Zombies in my space alien movie [Movie Monday]
About 15 minutes into Plan 9 from Outer Space, my wife looked at me and asked, "Why are there zombies in our space aliens movie?" To which I replied, "What I want to know is, why are there space aliens in our zombie movie?"
There's no way I would appreciate this movie without Ed Wood, as charmingly idiotic as it is. I've seen enough bad sci-fi movies (thanks, MST3K!) to know that this ranks technically among the worst of the worst, with frying pans on strings and a nonexistent plot and Criswell, the hilariously overwrought narrator. That Plan 9 exists is a testament to the sheer human stick-to-it-iveness that Eros so dramatically warns against.
I absolutely love how sublimely bonkers Plan 9 is, from the cockpit with a shower curtain, to the cemetery with props falling over, to every awkward moment with actors standing around with uncertainty, to the visible boom mikes and strings holding up flying saucers and sparks from police issue cap guns. It's deliriously awful in the best possible way, and I heartily recommend it to everyone who cares about film. Is it good — who cares? Is it bad — what difference does it make? Of course it's bad, and good, and wonderful, and the worst movie ever made.








