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On July 22, 1959, 67 years ago today, the film that became the defining example of "so bad it's good" cinema movies hit theaters.
After it premiered at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on March 15, the independent film Plan 9 From Outer Space was officially released in theaters four months later.
The sci-fi B-movie follows extraterrestrial beings who are determined to stop humans from creating a weapon that will destroy the entire universe. After eight unsuccessful attempts, the aliens devise a new plan, Plan 9, which resurrects dead humans using electrical currents. The objective is to use the army of the undead to terrorize the human race into submission.
After failing at the box office, the movie eventually became a cult classic, albeit for the wrong reasons. It earned legendary status for its low-budget production errors.
Among other things, this included director and writer Ed Wood using old and unrelated silent footage of star Bela Lugosi in the film after the actor died before principal photography began. Wood eventually used a double, whose face was covered throughout the film.
Plan 9 From Outer Space Considered the Worst Film Ever Made
A 2022 article by the BBC cites a 1978 book entitled The Fifty Worst Films of All Time in order to answer one question: Is Plan 9 From Outer Space the worst film ever made?
The book did not include Plan 9 From Outer Space. This produced significant feedback from readers who believed that this was a glaring omission.
The authors of the book, Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss, made up for their oversight when they published a follow-up in 1980, The Golden Turkey Awards. They declared Plan 9 From Outer Space unequivocally as The Worst Film of All Time.
As an added bonus, The Golden Turkey Awards also named Wood as the Worst Director of All Time for his work in Plan 9 From Outer Space.
In its defense, the sci-fi cult classic has a 66% score on Rotten Tomatoes. A review on the renowned movie review portal said it best.
"The epitome of so-bad-it's-good cinema, Plan 9 From Outer Space is an unintentionally hilarious sci-fi 'thriller' from anti-genius Ed Wood that is justly celebrated for its staggering ineptitude," the critics' consensus read.
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