Plan 9

Plan 9 (2015)

** (out of 4)

A UFO is seen coming into a small town and later that night there is some sort of strange light that causes the dead to come back to life. A group of survivors try to fight off the zombies and make it until morning.

As the title and opening scenes clearly suggest, this here is a remake of Edward D. Wood, Jr.'s 1959 film PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE but it actually could have been another remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Those looking for a director remake of the Wood might feel cheated as there are some obvious nods to that film but once all the zombie action starts it's your typical George Romero type setting with people trying to stay in doors while zombies are on the outside.

With that said, director John Johnson has actually made a good looking movie that at least looks professional unlike so many other low-budget movies out there. I was a little worried that we were going to be getting some poorly made film but that wasn't the case at all. Visually the film was quite good and at least you could tell that there was talent behind the camera in many jobs. I thought the editing was quite good and several of the performances were better than you'd expect.

The film also had some nice gore shots. I'm not going to say the work is on the same level of Tom Savini but it's much better than you typically see in these types of movies. There was even some nudity thrown in, which as all horror fans know is pretty hard to find these days. PLAN 9 certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's mildly entertaining. The biggest problem I had with the film is that at 106 minutes it's way too long. The film really could have lost fifteen to twenty minutes.

I have seen a lot of zombie/horror films and I have to say that this one was very palatable. The acting was sub par and the story line was pretty good for been a low budget film. I laughed a few good times out loud at the crazy things that no sane or even insane person would do. But isn't that what makes a good campy horror film. "Dont go in there!" "Shoot him, don't walk away" and so on. Worth the time if you have the time. If you want to go watch a mainstream horror film and be bored half way though, then by God, go and do that. But I like to be entertained to the point of not switching it off after 10 minutes. I always give movies 5 minutes, then 5 minutes more if I am intrigued. I stuck with this till the end, no second guessing!

This film rated 6.3 when watched, 2 days later I see its 4.7 The film is very annoying on a number of reasons - it jumps around in timelines unclearly, the acting is not natural, the characters do not relate together on a credible scale and the whole story is unfinished without imparting viewer satisfaction or completion.

It smacks of a teenage splatter movie where they all enter the darkened room without turning the light on and get slaughtered one by one...it was not trying to be, but that was the result.

It didn't achieve on an intellectual scale what they were trying to do, and the entertainment factor was missing too. Just annoying really.

To be honest, I cannot believe that somebody had the balls to remake Plan 9 From Out Of Space since this was voted the worst film ever made and boasted the worst dialogue and scenes ever put on celluloid. Even though it flopped it later gained a classic status for its wrongness. I have to say I have a warm place in my heart for it.

So when I caught the trailer for Plan 9 I knew I had to give it at least one viewing.

The major trouble with the movie is the writer and director John Johnson. When you take on a project such as this one you have to decide what to keep, what to change, what to eradicate, and what to add and it's here where all his problems arise. The original is loved because it is so bad on so many fronts so you have to keep some of these bad issues in the movie as well as add some, though you have to make it humorous to keep your audience. In some of the other reviews, it's been noted about all the fourth wall shout-outs to other films. I believe this to be intentional and in the "bad" mode, though he may have taken it too far. Also, there are lots of similarities to Romero's Night Of The Living Dead and other Zombie films. I believe Johnson took Plan 9 down the zombie road to pay homage to the movie and send up the sub-genre (it's also not a bad thing as there's a lot of Z-lovers out there, so it gives him a ready-made audience - which is what Edward D Wood Jr did). Though he does keep enough science fiction elements to keep it in this genre. For me the Z's took second place, it wasn't about them it was about the annihilation of mankind so we could all be used as cheap fuel.

As for the acting, most of it is average, though on Mr Lobo's part I believe this was intentional, and he does gloriously over-act at times. Whereas, Brian Krause is back on form as the male lead role Jeff Trent. Though it's James Rolfe as the policeman that gets some of the better, and funnier, lines and scenes. I found Sara Eshleman as Lucy Grimm a little wooden though again this could have been intentional in homage to the original. If this is the case then she's a good actress as she does wooden well. However, it does make for enjoying the movie a little difficult as it's a great excuse for anything which didn't work too well... it was a homage!

It would have been nice for Johnson not to pay homage to the film by trying to add elements to his remake but to make a straight forward sci- fi flick based on the original story. He proved he can add tension and an atmosphere of dread as is shown with the arrival of the aliens themselves. They were a nice twist as they came to the town members as human, they clearly weren't. Johnson even did an okay job with the action when the heroes go after the aliens. If the same mood and quality had been used throughout we might have had a decent film and not this strange homage.

On the whole, the movie works and is nicely filmed. I would gladly recommend it as it is a decent "leave your brain at the door" waste of time. It definitely isn't the worst movie out there... that's the original... Though this is at least worth one viewing on a cold and wet night when there's nothing better to do. However, I do believe this film to be of the "Marmite" Syndrome - you'll either like it or loathe it. It made me smile and laugh more than grimace and frown, so I love it.

You can tell if a movie comes from the heart or from wanting to cash in on a quick buck. This remake is a good example of what fans of the original film can make as a love letter to Ed Wood.

There are some changes between the original and this remake but it was done with a loving and caring hand.

If you enjoy B movies this is one to catch.