Plan 9 (2015)

Instant Favorite.

Don't Believe the Hype

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Plan 9 is a tribute film to the original. It is NOT a remake, nor is it about them filming a remake...which happens to be how the film starts. In the anachronistic town of Nilbog, Virginia (Goblin spelled backwards) a meteor strikes creating reanimation of the recently dead. The film includes characters that look like they were in the original film. The "zombies" become smarter as the town's scientist Lucy Grimm (Sara Eshleman) must figure out how to deal with them. She was my favorite character with the best lines. They needed more of her.Most of the film was entertaining. There was an odd grocery store scene that was awkward which ended up with a major nude scene, and to be honest I had no idea what that was about. I think a better tribute would have included two different people playing the Bela character as well as indifference to day and night shots. Guide: F-Words, sex, nudity

Plan 9 is set in Nilbog, a town invaded by aliens. It begins with Mister Lobo playing Criswell, the kiss-curled real-life American psychic (1907-1982), whose mental powers are completely ignored here. Equally, the actor couldn't look less like Crisswell. What we get is the kind of OTT performance that lets you know exactly the style the makers of this remake of 'Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)' (often labelled the worst film ever made) are embracing. There are some pleasing nods to the original of course. The bereaved gentleman played by Bela Lugosi hangs himself whilst wearing a Halloween Dracula cape, Lucy (Sarah Eshleman) playfully dangles a light-shade over a miniature town model, echoing the hub-cap spaceships in Ed Wood's project.'Night of the Living Dead (1968)' and 'The Fog (1980)' are also referenced, as are scenes from other well-known horror films.For me, 'Plan 9' is guilty of the same thing as the film that inspired it: it is a little boring. Not so bad it is good, not so bad it is bad, it just continues long past the point the audience cares. A cheap, campy film with often (deliberately?) cardboard performances and lacklustre monsters, encompassed in a pulpy sci-fi concept, is only entertaining for a limited time before the audience want something more 'solid' to invest in. Taken as it is, it might well be best watched with friends, over pizza and other occasional distractions.

An update of Plan Nine From Outer Space for the post-modern age. It was a good idea. An idea that even I had considered at one point. Add in modern effects, Romero style zombies, extra low budget gore, a few boobs, military that attack and murder the citizens instead of swooping in to save the day. So why is it so...meh?As far as the actors, Brian Krause and Sara Eshleman were fine. I like Mister Lobo even if he was a bit obnoxious. Hell, I probably like him because he's obnoxious. But the wink-wink meta commentary is a bit played out by now. You name the town Nilbog? A guy's wearing a Stephen King t-shirt? Mr. Lobo is acting in a remake of Plan 9, playing Criswell, but he's not really Criswell?It's a bit too meta. You have characters commenting on the action, other movies, and what point in the screenplay we're at. There are, of course, call backs to various other movies including Night of the Living Dead, The Mist/The Slime People and Night of the Creeps. But the one that really stuck in my mind was Robert Rodriguez' Planet Terror, which was itself already a commentary on various zombie films. The feel is really close, similar lighting effects, you have the element of the military attacking people, and you even have the female lead, Sarah Eshleman, a petite blond scientist in a white lab coat, a dead ringer for Marley Shelton in Planet Terror, a petite blond doctor in a white lab coat. In spite of all this, the movie is neither good enough to be excellent nor bad enough to be laughably enjoyable. It just sits somewhere in the middle.If you want a really well-written film that's a fun commentary on zombies and zombie flicks, Sean of the Dead or Zombieland are there for you. The remake of Plan 9 is a must-see only for Ed Wood completists.

Cult films, just like music, are made by people that have no clue what they're doing, but have a strong vision and giving it 100%. Trying to do something badly, unfortunately doesn't yield the same result. And that's where Plan 9 comes in. It's not nerdy bad, which obviously works sometimes - it's just plain boring bad. Scenes are too long, lit badly (not bad enough to be funny mind you) and although the viewer is introduced to a few quirky characters, there's just no substance to hang on to. There's a lot of over acting mixed with under acting and all things considered, the movie just come across as a "fun" art school project. And not in a good way I might add. A+ for trying tho.