It’s a classic zombie film trope — the decayed hand suddenly juts up from the grave, signaling that the dead are going to walk.

The remake of the notoriously terrible 1959 movie “Plan 9 from Outer Space” jutted a metaphorical undead hand last month at the science fiction convention MystiCon.

Charlottesville-based low budget filmmakers Darkstone Entertainment scored a public relations coup when they announced plans to shoot “Plan 9” in Roanoke in early 2011. Since filming wrapped, there’s been little public news about this UFO-invasion/zombie-attack mashup.

At MystiCon in Roanoke the evening of Feb. 23, Darkstone revealed about three minutes of footage from “Plan 9” during an hour-long showcase of their short films and videos.

The scene contained no special effects, though, other than some fake blood, as a group of characters trapped in a store — some wounded — argued what to do about the zombies outside.

Lead actor Brian Krause, a star of The WB supernatural drama “Charmed,” managed to register a strong-jawed hero-type commanding presence even during the brief clip.

Darkstone CEO John Johnson said the filmmakers are working on adding the special effects, and are hoping to premiere the complete film this summer.

Weather Journal

12 hours ago