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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Good concept, poorly executed.

Excellent but underrated film

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I actually used to work with Stefene Russell, who told me (or someone did) that the film was named Plan 10 after being called the worse movie ever, even worse than Plan 9. Anyhow, here in Utah, we do enjoy our Trent Harris. The Mormons, on the other hand...well, this place fascinates me.There's a lot here that only a Utahn might understand, though on second viewing I realized that Trent did try to give just the right amount of background information to explain all the Mormon references. If you can find this, I'd suggest renting it. I also recommend Trent's Rubin and Ed, for that matter. And read the Wild Goose Chronicles.

Good for Trent Harris, who against all odds and commercial interests managed to make a small handful of truly unusual films in the 1990's. Plan 10, though nowhere near as good as Rubin and Ed, defies categorization, touching on parody, surrealism and a wee bit of spirituality. Young Salt Lake City resident Stefene Russell aspires to become a writer, although she's somewhat held back by the unusual characters in her life. Her panty-sniffing brother Patrick Michael Collins receiving messages from space, which sends him to a mental institution; father Alex Caldiero, who reads experimental poetry in wheat fields for tourists, doesn't really seem to care. Worst of all is neighbor Curtis James, who spends all his time dancing with his shirt off in front of a window, clearly visible from Russell's typewriter. While sunning at the lake, Russell stumbles upon a metal plaque with some strange inscriptions. Determined to decipher, she brings them to a series of experts, eventually landing her in James's swinging pad. Together they find a book which explains a confusing conspiracy theory: feminist aliens started the Mormon church in order to impregnate humans. Her story ends her up at the insane asylum, from which she soon escapes to finish translating an ancient alien text, hopefully in time to save Salt Lake City from interstellar attack. Early in the film, Harris includes a brilliant, mostly true documentary on the Mormons, to not only give a little background but also show off his ability to mimic other genres. He's clearly an adept director, and the parts that feel awkward or unusual may well be completely intentional. Plan 10 occasional clunkiness comes from a highly unconventional approach to storytelling, very much in the mold of American comedy yet created from a maverick perspective. The cast is made up entirely of no-names; I'm guessing that Harris put all his friends in the movie. Indeed, some of the characters seem so superfluous that I wonder if he wrote in small parts for pals. Head alien Karen Black stands out as an exception, but I'm guessing her scenes were shot in a day. Harris has a keen sense of the absurd. While not quite a genius, he's certainly a visionary, and the world would be a better place if he kept on making movies.

This campy surreal dreamworld presents metaphysical paranoia at its best. Talmage, Lucinda, Larsen, Nehor: who's in charge of this fluid Mormon ooze? No need to be a Mormon to appreciate this subtle satire, but by god it helps. Have interdimensional aliens slipped one past Smith? Collecting wives, should Brigham have overlooked that titillating alien? Karen Black's breathtaking performance as... Nehor? is superb. No better sendup of Mormonism on this or any other planet. Unrated; full bacchal nudity; Brigham fu; mind-boggling interstellar vehicle; Danite mayhem; ancestor fu; electroconvulsive flashbacks; gold plate ground hog fu; Warhol relics; recurring Smith sphinx; straight-arrow sex-mad angels; revelating aliens; weird damn fu. Dave Bob sez check it out.

Plan 10 is a fun story mixing mormon mysteries and hostile aliens from outer space. It delves into the Utah mormon realm with outstanding performances from local heroes Alex Caldiero and Gyll Huff. Don't miss the stunning visual effects (all created with an optical printer instead of digital FX) and of course the references to Rubin and Ed. Very mondo!