Some movies are far more enjoyable than they have any right to be. Psychomania; The Wild, Wild World of the Batwoman; Manos, the Hands of Fate - poorly made, twisted, confused films which somehow engage the camp sensibility and make us love them. The X from Outer Space is one of these.
On the surface, this film is just bad. A kaiju that takes nearly an hour for the monster to show up, and consists mostly of footage of fake rockets traveling back and forth pointlessly, while a complicated love-triangle plot develops amongst the human cast? Godzilla would never treat us like that.
Once the monster, "code-named" Guilala, does arrive, he's spectacularly silly-looking. Triangular head, beak, deely-boppers, weird, over-sized shoulders, and frills on his limbs and body that make him look like he's constructed from Chinese dumplings. (The modelwork, on the other hand, is reasonably good.) He stomps a few cities, feeds on radiation, fights the military, and is eventually defeated through superscience, exactly as one might expect.
The real prize in this movie is where you'd least expect, usually the least interesting part of any kaiju - the human plot. OK, our Rocket Captain Hero, Sano, is supposed to be torn between his Japanese girlfriend, Michiko, and a blonde Western scientist, Lisa. Michiko is supposed to be intensely jealous of Lisa. And in the end, Sano is supposed to realize that he is better off with a Japanese girl, 'cause apparently, the races are not meant to mingle, or something.
The problem is, Sano never shows any real affection for either woman, while Lisa and Michiko are bestest friends when M. isn't pouting over Sano. They even buy each other gifts and show up together dressed for dinner. It becomes much easier to imagine that Lisa and Michiko are the two in a relationship, and that M. is jealous of Lisa's attraction to Sano. And at that point, hilarity ensues.
If you watch this film, first plant your mind firmly in the gutter. You'll be glad you did.
On the surface, this film is just bad. A kaiju that takes nearly an hour for the monster to show up, and consists mostly of footage of fake rockets traveling back and forth pointlessly, while a complicated love-triangle plot develops amongst the human cast? