Plan 9 from Outer Space (4½ Stars)

How dare people call this the worst film ever made! Okay, it's lost that title now because the general consensus is that "The Room" is even worse, but it doesn't deserve to be called bad at all. People concentrate on the film's technical faults and ignore its qualities. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is fast paced and exciting. The acting is high quality. It features the incredible Bela Lugosi in his final role.

I've watched this film again and again. It's special for me, because it was the first film I bought on video tape, so long ago that I've forgotten what year it was. As a sci-fi/horror crossover it's camp, it's over-the-top and it's brilliant.

Of the many technical faults cited by film critics, only one disturbs me. I don't think that Tom Mason was a good stand-in for Bela Lugosi after his death. They look nothing like one another. It's disturbing to see the two actors alternate from one scene to the next.

As for the other problems like inconsistent lighting and cheap props, who cares? Low budgets have never bothered me. A good director can make the best of what he can afford, and Ed Wood was a great director. If he were alive today he'd be using computer scenes generated by university students willing to work for free.

I don't know what's more amazing about Vampira: her thin waist or her enormous hands.

Bela Lugosi was a magnificent actor until the end.

"Plan 9 from Outer Space" has been released and re-released so many times in a variety of formats with differing quality. It's now in the public domain, so you can find it on YouTube, legally. The version I recommend is the remastered Blu-ray available from Amazon.com. It contains both the original b/w version and a coloured version. I know that purists reject the colouring of b/w films, but check it out before you criticise it.

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