There are two types of bad movies: the ones that are so bad you don’t want to watch, and the ones that are so bad they are incredibly entertaining.

“Plan 9 from Outer Space” falls into the latter category, and it is one of the best films ever to do so.

Made in 1959, director Ed Wood’s film does everything a bad movie needs to do in order to be entertaining. The continuity is atrocious, the acting horrendous and the dialogue incredibly laughable.

It starts off like a normal 1950s movie would, and for about two minutes seems like it could be a legitimate film with a purpose. A narrator sets an eerie tone and introduces us to a plot that involves aliens conspiring to bring dead humans back to life in order to exterminate the human race. This is all part of their plan to save the universe the humans are demolishing.

Even with its ridiculous-sounding plot, it seems like it may turn out to be like any other 1950s classic horror film. But that feeling goes away as soon as the film’s actors start to converse with each other.

The film even gets to the point where its horrible production values make it funnier than most comedies. Flying saucers made of Cadillac hubcaps are clearly held up by strings, the aliens look exactly like humans (except they wear purple), and the time of day changes with every camera-angle change. And when the aliens finally bring the dead back to life, it comes as no shock that they resemble Dracula and Vampira.

If a movie is bad to the point that it is unappealing, that most likely has to do with its pacing. If anything “Plan 9” does should be commended, it would have to be how quickly and effectively the film throws things at the viewer. It never is dull or boring, and it does a good job of actually making things interesting. It doesn’t adhere to the conventions seen by most films from its genre, and that can be attributed to having a crazy director.

The film was shot over a five-day period and reportedly cost $20,000 to make, and this clearly shows. Certain characters’ scenes were even filmed in a couple hours because of other commitments and Wood’s desire to have a particular actor in the film. Despite the film’s poor quality, Wood cared a lot about making an entertaining film, something that clearly comes out in the film. The problem is, the way it is entertaining likely isn’t what Wood was going for.

“Plan 9” is a movie that gets better with each viewing. Going in to see it without any prior knowledge of it may be the best route. Then after an initial viewing, doing some research and finding out the history of the film and its director is recommended. Then watch the film again, and it becomes much funnier and interesting and overall a better experience than even the first viewing.

As far as enjoyably bad films go, “Plan 9” may be the second best, behind Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room.” And until “The Room” was released, it easily earned the title of being the “Citizen Kane” of bad movies. It is a quintessential film to see, and the experience it provides is something that few films ever come close to duplicating.