Horror films: The funny kind (II)

On Amazon:
• Ed Wood
• Plan 9 from Outer Space

Last post, I mentioned two comic horror films that I recently enjoyed. For Halloween night I've lined up two more:
• Ed Wood and
• Plan 9 from Outer Space.

That should keep us entertained between trick-or-treaters.

If you haven't seen these, I highly recommend them. Or rather, I highly recommend Ed Wood; I recommend Plan 9 in a "so bad it's good" vein. As always, have popcorn or other lightweight, nonstaining foodstuffs on hand to throw.

Ed Wood

Film producer Ed Wood, Jr. is best known for a string of B-movies in the 1950s. He wrote his own scripts, doubled as director/producer, and sometimes even took acting parts. Legend has it that he stretched his budget by stealing props from better-funded productions (notably a broken-down mechanical octopus).

Tim Burton's 1994 biopic Ed Wood tells part of Wood's story, including the filming of his (in)famous Plan 9 From Outer Space, his slapdash style as a director, his fetish for angora sweaters, and his friendship with Béla Lugosi.

Burton's take on Wood is sympathetic; Johnny Depp's Wood is an obsessive with a good heart. Martin Landau's Lugosi is doddering but he comes to life (so to speak) when talking about his glory days as Count Dracula. The friendship between the two men adds some sweet moments to the film; it's not all laughs.

Here's the 1994 trailer:
[NOTE: The video sometimes migrates to the end of the post. It's cursed.]

Plan 9 from Outer Space

Some of the funniest moments in Ed Wood are about the filming of Plan 9 From Outer Space. If you enjoy sheer silliness, I highly recommend Plan 9 (especially after Ed Wood). It's remarkable how well Ed Wood depicted Plan 9, how believable Landau is as Lugosi, and how silly the hubcap-flying saucers look during filming.

I don't think I can describe Plan 9 better than this review by Amazon.com staff:

Plan 9 is the story of space aliens who try to conquer the Earth through resurrection of the dead. Psychic Criswell narrates ("Future events such as these will affect you in the future!") as police rush through the cemetery, occasionally clipping the cardboard tombstones in their zeal to find the source of the mysterious goings-on.

More than just a bad film, Plan 9 is something of a one- stop clearinghouse for poor cinematic techniques: The time shifts whimsically from midnight to afternoon sun, Tor Johnson flails desperately in an attempt to rise from his coffin, and flying saucers zoom past on clearly visible strings. Fading star Bela Lugosi tragically died during filming, but such a small hurdle could not stop writer-producer-director Ed Wood. Lugosi is ingeniously replaced with a man who holds a cape across his face and might as well have "NOT BELA LUGOSI" stamped on his forehead.

Plan 9 is so sweetly well-intentioned in both its message and its execution that it's impossible not to love it. And if you don't, well, as Eros says, "You people of Earth are idiots!" --Ali Davis

All that, and a great trailer!

Tags: horror, comedy, film, movie, video, monster