Plan 9 From Outer Space

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Plan 9 From Outer Space

Released Mar 15, 1957

1h 19m

Sci-Fi

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Popcornmeter

66%

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38 Reviews

45%

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25,000+ Ratings

Residents of California's San Fernando Valley are under attack by flying saucers from outer space. The aliens, led by Eros (Dudley Manlove) and his assistant, Tanna (Joanna Lee), intend to conquer the planet by resurrecting corpses in a Hollywood cemetery. The living dead -- a cape-wearing ghoul (Bela Lugosi), a vampire (Vampira) and a slow-footed cop (Tor Johnson) who was killed for his nosiness -- stalk curious humans who wander into the cemetery looking for evidence of the UFOs.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Wood lacked both the dramatic sense to unfold his speculations in action and the technique (as well as the money) to embody, in any plausible way, his spectacular fancies, but their crude approximations vibrate with his stifled exaltation.

Aug 29, 2016

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

J. Hoberman of the Village Voice has made a case for Wood as an unconscious avant-gardist; there's no denying that his blunders are unusually creative and oddly expressive.

Mar 28, 2007

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Derek Adams

Time Out

It all ends with famous psychic Criswell asking the audience, 'Can you prove it didn't happen? God help us in the future'. Prophetic.

Feb 9, 2006

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

I have seen high school productions with better (and more professional) acting.

Rated: 1/4

Nov 1, 2021

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Josiah Teal

Film Threat

I genuinely love this film and, with complete conviction, believe everyone should see this. It is so bad that it's flawless.

Rated: 10/10

May 11, 2021

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

What distinguishes Plan 9 from the other contenders for worst film of all time is the movie's brazen sense of confidence.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 23, 2014

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Kerry J

Flawlessly terrible.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/30/25

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mark g

So catastrophically awful that it is incredibly entertaining. And no, this was not Wood's intention, he was just that awful of filmmaker... I mean, awesome of filmmaker.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

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SkyRo P

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) is often labeled as one of the worst films ever made—and after watching it, I can honestly see why. I went into it with an open mind. I’ve always believed that 1950s films, while not technically advanced, can be charming, creative, and full of quirky storytelling. I expected something delightfully cheesy—especially with names like Vampira attached. But what I got instead was an absolute mess. The writing is painfully bad, the acting is even worse, and the overall production feels like a parody of itself. Even for a low-budget film, Plan 9 doesn’t try to hide how fake and lazy everything is. From the cardboard sets to the awkward performances, it’s clear that very little effort was put into making any of it believable. It’s not the kind of “so bad it’s good” cult classic I was hoping for—it’s just bad. I imagine audiences in the ‘50s left the theater just as confused and disappointed as I was, asking each other: What the hell did we just watch? If you’re looking for vintage sci-fi fun, there are plenty of better options out there. This one is just weird, awkward, and a total miss.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/08/25

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Jesse K

So bad that it’s amazing

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/27/25

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Nick O

The Holy Bible of B movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

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Andrew T

Perfect no problems no notes, legitimately a perfect movie it is so amazing there is no possible movies to compare it to.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/18/25

Full Review

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Edward D. Wood Jr.

Director

Bela Lugosi

Ghoul Man

Vampira

Vampire Girl

Tor Johnson

Insp. Dan Clay

Gregory Walcott

Jeff Trent

Mona McKinnon

Paula Trent

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Synopsis

Residents of California's San Fernando Valley are under attack by flying saucers from outer space. The aliens, led by Eros (Dudley Manlove) and his assistant, Tanna (Joanna Lee), intend to conquer the planet by resurrecting corpses in a Hollywood cemetery. The living dead -- a cape-wearing ghoul (Bela Lugosi), a vampire (Vampira) and a slow-footed cop (Tor Johnson) who was killed for his nosiness -- stalk curious humans who wander into the cemetery looking for evidence of the UFOs.

Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Producer: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Screenwriter: Edward D. Wood Jr.
Distributor: Distributors Corporation of America Inc.
Production Co: Reynolds Pictures Inc.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 1957, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 26, 2011
Runtime: 1h 19m
Sound Mix: Mono

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