Curious about the reports of a flying saucer being spotted near Mars, a group of Japanese and American explorers set out on a journey into the furthest reaches of space. Once they have arrived, an unknown alien barge sprays the ship with something unidentifiable, which tempts the collective to gather some cells to take back to Earth for studying. After some time has passed, one spore from the sample grows into a colossal creature dubbed "Guilala" that promptly sets out to destroy Tokyo. Frightened and amazed, our resident scientists are now left to ponder about how to properly combat this new threat before the planet is left in ruins.
Well, you can't say that this small portion of Unseen Terror is ending on a high note. Luckily, it isn't going out with a whimper either. The fact of the matter is that the oddly-titled The X from Outer Space (released in its native country as Giant Space Monster Guilala), the first venture into Kaiju Eiga from a very respected veteran film studio, is perhaps one of the strangest, most unique, and indescribably wacky entries into this niche subgenre that has lasted now for more than sixty years. It is regarded as a true "love it or hate it" type of flick. Yet, after finishing it for day five of Unseen Terror, I am still not fully convinced that I know where I stand on it.
The longest running distributor and producers of Japanese cinema (their history runs back to the late 1800s), Shochiku decided that it would be better late than never to jump right into the "Giant Monster" field that seemed to be a big hit with audiences spread across the globe. After all, these films didn't cost the most amount of money to get off the ground and complete (save for specific ones like Destroy All Monsters), and the monster didn't need to look revolutionary so long as you just had it wrecking everything in sight. In those aspects, The X from Outer Space simultaneously knocks it out of the park and stumbles immensely. The technical and artistic side of things are certainly not up to the standards set by long gone geniuses such Eiji Tsuburaya, nor is Guilala a revolutionary addition to the Kaiju mythos. For crying out loud, most of his design resembles that of a rejected Super Sentai villain crossed with a rubber chicken (can't argue with The Golden Turkey Awards for pointing out the latter's similarity years ago), and his roars of anger sound akin to an overgrown, wailing baby. Like Godzilla, he's also attracted to nuclear energy, consuming it to help fuel his wrath. And yet, whenever he decides to feast, it honestly appeared as though he may have been taking a dump.
The score that precedes his first appearance and permeates throughout isn't helping matters either. The X from Outer Space boasts one of the most bizarre, ill-fitting soundtracks that I have been a witness to in some time. You can hear faint hints of jazz and lounge music any time that the main characters are flying their ship or traveling from one location to the other, and if you had told me that any particular piece would go on to reappear in some sort of pornographic series based in another country, I would have not been surprised whatsoever. It's a far cry from the bombastic and grandiose songs composed by the (now) legendary Akira Ifukube. Oddly enough, some of the more normal features that stand out come from the cast of humans. Supporting actress Peggy Neal, one of several Americans chosen to be in this production, is the most interesting or developed of the characters. Mind you, she doesn't have anything that puts her in the same league as some of the genre's more memorable leading women (Kumi Mizuno and Yuriko Hoshi), but she at least seems to be fully on board with the project. I can not say the same for her fellow Western costars though, as some of their acting further helps proves my theory that save for people such as Nick Adams (Invasion of Astro Monster) and Don Frye (Godzilla: Final Wars), most Caucasian performers that sign on to star in Japanese movies end up being one of, if not THE very worst parts of them.
Before I summarize my thoughts overall, I feel that I should mention something in regards to yesterday's picture Gappa: it was originally conceptualized as a parody of the entire genre, but was eventually reimagined as a straight-forward movie instead. Fascinatingly enough, this appears to be the opposite case for Guilala's first foray into the field. And no, I did not stutter. Over forty years later, he would actually resurface in the aptly-titled The Monster X Strikes Back/Attack the G8 Summit, which IS apparently treated as a sendup of kaiju and tokusatsu treats alike. The best compliment, and coincidentally the best description that you can give The X from Outer Space is that it is a weird, flawed experiment that stands out in the admittedly overcrowded period of the Kaiju boom that was at its peak in the second half of the 1960s (this predated the release of aforementioned entry Gappa by less than a whole month). It is the definition of a "get a hold of something strong and watch with your friends" kind of film. Any sort of addition, be it related to friends or beverages, may just help you get through some of the slower parts without nearly falling asleep (our antagonist doesn't pop up on screen until the forty-six minute mark). If you are of the variety that needs to see any and every flick that stars grown men in gimmicked rubber suits crushing toys beneath their feet, The X from Outer Space can be viewed for free on YouTube, and is available on DVD via Criterion.
No, you did not read that last sentence incorrectly. In 2007, the revered home video company launched Eclipse, which was conceived to help cover and promote the more obscure and arguably seldom-wanted releases that were desired by perhaps a very niche audience. This version also includes the original Japanese audio and liner notes that presumably just consist of the word "WHY" being used repeatedly for several paragraphs. It's especially amusing that X is packaged in a set dubbed "When Horror Came to Shochiku," as it is the only movie in the collection that appears to be anything but frightening and is more in line with C-level science fiction and fantasy.
Then again, maybe you ARE scared of giant, scaly chicken men and just don't know it yet.
Tomorrow, the monsters are thankfully going back into hibernation for a little while, as we need a break to come back to reality. But with the 1990 entry that is coming up, can we be so sure as to what is real and what is not?
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