$6 admission
The Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah proudly presents a special, MIDNIGHT SCREENING of the beloved, campy 1959 cult classic PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE,which was written, produced, directed and edited by the infamously misguided filmmaker ED WOOD, JR. (who was himself played by Johnny Depp in the popular Tim Burton-directed 1994 biopic ED WOOD).
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is known worldwide as one of the ALL-TIME GREATEST examples of ineptly-made and ridiculously conceived motion pictures that are regarded by open-minded moviegoers as “So Bad They’re Good.”
It’s a guilty pleasure for fans of deliriously oddball sci-fi and horror, and is filled with surreal moments of unintentional humor that are a direct result of PLAN 9’s incredibly low-budget, ludicrous dialog, mediocre acting and completely unrealistic “special effects.”
For example, shots of alien “flying saucers” in this film are obviously plastic dinner plates which have been spray-painted silver and then hung on noticeable strings in front of a piece of black cloth, and most of the movie’s sets (including the cockpit of a jet airliner) are clearly constructed of little more than plywood and shower curtains—much like a middle-school stage play.
While this bona fide cult classic is rarely seen in public, the PFS will proudly show the complete, uncut and restored widescreen version of the B&W film.
The plot of the film concerns a pair of bickering, human-like aliens from another world who are attempting to invade and take over earth by using “Plan 9″—an ill-defined scheme to bring human corpses buried in graveyards back to life and then use them as remote-controlled servants to do the aliens’ evil bidding.
The movie stars the late, great BELA LUGOSI (best known as DRACULA in the 1931 film of the same name) in his final role. In fact, he famously died during filming, and director Wood recast his own chiropractor (who had no prior acting experience) in Lugosi’s role, hoping viewers would not notice the difference between the two men!
It also stars the hulking Swedish wrestler and character actor TOR JOHNSON, Los Angeles’ female TV horror host VAMPIRA (the inspiration for ELVIRA), and celebrity pseudo-psychic CRISWELL.
Though the film was barely seen in its initial theatrical release, in the early 1980s, it was voted “The Worst Movie Of All Time” by fans of bad cinema, and almost immediately became one of the most well-known cult films ever made — solely on its reputation for being terrible.
In truth, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE is NOT the worst film ever made.
Far from it!
It’s actually, amazingly fun and entertaining and never boring. Plus, despite its low-budget sets and props and downright bizarre and nonsensical script, it’s quite beautifully shot and lit. It looks better than many other films from the time period that cost five times as much to make. However, because the film was shot so quickly, there are scores of mistakes and continuity errors which were left in the finished product.
PFS Founder and Director Jim Reed will introduce the film and give the audience tips on just what goofs to look out for as they view the movie, for maximum enjoyment.
Come prepared to laugh, cheer and shake your head in bewilderment at one of the most deliriously bizarre motion pictures ever made!