Plan 9 from Outer Space was released on 22 July 1959.
People love to mock it as “the worst film ever made!” But in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, there is no mention of the film — or even Ed Wood. The Golden Turkey Awards (the follow-up) named it worst ever — but only based on a ballot of readers for the first book.
Regardless, I can’t take such complaints seriously. I have met relatively few people who have seen the film. Most people have simply heard that it is terrible. Or they’ve just seen Ed Wood.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a great film. But it has far more creativity than a lot of films people think highly of. As I wrote a few years back, “It’s still better than any sequel to Iron Man.”
I love that Wood does a great job of making the space aliens sympathetic. Their cause is just! But he still ends the film in a traditional way but with the understanding that the universe is on the verge of annihilation because the aliens could only manage to reanimate 3 corpses over the course of 80 minutes!
The film also renders some very effective moments. Vampira, in particular, is great every time she’s on the screen even though she never talks. And all the reveals of the corpses after the aliens remove the “long-distance electrodes shot into the pineal and pituitary glands” work great.
You owe it to yourself to watch Plan 9 from Outer Space on its birthday. That’s especially true if you haven’t seen it before. Go ahead and laugh at the tombstones. Roll your eyes at Criswell’s portentous narration. Titter at the irrelevant action and dialogue. But pay attention! Because Ed is in a hurry and will not explain twice. For example. Bela Lugosi dies offscreen with only sound effects and you get about two seconds to notice it.
With this in mind, enjoy this excellent print of the film from Archive:
Other 22 July Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- James Whale (1889-1957): Legendary director of Universal horror films including Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
- Bryan Forbes (1926-2013): Director of films Séance on a Wet Afternoon and The Stepford Wives.
- Louise Fletcher (1934-2022): Actor best known as Nurse Ratched but has been in many interesting films like Invaders from Mars.
- Terence Stamp (1938-2025): Actor known for a lot of psychotronic films including Superman II and The Limey.
- Peter Jason (1944-2025): Character actor known for his films with Walter Hill and John Carpenter.
- Danny Glover (1946-): Actor best known for the Lethal Weapon films.
- Paul Schrader (1946-): Screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Bringing Out the Dead.
- Albert Brooks (1947-): Writer-director of films like Modern Romance and Lost in America.
- Tisa Farrow (1951-2024): Actor known for Zombie.
- Willem Dafoe (1955-): Actor in two many psychotronic films to list but most notably Existenz.
Films
- A Shriek In The Night (1933): Reporters compete to solve a series of murders.
- King Kong Escapes (1967): Japanese monster movie featuring Kong vs Mechani-Kong.
- Cry of the Banshee (1970): A witch goes after a corrupt witch-hunter.
- The Hills Have Eyes (1977): A family breaks down in the desert and is attacked by local savages.
- Orca (1977): A killer whale attacks a fishing boat.
- Jaws 3-D (1983): The shark gets caught in SeaWorld.
- Delta Delta Die! (2003): Frat-boys are disappearing and it could be a sorority is made up of cannibals.
- Bad News Bears (2005): A drunk has-been coaches a little league team of losers in this excellent update of the original.
- The Devil’s Rejects (2005): Psychopath family on the run from psychopath sheriff.
- The Island (2005): Unauthorized Michael Bay remake of Parts: The Clonus Horror.
- Swamp Zombies (2005): A chemical is released into the swamp and it creates zombies.
- Nope (2022): A rural area is visited by evil space aliens.
Plan 9 From Outer Space poster is in the public domain.