For years, I thought that PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE was the worst movie ever made. However, in recent years I have seen quite a few films that actually were worse--though certainly not as much fun to watch. Of these films that are actually worse than PLAN 9, the very worst of these is MANIAC. In every possible way, it is worse than PLAN 9 and makes Ed Wood, Jr. look like one of the greatest writers/producers/directors that ever lived in comparison! Sure, both films had random stock footage inserted, but MANIAC managed not only to come up with more pointless footage BUT also managed to torment dogs and cats again and again and again!! The folks at PETA would have strokes if they saw the orchestrated animal fights and the average viewer will wonder WHAT these scenes have to do with the film (the correct answer, by the way, is "Nothing"). Other than Michael Vick, I can't see who would want to see this.
Both films also featured the worst actors of the day, but apparently 1934 had a bumper crop!! The guy who played the mad scientist was so awful and overacted so much that he made Tor Johnson (from PLAN 9) look like a thespian!! And so many of the supporting actors and actresses could barely read or remember their lines--in particular, the ladies who were undressing (in another irrelevant scene). Finally, the guy who was accidentally given the injection of "super adrenalin" overacted MUCH worse than the piano-playing guy from REEFER MADNESS!! I truly think the average 6 year-old is potentially a better actor than most of the folks who appeared in this movie.
But the worst aspect, and something that beats PLAN 9 for badness, is the plot and editing. I have never seen a more disconnected and plot-less film. It looked either like the director kept changing his mind and started and re-started many different films and ultimately just spliced them all together OR he was an active schizophrenic. Some parts were silly horror film, some was a porno flick (with a lot of exposed breasts), some was a snuff film for people who hate animals (featuring not just cat fights but a very, very, very realistic scene where a guy pops out the eye of a cat and eats it--done in closeup), and some was just irrelevant clips of ANYTHING they find!! And, on top of all this irrelevance, they interspersed long and dry text explanations of the accepted diagnoses of the day for mental illnesses (though terms such as "Dementia Praecox" are no longer used or accepted). No attempt was made to connect all this disparate images--like it was edited with a chainsaw!
Unfortunately, unlike PLAN 9, this film is also not particularly watchable or interesting. Perhaps bad movie films will still enjoy this mess, but due to it's high level of smut (something that Ed Wood, by the way, put into his later films--post PLAN 9) and disjointness, it's just not interesting--just BAD!
Both films also featured the worst actors of the day, but apparently 1934 had a bumper crop!! The guy who played the mad scientist was so awful and overacted so much that he made Tor Johnson (from PLAN 9) look like a thespian!! And so many of the supporting actors and actresses could barely read or remember their lines--in particular, the ladies who were undressing (in another irrelevant scene). Finally, the guy who was accidentally given the injection of "super adrenalin" overacted MUCH worse than the piano-playing guy from REEFER MADNESS!! I truly think the average 6 year-old is potentially a better actor than most of the folks who appeared in this movie.
But the worst aspect, and something that beats PLAN 9 for badness, is the plot and editing. I have never seen a more disconnected and plot-less film. It looked either like the director kept changing his mind and started and re-started many different films and ultimately just spliced them all together OR he was an active schizophrenic. Some parts were silly horror film, some was a porno flick (with a lot of exposed breasts), some was a snuff film for people who hate animals (featuring not just cat fights but a very, very, very realistic scene where a guy pops out the eye of a cat and eats it--done in closeup), and some was just irrelevant clips of ANYTHING they find!! And, on top of all this irrelevance, they interspersed long and dry text explanations of the accepted diagnoses of the day for mental illnesses (though terms such as "Dementia Praecox" are no longer used or accepted). No attempt was made to connect all this disparate images--like it was edited with a chainsaw!
Unfortunately, unlike PLAN 9, this film is also not particularly watchable or interesting. Perhaps bad movie films will still enjoy this mess, but due to it's high level of smut (something that Ed Wood, by the way, put into his later films--post PLAN 9) and disjointness, it's just not interesting--just BAD!