Plan 9 From Outer Space

     In 1959 Ed Wood released a film about aliens from outer space and the living dead here on Earth that was so hilariously amateur and awful, it would go on to become one of the greatest cult classics of all midnight movies.  Universally known as the worst movie ever made, Ed Wood's gloriously terrible "Plan 9 From Outer Space" stars the great Bela Lugosi, (in sadly what would be his last screen appearance), and Vampira- this story of alien graverobbers is one of the all-time greatest of the cheesy sci/fi-horror flicks of the 50s.  Chock full of bloopers, terrible acting, and the same shot of poor Bela used over and over again, it's quite astonishing just how amateur the entire production is- and how these movies ever got released in the first place.  Ed Wood was very imaginative and ambitious, but we all know he wasn't the most talented of directors.  But he had a vision nonetheless, and it's so much fun to watch.  It's a hoot trying to spot all the mistakes in "Plan 9", and it's a camp lovers delight.

     This is one of the most infamous films of the 50s, and definitely one of the most fun to watch today.  The fact that this was Lugosi's last film performance, and the fact that he died three years before the films release, only adds to its cult status.  Wood bravely forged ahead and incorporated the few screen minutes he had of Lugosi already filmed and interspersed them with shots of a not very convincing stand-in, who basically wanders around with his cape pulled up over his face.  It's kinda sad, funny, and eerie all at the same time.  It's perfect viewing for the Halloween season, as it usually pops up somewhere on cable.  "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is most certainly a blast from the past.