It seemed like a good idea at the time (1958). Conceited aliens in a flying saucer, peeved at human violence, decide to give Earthlings a good scare by resurrecting their dead. When the dead consist of wrestler Tor “The Big Swede With a Heart of Gold” Johnson, the late, lamented TV hostess Vampira and chiropractor-turned-actor Dr. Tom Mason, you can see why Earth fails to take notice. Popularly but incorrectly named as the worst movie ever made, Plan 9 has been a punching bag for nearly a half-century; considering that two of the fists in the assault belong to the loathsome Michael Medved, it’s clear this movie needs defenders. A poignantly inept unauthorized version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, it’s a day-dreamy, surreal experience with genuinely sad work by Bela Lugosi, seen shortly before he was taken by Death, the Proud Brother. Plan 9 has beauty and poetry: “Explode the sunlight here, gentlemen, you explode the universe.” This print has been newly adorned with 3D effects. (RvB)

March 5 at 10pm, San Jose Rep