NEON MARQUEE FILM FESTIVAL PART 8: PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959) + ROBOT MONSTER (1953)
While we await the reopening of all our favorite film houses, we’re presenting an ongoing online film festival of a genre (of sorts) of B grade Sci-Fi, legendary cult action and Martial Arts, some ‘so-bad-they’re-good’ faves and unintentionally funny bottom-of-the-video-store-shelf gems!
Start with a pre-show warm up of relevant-to-our-feature classic trailers, clips and commercials, then a link to stream either through official channels or via YouTube (multiple options will be presented if possible).
Played in sequence, it’s just like a night out at the cinema in your living room!
TONIGHT’S DOUBLE FEATURE:
It’s the Citizen Kane of B Grade sci-fi Double Features in the form of Edward D. Wood Jr’s legendary PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE plus cinema’s dumbest alien costume in ROBOT MONSTER!
The legacy of Edward D. Wood Jr, aka Ed Wood is legend. Often crowned the worst Director of all time, Wood’s passion resides in every frame he shot, clearly walking his own path in the 1950s making ‘classics’ like GLEN OR GLENDA (in which Wood starred as a cross dresser), NIGHT OF THE GHOULS and BRIDE OF THE MONSTER featuring actor friends including Tor Johnson, Bela Lugosi (whom Wood admired) and Vampira. PLAN 9 is every idea thrown at the screen at once, concerning an remarkably human looking extra terrestrial planning world domination by resurrecting the dead. It was famously the final role of the horror titan Bela Lugosi who died during production (a stand in has to keep his face covered in all his scenes). Chock full of bargain bin visual effects, flimsy sets and stilted acting, PLAN 9 kick started the ‘so bad it’s good’ trend but remain utterly unintentionally hilarious, and full of passion from the Director.
ROBOT MONSTER may well feature the crappiest looking alien every put on screen. Alien robot ‘Ro-Man’ (a gorilla costume topped with a diving helmet) has destroyed all of humanity with his Calcinator Death Ray, except for eight immune humans. Much of the film is general antagonism of the survivors by the brutish alien, including assault by Cosmic June Rays, which cause prehistoric reptiles to appear (stock footage from the movie 1 Million Years B.C.); and something called Psychotronic vibrations. ROBOT MONSTER is full of hilarious instances like people who have wandered into the background (the earth is meant to be void of life) and a the hand of an assistant holding a prop miniature rocket. We advise some alcohol to go with this film…
FEATURE PRESENTATION ORIGINAL TRAILERS:
Experience the original theatrical trailers for PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and ROBOT MONSTER!
PRE-SHOW REEL
Our pre-show warm up will help you settle into the mood with a collection of 1950s sci-fi trailers!
