Plan 9 from Outer Space's Recent Activity - Spout

Film:Plan 9 from Outer Space

Tue, 12 May 2009 02:34:07 GMT

Title: Plan 9 from Outer Space
Year: 1956
Director: Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Plot: With its incoherent plot, jaw-droppingly odd dialogue, inept acting, threadbare production design, and special effects so shoddy that they border on the surreal, Plan 9 From Outer Space has often been called the worst movie ever made. But it's an oddly endearing disaster; boasting genuine enthusiasm and undeniable charm, it is the work of people who loved movies and loved making them, even if they displayed little visible talent. In Plan 9, alien invaders attempt to conquer the world by raising the dead, starting with an old man dressed in a Dracula costume (Bela Lugosi, in a few minutes of left-over footage grafted into this film), his much-younger and well-proportioned wife (Maila "Vampira" Nurmi), and a remarkably overweight police officer (Tor Johnson). Often funny and consistently entertaining (if almost always for the wrong reasons), Plan 9 From Outer Space is an anti-masterpiece if there ever was one, and as Criswell so brilliantly puts it, "Can you PROVE it didn't happen?!?" Its legendary director Edward D. Wood Jr. was played by Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's 1994 biopic, Ed Wood. One of the DVD releases of Plan 9 From Outer Space includes the documentary Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion, an exhaustive and entertaining look at the making of the film that runs a half-hour longer than the feature to which it pays tribute! ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 53
Number of Lists: 34
Number of blog posts: 7
Number of discussion threads: 12
SpoutRating: 3

Spout Post: Re:what is your plan for when the zombies attack?

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:02:33 GMT

Post By: Risselada
Post To: Zombie Obsession
Post Date: 12/28/2008 9:02:33 PM
Body: [quote user="Dr_Gor"] [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="Dr_Gor"] Well that is just ridiculous, Rizzo! Everyone knows that the ET's won't come within a milion light years of Earth when there is a Zombie infestation going on! Try to be serious about this, will you? < GOR > [/quote] Augh! Sorry, you are right. I'll either have to secure a spaceship ahead of time, or I'll have to capture a wizard who can sprinkle me with magic interplanetary travel dust instead. [/quote] Actually, I was wrong! I can think of at least 2 movies in which the ET's actually CAUSED a zombie problem! They are Plan 9 from Outer Space and Invisible Invaders ! For zombie fans who haven't seen it, the latter movie is a MUST SEE! Not only because John Carradine and John Agar are both priceless in everything they did but also because I firmly believe that this movie was one of the inspirations for Romero's NOTLD (along with The Last Man on Earth !) < GOR > [/quote] Pattern your life after an Ed Wood script and everything will come up hunky-dorey

Spout Post: Re:what is your plan for when the zombies attack?

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:44:55 GMT

Post By: Dr_Gor
Post To: Zombie Obsession
Post Date: 12/24/2008 4:44:55 PM
Body: [quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="Dr_Gor"] Well that is just ridiculous, Rizzo! Everyone knows that the ET's won't come within a milion light years of Earth when there is a Zombie infestation going on! Try to be serious about this, will you? < GOR > [/quote] Augh! Sorry, you are right. I'll either have to secure a spaceship ahead of time, or I'll have to capture a wizard who can sprinkle me with magic interplanetary travel dust instead. [/quote] Actually, I was wrong! I can think of at least 2 movies in which the ET's actually CAUSED a zombie problem! They are Plan 9 from Outer Space and Invisible Invaders ! For zombie fans who haven't seen it, the latter movie is a MUST SEE! Not only because John Carradine and John Agar are both priceless in everything they did but also because I firmly believe that this movie was one of the inspirations for Romero's NOTLD (along with The Last Man on Earth !) < GOR >

Spout Post: PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:07:11 GMT

Post By: LaBete
Post To: LaBete Blog
Post Date: 10/26/2008 12:07:11 PM
Body: 1956- AKA "GRAVE ROBBERS FROM OUTER SPACE" / Likely the best-worst-campy movie ever made. Everything about this film reeks of amateurish-low-budget filmmaking. Ed Wood, the now well-known producer-director of the "Bad Movie", has out-done himself on this one. Paper plates as flying saucers; an obvious poor look-a-like for Bela Lugosi after he died during production; and dialog almost any grade school pupil could improve on. It's a one-of-a-kind film that, in my opinion, should be mandatory viewing for all film-school students.

