JLRVancouver As soon as the jaunty opening credits song begins, you know that "The X from Outer Space" is going to be an adorably silly guy-in-a-suit monster movie. The music is so out of place one might think someone switched tapes in the final edit (and that somewhere in Brazil, someone is trying to dance to an ominous monster-march). The script (or the subtitling - I don't speak Japanese so I don't know who to credit/blame) is over the top: the spaceship is christened the "Astro-boat" (which, although perhaps a legitimate translation of the much cooler term "starship", sounds like some kind of space scow) and the flying saucer is described as looking like a "half cooked omelette". The monster predates "Alien" for burning holes in the floor (creepy) but then leaves an acidic footprint resembling a chicken's (goofy). The final monster itself is memorable: a beak surrounded by cheeks like Gary Colman's set in a triangular head (with BOTH antenna and some kind of horn (more of the flugle type than the pointy type usually associated with monsters)), which is perched on an enormous scaly body propelled by immense chicken-like feet. Plus, it shoot fireballs out its mouth and eats radioactivity (no surprise there, most kaiju eat radioactivity) AND turns into a flying ball of radioactive fire! The miniature work, especially the space port and moon station are excellent and the "Astro-boat" is imaginative (similar American movies would just use stock footage of V2s - forward for takeoff, reversed for landing). The spaceship crew is a classic mix of stoic captain, sexy female scientist, comic-relief guy, and cowardly guy who panics when the going gets tough. As well, there is a little romantic intrigue between the astronaut eye-candy and the moon-base eye-candy, which helps soften the scenes of carnage as the Guilala (the eponymous X) wrecks Tokyo. On the IMDb 1 – 10 scale, this is a '-1' for regular viewers but an '11' for hard-core diakaiju fans (and for viewers who have to peer around their bong to see the TV screen) so I'll give it a 6 (because I lean toward the diakaiju fan side of the equation).

Scarecrow-88 Doomed space voyages from Japan to reach Mars are continually interrupted by a mysterious UFO which resembles a meat pie. We follow the space shuttle crew of AAB-Gamma as they attempt to try once more to reach Mars..but, such as the other voyages before them, the crew encounter the same UFO which endangers them by leaving "emitted clouds of vapor". This "vapor" leaves their ship at half-power without the ability to accelerate at full thrust or a navigational system. They collect a mysterious luminous object from their outer hull, vacuum sealing it in a canister for further study. Receiving fuel from their moon base nearby, the crew return to Earth retreating from their flight plan to Mars. Inside the object they collected is an alien life form which is so heated it escapes through the canister, table, and floor released into the atmosphere and growing at an alarming rate. The rubber-suited monster appears as some sort of reptilian chicken dinosaur hungry for atomic energy and rampaging throughout Japan, wiping out cities or objects that stand in it's path looking for food to sustain it's enormous appetite. We follow the exploits of the AAB-Gamma crew, their bosses at FAFC Aronautics, and Japanese military as they decide how to stop this creature from continuing it's murderous reign of terror. It seems the only feasible explanation in understanding how to combat this seemingly indestructible monster is focusing on what kept him at bay for so long in space to begin with..testing the remains of the shell he escaped from to begin with just might hold the answers they seek.Lots of models are destroyed by this rubber-suited monstrosity during the film..there's no way you can enjoy this flick by taking it at all seriously. The premise is beyond absurd and weird, but there's a lot of enjoyment in store for those who can tune out the silly story. Poor cast really try to sell this picture regardless of the material. The monster itself is hilarious. Goofy, mindless fun.

TheUnknown837-1 The X from Outer Space (why is the monster called an "X", what is an "X" in terms of monsters?) is a pretty dumb low-budget Japanese monster movie. What this movie, and many others like it, fail to recognize is that they can't be like Godzilla since they don't put much character and story development into it (like there was in the first Godzilla film). The X from Outer Space features a weird alien monster called Guilala and it looks pretty freaky and weird, like some kind of a child's play toy. Its roar suits it, but if you ask me, it's too simple. The creature's theme is just the same thing repeating over and over again, but it does seem to help the entertainment of Guilala's attacks somewhat more. Another fake thing about this movie is the military weapons. They are all more than obviously plastic toys (even faker than those used in the early Godzilla films). The missiles on the rocket launchers are obviously like like 4th of July things, they spark at the end and then abruptly shoot off. This movie would have probably been better if there wasn't so much human parts put into the story. Most of the screen is taken up by the bad acting (which I really don't mind), and the even worse tract of English dubbing. Overall, The X from Outer Space is a pretty dumb Japanese monster movie and an obvious Godzilla and Gamera want-to-be.

Cockboner If you're heavily into monster movies(Godzilla,King Kong,Gamera etc.),then you're going to love this much overlooked classic. This was my first monster movie,ahoy precious childhood memories,and it still looks amazing.That's it if you like men dressing up in rubber suits and stomping buildings,fighting military aircrafts and so on. And yeah,sweet space images,some "atmospheric",groovy music...this one has it all! Guilala(the monster) rocks!Some astronauts on a space mission,stumbles upon some mystic "space spores/egg" - and surprise,surprise - bring it back to earth for further investigation.Guess what happens? Some gigantic monster is on the loose. Now if there only was a sequel...please,please!