Night of the Fools

Night of the Fools (2004)

** (out of 4)

Edward D. Wood, Jr. (Dash Titan) starts writing the screenplay for GRAVE ROBBERS FROM OUTER SPACE (later named PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) and decides to gather his friends up to tell them about it. Wood calls up Bela Lugosi, Vampira, Criswell and Tor Johnson and the group goes to dinner to discuss the movie. NIGHT OF THE FOOLS is a pretty unique but very weird film that should have been a whole lot better. I got interested in the film after being so impressed with the director's FRANKENSTEIN VS. Hitler but I think the end result here is a little disappointing. For starters, yes, this is a very low-budget movie that wasn't meant to be taken serious but I think they should have at least tried to get the actors to sound like the people they're playing. The accents to Lugosi and Johnson are just embarrassing and distracting. I also think at times the film bites the hands to the fans who are actually going to be paying money to see it. The entire thing is obviously fictional but I think fans of these people are probably going to be offended by how some of them come off looking. Yeah, I know ED WOOD gets some panties in a bind but this here basically just shows Wood and especially Lugosi as drunks. For a "tribute" the film isn't all that kind to the people. With that said, this obviously isn't meant to be taken serious and it's somewhat entertaining just for the "what if" factor. Who knows how Wood really got the idea and sold it but here's a made up story that is mildly charming if very uneven.