Spout Post: Spout Mavens Disc #14, Part 11 of 13: Shorts! Volume 3 - Pretty Dead Girl (2003)

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 06:04:56 GMT

Post By: rik_tod
Post To: The Cinema 4 Pylon: SpOutpost
Post Date: 9/10/2008 2:04:56 AM
Body: Director: Shawn KuUS, 22 minutes, colorCinema 4 Rating: 5Despite a title sure to be at least partially tempting to any horror nut, Pretty Dead Girl: A Musical Necromance turns out to be rather tame. And if you could get the subject of necrophilia past the initial tsk-tsking of your grandma, there is a good chance that she would end up at film’s end thinking the movie was rather sad and sweet, and would hardly take offense at all to what is being suggested by its potentially creepy premise.I first saw Pretty Dead Girl on some cable network sometime about a year ago. I am not sure if it was Sundance or IFC, but honestly, I mix those channels up so much that I am never able to check out any of their shows regularly. Of course, most of the shows I have seen on there are of the variety about which I don’t give a rat’s ass, except for the ones done by Henry Rollins and Jon Favreau, but honestly, even thinking really hard, I can’t remember which one of the channels, Sundance or IFC, either show was actually on. I keep wanting to check out Live from Abbey Road – which is also on one of them -- but every time I flick over to it because someone I like – Muse, for instance – is on there, I end up having to sit through someone deplorable, like Josh Groban, Big and Rich or some Idol failure, to get to the good stuff, all of which seems to be interspersed with the horrendous. Can’t they just concentrate on one artist for a show? And one of these channels shows a bunch of '70s horror flicks on Friday nights -- all of which I already own, but it's nice to have them at one's fingertips anyway -- and one of them shows a lot of Japanese samurai and gangster films from the ‘50s and ‘60s, so they have that going for them. Whichever channel they are.What does this have to do with Pretty Dead Girl? Well, nothing at all, but -– Hey! Maybe I saw this on one of the Showtime networks instead? All I know is that I had Pretty Dead Girl on my DVR queue for a good long while, meaning to show it to Jen, who has some measured interest in musical films, and musical theatre in general. I watched it and enjoyed it, whatever channel it was on, though I wasn’t blown away it by it. This possibly had something to do with the musical episode from Buffy, titled Once More With Feeling, and how it seems, in my head at least, that any attempt to music up the horror or sci-fi genres should actually run through Mr. Whedon first. (Oh, if only Firefly had made it to that style of episode…) We are now in an age where, every time one turns around, it seems that another classic horror or science fiction film is being adapted into a musical (or opera – big difference there…) onstage. (Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Evil Dead, Carrie, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, etc.) Or, at least the notion gets raised that such-and-such (say, Chainsaw) would make a swell musical. I don’t know why things are trending this way – perhaps because the horror genre itself has gotten more and more trapped in its current torture porn rut – but outside of an almost rubbernecking interest I have towards these things, since I like both musicals and horror films, I actually start to despise the gimmick after a short while. And then it affects my attitude when confronted with mildly ambitious little films like Pretty Dead Girl.It’s not a fair comparison, though, because Pretty Dead Girl is not really in the horror genre; it merely teases the viewer with promises of sick glory via its title. Honestly, once I realized it was a musical, I started to imagine a remake of Return of the Living Dead 3 with that hot little zombie chick played to pierced goth glory by a smokin' Mindy Clarke. Now, that would be highly interesting (and also make RotLD3 a much better overall film.) Pretty Dead Girl doesn't even get near such possibilities, centering itself on all-out romantic tragedy instead. All told, it is no more offensive than any number of other Romeo and Juliet-style stories, where suicide is playfully dangled in the air due to the hopelessness of the romance. The title, though, implies so much more beyond a simple desperate love affair that it really is disappointing to see that all told, Pretty Dead Girl is nothing more than magic potion fluff, with a bottle of poison bringing on the appearance of suicide, but only if every single drop is gulped down the gullet (hence the magic part). Otherwise, it becomes a full-on suicide. That this storyline springs forth from the actions of a morgue techie (with a clearly misguided missile) who cavorts and dances about (always in a G-rated