Plan 9 from Outer Space

Plan 9 from Outer Space is an American science fiction film released in 1957. The movie marks itself as a significant entry in director Ed Wood's bizarre and unique chronicle. Starring Gregory Walcott, Tom Keene, and Mona McKinnon, this 79-minute long feature is widely dubbed as one of the worst movies ever made – yet, that's exactly what has driven it into the status of cult classic. It's a strange and memorable affair that's enchantingly daft and ridiculously entertaining, all at once.

The movie begins in the San Fernando Valley, where a pair of gravediggers are spooked by an uncanny presence in the cemetery. The plot thickens when an airline pilot, the affably resolute Jeff Trent, played by Gregory Walcott, spots a UFO while out on a flight. This series of sightings and inexplicably eerie situations are linked – as we find out – by an extraterrestrial scheme. The flying saucers reported are not figments of imagination, but the menacing evidence of an outer space plan, dubbed 'Plan 9'.

Tom Keene plays Colonel Tom Edwards, a military man quick to action when he's notified of the unearthly sightings. His role brings a dash of requisite government intrigue to the movie and plays up the atmosphere of fear and suspicion. The titular Plan 9 appears to be the aliens’ plot to resurrect dead humans, creating an army of the living dead, paving their path to seize control of Earth.

Opposite to Walcott’s Jeff Trent, Mona McKinnon takes on the role of his wife, Paula Trent, whose encounters with these resurrected undead propels her to the center of this plot, adding just the right amount of drama to an already capricious narrative.

The film also gives a notable but brief appearance to Béla Lugosi, famously known for his role as Dracula. Lugosi, who had died before the principal photography was completed, is seen through patches of pre-existing footage that were cleverly worked into the narrative. This seemingly oddball method not only marks Wood's ingenuity and eccentricity as a filmmaker but also lends an unusual aura to the storytelling that was characteristic of his work.

The significant aspect of Plan 9 from Outer Space is that despite its commonly perceived flaws, the movie reflects the period of atomic age anxieties over flying saucers and outer space invasions. The underlying message of the aliens, warning against the consequences of reckless human actions, has a thematic depth that contrasts intriguingly with the notably simplistic storyline.

The movie is characterized by its substandard special effects, low-budget aesthetic, and unconventional narrative style. From cardboard tombstones that wobble in the wind to visible strings moving the flying saucers, the crude production values have been both derided and celebrated, making this movie a joyful feast of so-bad-it's-good cinema.

Through its weird-yet-lovable characters, oddball scenarios, and a thoroughly eccentric approach, Plan 9 from Outer Space makes an oddly intriguing commentary on the human obsession with otherworldly fears and possibilities. From the lens of Ed Wood, the aliens aren't just invaders out to dominate Earth. They constitute a mirror to human folly in a convoluted, yet fascinating way.

Plan 9 from Outer Space thus stands as a monument of Ed Wood's unabashedly bizarre universe of horror and science fiction. It is a movie that survives in popular culture not merely because of its unconventional nature, but because it's a fun-filled, entertaining ride that reflects an out-of-the-box approach to cinematic storytelling. More than sixty years later, the Ed Wood classic still holds up as a mainstay in the realm of cult films, offering an intriguing glimpse into mid-20th-century pop culture, paranoia, and low-budget film-making charm.