Film Review: Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
In the captivating world of Hollywood, immortality can be achieved in more ways than one. While many associate this phenomenon with exceptional talents that have created groundbreaking masterpieces, there are those who have become famous as their opposites. One such individual is Edward D. Wood Jr., whose 1957 science fiction film "Plan 9 from Outer Space" has, for a long time, been considered the worst film ever made. Despite this infamy, Hollywood enthusiasts and cinema history aficionados have come to appreciate the film's campy charm and ineptness, transforming it into a cult classic of sorts.
The film opens with an introduction by John Criswell King, known as “Amazing Criswell,” a psychic who was a minor celebrity in late 1950s California. Serving as the film's narrator, Criswell sets the stage for a plot that begins with the funeral of an elderly woman, portrayed by Maila Nurmi, also known as Vampira. Her grief-stricken husband, played by the iconic Bela Lugosi, soon meets his own demise, leading to a series of bizarre events at the cemetery where both are buried. The plot escalates when a civilian airliner, piloted by Jeff Trent (played by Gregory Walcott), encounters a flying saucer. This incident triggers the resurrection of the old woman into a zombie-like creature through the use of electrodes by aliens Eros (played by Dudley Manlove) and Thana (played by Joanna Lee). Alarmed by humanity's technological advancements and the advent of nuclear weapons, these aliens aim to prevent humans from destroying the universe. However, their attempts at communication fail, prompting them to resurrect the dead as their mind-controlled slaves. Inspector Daniel Clay (played by Tor Jonson), who initially investigates the murders, also falls victim to this ghastly plan, while US Army Colonel Tom Edwards (played by Tom Keene) and Trent's wife Paula (played by Mona McKinnon) become embroiled in this chaotic affair.
*Plan 9 from Outer Space? was not initially considered the worst film ever made at the time of its premiere. In fact, for the next two decades, few people paid much attention to it, as it was just one of countless low-budget independent exploitation films. Its infamy only began to grow when critics Michael and Harry Medved proclaimed it the worst film ever made in their influential 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards. This designation brought attention from hardcore cinephiles and cinema history enthusiasts, who gradually built a cult around the film, inspiring documentaries, video games, and ultimately, Tim Burton's 1994 biopic Ed Wood. Over time, the general opinion of Plan 9 from Outer Space has shifted, partly due to nostalgia, partly due to exposure to far worse films, and partly because of the reevaluation of Wood as a misunderstood genius.
When viewed without the surrounding hype and controversy, Plan 9 from Outer Space undeniably merits criticism; however, it is hardly the complete disaster that the Medveds suggested. Many of its shortcomings can be attributed to its evident low budget and unfortunate circumstances—most notably, Lugosi's death during production forced Wood to awkwardly splice in footage from an unrelated project featuring a stand-in who obscured his face with a cape.
Wood's ineptness as a director is evident, making cheap special effects, poor music, some continuity problems, atrocious dialogue in his script, and uneven performances from his cast look worse than they are. A mix of science fiction film motifs, such as First Contact and alien invasion, with Gothic horror does not come out well, to say the least.
On the other hand, Wood's script touches on some serious themes that were relevant to the audience of his time, such as the fear of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. It also explores the subject of government deliberately suppressing knowledge of extraterrestrial life for its own purposes, a conspiracy theory that would become popular a decade later and find its ultimate expression in The X-Files." Thus, Plan 9 from Outer Space can be seen as a film that was, in some ways, ahead of its time.
Despite its many flaws, the film's ineptness and poor creative decisions give it a certain charm that brings it close to the "it's so bad it's good" territory. However, the level of campiness never quite reaches that point, but in its relatively short running time of 78 minutes, Ed Wood's film makes its flaws more bearable for the audience.
In the end, the main quality of Plan 9 from Outer Space is its ability to serve as an example that a film's bad reputation can sometimes be just as underserved as those of "grand classics." As such, it can be recommended only to hardcore cinephiles and those who love curiosities from Hollywood history.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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