way) with the bodies of deceased hotties does make it seem potentially horrific at first, and one almost can’t wait for the film to go all Re-Animator on us and suddenly we shall find torrents of blood gushing from the stumps from where the limbs of unsuspecting doctors have been ripped, and there shall then commence a rising bout of rampant cannibalism in the halls of the hospital, syringes stuck through eyeballs of screaming nurses, zombie fetuses that devour their mothers from the inside out, and, perhaps worst of all, an Alaskan governor will then get dangerously close to the White House. And then only one of those things happens… and it’s not even in the movie.Unlike most of the examples listed two paragraphs above, the musical part in Pretty Dead Girl is not the gimmick. Instead, it is the false trappings of horror that are the actual gimmick, and it almost seems like a gimmick which has only been employed to get people to watch the film who are ultimately going to be disappointed once the film doesn’t follow through on its sick promise. It certainly tricked me into watching it the first time. And instead of where I thought it was going, I got a nice – just nice – little musical instead, with a couple of catchy tunes (I have had that “I have waited more than the better of my life” melody ear-worming me for the past couple of weeks since I started watching the film again), a lot of leggy dames hoofin’ it in a dream sequence, a trio of well-turned (and well cast) performances in the main roles and… well, that’s about it. It doesn’t go beyond that for me. It’s good, it's pleasant, and then I forget about it.When I first saved it on my DVR to show Jen, I never followed through. A couple of months later, as it sat there unwatched, I finally deleted it after convincing myself that she really wouldn’t think that much of it. And then I forgot about it until I received the Shorts! Volume 3 collection from Spout Mavens. Now, with DVD in hand, I have once more sidled up to the “should I show it to her?” stage, and already I am convincing myself to the negative impulse again of not even showing it to her. The problem here is one of too much familiarity with the genre. The more experience or expertise one has in a certain genre, the more lesser items in that genre start to give way almost immediately to feelings of ennui. At least, that’s the way it normally works. I know some people that are horror nuts – some even on this very website -- who unabashedly adore every single horror movie that comes out, practically carving little gory hearts with dripping arrows through them into the top of their computer desk while once more giving five stars to something like Saw IV. Sure, some are better than others, but still… horror is great! Isn’t it? Aren’t all horror movies, no matter how bad, instantly awesome and cool, just because they are horror movies? Well, no. Some just blankly suck outright, and some are just downright atrocious from every conceivable angle. The same with every genre.As I have said before, at least 75 percent of everything is garbage, no matter what form of media, no matter how much there is, and into this giant slice of pie, I heap mounds of the merely average. There is another slice of percentage, a chunk that perhaps appears as a normal slice of that pie, which accounts for the merely good. And finally, there is left a much thinner slice, the remainder, that denotes that which exists in the "very good to great" range. The continued and legendary greatness of certain entries in any genre make it increasingly harder, over time, to enjoy that category’s far more noxious efforts. It is towards a target sublime to which artists, even popular artists, should aim their talents. Back to the point, because my girlfriend has a good deal of experience, and therefore opinion, regarding the musical genre, and is well versed in those films which serve as the pinnacles of the form, I know instinctively that it is going to take far more to impress her in this genre than it would, say, me.And I already think that Pretty Dead Girl is merely a good short musical film. Not fantastic, not knock your socks off, but just good. And so, for someone with the more than average eye for musicals in general, having seen the excellence which can be achieved in the genre, watching this is like seeing a dance sequence pop up in Ally McBeal. Sure, the actors might be giving it their all, but they are miles from being in the real thing. And, further discounting it for the gimmick factor of its fake fantasy horror trappings, Pretty Dead Girl can seem pretty dead from the beginning. And, if not dead, then just merely playing possum. And nicely at that.And, speaking for myself, though I liked it well enough, nice is not what most people who would be intrigued by such a title as Pretty Dead Girl are going to be expecting.

