Saturday, August 12, 2023

Sometimes only schlock will fill the bill

There are some movies which have been called worst ever made and I’d take issue with that, as they fall into the category “so bad, they’re good”.  Then there are the really bad-bad, such as Gigli and that Paris Hilton film. This below is probably SB,IG. Here’s a review:

While it thoroughly deserves its reputation as a film only worth seeing so that you can enjoy its remarkably amateurish production, on the other hand it seems a bit unfair to label "Plan 9 From Outer Space" as the worst film ever made. 

Most of it is quite watchable, it's not at all offensive, and the story - utterly ridiculous as it is - moves fairly quickly, and gives you some reasons to stick around to the end. Those qualities put it well ahead of a great many movies that cost a lot more to make and that involved many more recognizable names than you'll find in this cast.

To be sure, almost everything about it is of amazingly poor quality, from the incompetent directing and acting to the slipshod special effects to the dialogue that produces countless unintentional laughs. The story is goofy, and uses ideas and devices that lack credibility even by sci-fi standards. Everyone who watches it has their own list of favorite examples of this film's complete ineptitude.


And as for this:

Reading some of the reviews here I find it hard to understand how anyone can be disappointed in this movie. It lays its stall out in the first two minutes. Girl is attacked by a tomato - then some of the funniest opening credits ever. It is so preposterous it defies criticism. 

This is the purest form of High Concept movie making. 

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"... unless you didn't actually KNOW what a tomato was how could anyone think this is anything other than what it is - a dumb, stupid, funny movie? and I defy anyone who watches this film not to have the theme song running around their head for days afterwards.

3 comments:

  1. We watched "Plan 9 From Outer Space" with our grandson. He wanted to watch it because of its reputation and ended up enjoying it because there are so many makeshift props and entertaining goofs.

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  2. Alex Cox hosted a series on TV many years ago which featured films like these. They helpfully inserted arrows pointing to gaffes where props were exposed. As it happens I find these films enormously entertaining.

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  3. I started watching it as the TV output is so apalling (especially now commentary for the dumb has been added), and I had an hour or so to spare. No worse than many of the early Dr Whos' (and much better than the later ones). Shall revisit the black lagoon later.
    Great choices JH

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