PLAN 9 (2016) **

They always say you should only remake bad movies.  While Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space has been clichély called “The Worst Movie of All Time”, I think time has proven otherwise.  Unlike many similar B pictures of the era, it is full of personal, odd touches that only an auteur like Wood could’ve added.  Strip all that away and what you’d be left with is a serviceable flick, but one without the longevity and following that cult classic has. 

Which brings us to this remake.  I think the best thing I can say about it is that it works up to a point, which in itself is a surprising feat.  Once it goes beyond that point, it becomes more than a little frustrating. 

It starts with a fun conceit, which I will not spoil.  From there, it doesn’t necessarily remake the original, but instead asks the question, “What would happen if an alien invasion via the resurrection of the dead happened today?  What would that look like?”  I have to say it’s an interesting enough of an idea to at least make you curious and somewhat hopeful. 

The problem isn’t so much the idea, but the execution.  After the promising set-up, the film splits its focus on two sets of survivors.  One group is comprised of locals who hole up in a liquor store.  The others are a bunch of cops and scientists in a lab.  Often times it feels like we’re watching two totally different movies.  The humorous scenes set inside the store scenes feel like a real-world scenario.  Unfortunately, that means it’s just like every other low budget zombie movie you’ve seen in the past fifteen years.  It’s not bad, however.  It’s certainly a lot better than the lab scenes, which feel like they’re trying to be bad on purpose, complete with comic relief cops and fast-talking scientists spouting improbable nonstop gobbledygook. 

Some of the casting is inspired.  Horror host Mister Lobo has fun in the Criswell role and I Spit on Your Grave’s Camille Keaton plays the Vampira character.  The rest of the cast is pretty bland, although I will say Brian (Sleepwalkers) Krause does his best to preserve his dignity while essaying the Gregory Walcott role.  The original film’s Conrad Brooks also has a small part, but he really isn’t given a whole lot to do. 

Not content to just have fun with Plan 9 (I liked the nods to the original that occur early on), there are also tips of the hat to other cult classics such as Troll 2 (the town is called “Nilbog”), The Monster Squad, and Return of the Living Dead.  There are even a handful of genuine laughs too.  Once it switches gears and becomes a “real” zombie movie, the fun pretty much dries up.  The gratuitous nudity helps a bit too, but honestly, there was no reason this needed to be 103 minutes.  (The ending sucks.)  However, as far as remakes to beloved cult classics go, you can definitely do a lot worse.