Spout Post: Re:Classic Horror

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:44:40 GMT

Post By: Dr_Gor
Post To: HORROR MOVIES 101
Post Date: 9/9/2008 9:44:40 PM
Body: Rizzo, I will get back to you. I have seen a few of those movies and I would like to comment. Ms. June, I think Boris Karloff is the greatest actor who ever lived. As proof of this you should check out The Black Room in which Karloff plays twin brothers. One is good and the other is pure evil. You would swear there are two different actors playing that role! No, it is only Boris Karloff giving an acting tour-de-force ... As further proof of this I would present Karloff's LAST movie which was also the first movie directed by Peter Bogdonavich... Targets . Compare that to Lugosi's last movie Plan Nine From Outer Space and I think you will get the idea... < GOR >

Spout Post: Re:Pick a Pair

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:56:06 GMT

Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Movie Games
Post Date: 7/23/2008 12:56:06 PM
Body: Two double features that we actually did in my college film society were: Plan 9 From Outer Space and Ed Wood The oft-called "worst movie ever" and the excellent story of the man who made it happen. All The President's Men and Dick The compelling, journalistic Watergate and the hilarious explanations for the mysteries of Nixon (i.e. the missing section of tape; the double peace signs; inspiration for Deepthroat; etc.). Plus, Will Ferrell as Bob Woodward and Harry Shearer as G. Gordon Liddy? Good stuff.

Spout Post: Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Remake.

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:01:18 GMT

Post By: Karina
Post To: Karina on SpoutBlog
Post Date: 5/27/2008 11:01:18 AM
Body: Bloody-Disgusting calls Plan 9 From Outer Space “arguable one of [Ed Wood's] only ‘good’ films” [sic], but the general consensus is that it’s one of the worst films of all time. But, um, maybe the remake will be better! Motivated by no logical reason other than the fact that they could have it ready in time of a 09/09/09 release date (well, okay––it is the original’s 50th anniversary, and since the film has lapsed into the public domain a remake can be done for cheap, cheap, cheap), Darkwave Entertainment is planning “a serious-minded retelling of the original story, paying homage to the spirit of Wood’s film without resorting to camp or parody.” As BD points out, you can watch the original Plan 9 on Google Video, but we think the only way to possibly make sense of this is to watch the above scene from Tim Burton’s masterpiece, Ed Wood. Let’s shoot this fucker! Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » Karina Longworth

Spout Post: Plan 9 From Outer Space: The Remake.

Tue, 27 May 2008 15:00:54 GMT

Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 5/27/2008 11:00:54 AM
Body: Bloody-Disgusting calls Plan 9 From Outer Space “arguable one of [Ed Wood's] only ‘good’ films” [sic], but the general consensus is that it’s one of the worst films of all time. But, um, maybe the remake will be better! Motivated by no logical reason other than the fact that they could have it ready in time of a 09/09/09 release date (well, okay––it is the original’s 50th anniversary, and since the film has lapsed into the public domain a remake can be done for cheap, cheap, cheap), Darkwave Entertainment is planning “a serious-minded retelling of the original story, paying homage to the spirit of Wood’s film without resorting to camp or parody.” As BD points out, you can watch the original Plan 9 on Google Video, but we think the only way to possibly make sense of this is to watch the above scene from Tim Burton’s masterpiece, Ed Wood. Let’s shoot this fucker! Originally posted on:SpoutBlog

Spout Post: Crack That Whip (2008 Edition)

Fri, 23 May 2008 03:18:22 GMT

Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 5/22/2008 11:18:22 PM
Body: In perhaps the all-time most significant fulfilling of cinematic expectations, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas successfully bring Indiana Jones back after a near 20-year hiatus, while Harrison Ford dispels any doubts than an older Indy is an ineffective Indy. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is the perfect companion to the late-'50s serials that helped inspire the adventurous archaeologist. Some of the plot points may seem hokey at first, but if you can accept that the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail have been past series focal points, you'll agree that there can be no better era-appropriate focus. Ford is thoroughly convincing in reprising his most well-known character. There is no moment when you believe that he is incapable of fulfilling the attitude and, especially, the action requirements for the film and series. Each supporting character also receives appropriate development, additional signs that the saga is receiving proper care. Cate Blanchett continues her career consistency as an effective Russian baddie; Karen Allen shows why she's the most appealing "Jones Girl"; John Hurt flexes his talented range as modern-day conquistador; Ray Winstone, as Jones' tricky WWII buddy Mack, is interesting enough, but the weakest of the core characters; and Shia LaBeouf is a welcome addition as motorcycle-riding greaser Mutt Williams, Indy's best sidekick outside of Henry Jones Sr. Since "The Lost World," Spielberg's films have employed a clean look, notably utilizing the advancements in cinematic technology perhaps better than anyone (outside of Lucas, the purveyor of such advancements). With the first glimpses at the reawakening of the "Indiana Jones" story, this polished appearance seems out of place compared to the previous beloved chapters' grainy, historic feel. But a step back reveals a hidden benefit to such a crisp style. The ahead-of-its-time cinematography may be somewhat inappropriate, but it helps accentuate the unintentionally-corny Cold War look that helped inspire the series' boyhood joys. The result is not quite to the no-budget simplicity of a "Plan 9 From Outer Space," but still reminiscent of a past era. Through this apparent consistency issue, the filmmakers are actually paying additional homage to their preteen loves and passing the technological savings on to us. So, have no worries. The kings of filmmaking fun are back with their most appealing character to restore non-stop pleasure to multiplexes. You'll laugh, gasp, squirm, and smile, all the while convinced that you're back in (at least) the '80s.

