, you are supposed to take it seriously or at least semi-seriously, so those type of jokes feel out of place. It seems like a desperate plea for you to like their movie. The only really new thing it brings to the table is the zombie lore. Apparently the alien menace is sending out these waves of energy that keep bringing the dead back to life. If you get bitten by a zombie, you don't become one but the next wave of energy will turn you into one. The other interesting idea is that each new batch of zombies gets smarter than the last one. It's pretty cool but everything else is pretty standard.

And that's exactly the problem with remaking Plan 9. They actually do make major improvements to the film but because of that, it's no longer that likable. The original Plan 9 from Outer Space could have been much better if put into more skilled hands but in the end, it would have been standard 1950's sci-fi fare. But because a man with little talent, experience or money handled the project, it turned into a gloriously fun mess of a movie. This Plan 9 suffers from not being handled by a modern Ed Wood and instead winds up being on about the same level as those awful Syfy channel movies. Not the worst I have ever seen (heck the original Plan 9 is a thousand times worse) but it doesn't do anything really that fun or interesting with itself. If you want to see a modern version of a 50's sci-fi flick go see The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera. That one is actually funny and isn't afraid to embrace it's roots.

Plan 9 (2015)

** (out of 4)

A UFO is seen coming into a small town and later that night there is some sort of strange light that causes the dead to come back to life. A group of survivors try to fight off the zombies and make it until morning.

As the title and opening scenes clearly suggest, this here is a remake of Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s 1959 film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but it actually could have been another remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Those looking for a director remake of the Wood might feel cheated as there are some obvious nods to that film but once all the zombie action starts it's your typical George Romero type setting with people trying to stay in doors while zombies are on the outside.

With that said, director John Johnson has actually made a good looking movie that at least looks professional unlike so many other low-budget movies out there. I was a little worried that we were going to be getting some poorly made film but that wasn't the case at all. Visually the film was quite good and at least you could tell that there was talent behind the camera in many jobs. I thought the editing was quite good and several of the performances were better than you'd expect.

The film also had some nice gore shots. I'm not going to say the work is on the same level of Tom Savini but it's much better than you typically see in these types of movies. There was even some nudity thrown in, which as all horror fans know is pretty hard to find these days. PLAN 9 certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's mildly entertaining. The biggest problem I had with the film is that at 106 minutes it's way too long. The film really could have lost fifteen to twenty minutes.

You can tell if a movie comes from the heart or from wanting to cash in on a quick buck. This remake is a good example of what fans of the original film can make as a love letter to Ed Wood.

There are some changes between the original and this remake but it was done with a loving and caring hand.

If you enjoy B movies this is one to catch.

I, like many of you, heard about this for years. The idea was to make the movie that Ed Wood, Jr would have made if he had had a decent budget. So, you now had a group of people with a decent budget, a plan to re-make the worst movie of all time & turn it into the vision Wood wanted. And, instead, tried to re-make every zombie movie around, but with new improved zombies - they move fast.

Big problem. This is not a "remake" of a beloved horrible movie, but a totally new movie with some elements of the original. Too many people, way too long (103 min compared to 79 min original) too many sub plots, too many zombies, & not enough space aliens. A re-make would have fixed the time travel in the original - day turning into night & vice versa all during (& in the middle of) the same scene. Maybe a less flimsy crypt for The Old Man, one that doesn't look like it can barely hold 2 people, much less a coffin & one person. And what's up with Plan 9? It was Plan #9 on the alien's list of how to conquer the world - raise the recently dead & attack the living. Let's just say that Plan 9 had nothing to do with aliens conquering the earth.

There was, for me at least, one bright spot. Mister Lobo, who played Criswell. Over the top, not too good, but he does provide the relief the movie needs.

If you're like me & enjoy some original PLAN 9 (watching it now), but would like to see what may have happened if Ed Wood, Jr had had a bigger budget, watch this movie. Believe me, some of the material in this movie may have been in a high(er) budget movie.