Welcome to 1 out of 5 – Would Recommend, where infamously bad films are given the respect they deserve. We start where the “genre” really takes off – 1959’s legendary Plan 9 from Outer Space!
What’s The Plot?
Aliens come to Earth to build an army of Zombie slaves in order to prevent mankind from destroying the universe. They proceed to screw around in a suburban California graveyard and make three zombies before being defeated.
Who Made This?
The man, the myth, the legend, Edward D. Wood, Jr. A noted maker of B-movie shlock, exploitation money grabs, and outright porn, this one was his masterpiece and self-proclaimed best movie. Some Baptist ministers paid for it, most likely to their deep regret.
Five Reasons to See It
- Celebrity psychic Criswell’s narration, particularly the intro. Future events like the ones portrayed in the film, based on the sworn testimony of those who were there, will affect you in the future.
- Bela Lugosi, Universal’s legendary Dracula, died in between filming for unfinished The Ghoul Goes West and not ever actually working on this movie. A stand-in, who looked just like Bela as long he kept the cape in front of his face, completed the flick so Bela could “star”.
- The “villains” are trying to save the universe, and our red-blooded All-American heroes put a stop to it. U-S-A! U-S-A!
You’d think a man called Bunny would have more dignity.
- The leader of the aliens appears to be overseeing the plan while on break from his job at Medieval Times.
- “Atmospheric conditions in outer space often interfere with transmitting.”
- Bonus reason: Tor Johnson and Vampira make such an adorable couple.
Recommendation
It is the original “Worst Movie Ever Made”! It’s the movie that the gang from Seinfeld was going to see when they got stuck in that Chinese restaurant, Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 & RiffTrax provided commentary for one of the DVD releases, Tim Burton made a movie about the career of its creator (1994’s Ed Wood, a genuinely great flick), It’s a pop culture phenomenon! What more reason do you need? How about this – it’s public domain, so you can go watch it free and legal right now. Go forth and enjoy!