Spout Post: Shaky Hand Luke

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 22:47:08 GMT

Post By: Tenenbaums
Post To: Tenenbaums Blog
Post Date: 1/9/2008 5:47:08 PM
Body: A few years ago on the talk show circuit, Luke Wilson liked to note that he had contributed one of the most memorable lines in Rushmore. Already cast as Dr. Peter Flynn, Luke was reading over the script written by Wes Anderson and brother Owen when he got to the restaurant scene after the conclusion of Max Fischer's "Serpico." Luke's character comes to the dinner in O.R. scrubs and he thought it would be funny if Max asked what the clothing was, got the response, and then asked, "Oh, are they?" Bill Murray's Harold Blume nearly gags on his whiskey after hearing the line and so do we.Luke played his part. He saw an opportunity, went for it, and it worked. Apparently, the experience gave him enough confidence to write a script of his own. His first attempt is The Wendell Baker Story, a project that looks wildly appealing on paper. Co-directed with brother Andrew, the film stars Luke, Seymour Cassel, Eddie Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Eva Mendes, Harry Dean Stanton, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell. The acting ingredients are there, but these Wilsons (Owen can obviously write) are no Afflecks behind the scenes.The script feels paper thin and as a result, these famous friends of the Wilsons are exposed for their true motives: merely paying a favor. Surprisingly, it is Luke himself who is most phoning in a performance. His do-good title character is an incomplete writing exercise, a by-product of inexperience (and possibly lack of talent) that plagues the duped supporting cast. All of the Wilsons' weaknesses that have been seen in other directors' films are exposed to their full intensity fittingly at their own expense. Unfortunately, it also makes the rest of the known cast look like painful caricatures of themselves (notably Griffin, Cassel, and Owen).The funny lines that made Luke extra cool on Lettermen are still there. Wendell tells his business partner Reyes, "I feel like a million pesos." Reyes replies, "That's like, 4 bucks." But that's all Luke's got: a few memorable lines. This failed Creative Writing 101 assignment only made it to the big screen on the Wilsons' clout and with the help of some overly kind Hollywood pals. With the exception of a few Bottle Rocket-esque moments, this one is in Plan 9 From Outer Space league.

Spout Tag:funny

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:10:58 GMT

funny
Number of films tagged: 609

Number of people who tagged: 317

Number of times used: 942

Spout Tag:Classic

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:30:46 GMT

Classic
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Number of people who tagged: 314

Number of times used: 1454

Spout Tag:war

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:50:24 GMT

war
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Spout Tag:death

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:27:13 GMT

death
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Spout Tag:horror

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:01:29 GMT

horror
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Spout Tag:sci-fi

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:33:53 GMT

sci-fi
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Spout Tag:cult

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:20:54 GMT

cult
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Spout Tag:zombie

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:55:30 GMT

zombie
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Spout Tag:vampire

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:13:39 GMT

vampire
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Spout Tag:space

Mon, 25 May 2009 14:36:30 GMT

space
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Spout Tag:aliens

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:12:57 GMT

aliens
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Spout Tag:conspiracy

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:07:45 GMT

conspiracy
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Spout Tag:Zombies

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:55:30 GMT

Zombies
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Spout Tag:alien

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:27:56 GMT

alien
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Spout Tag:police

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:56:49 GMT

police
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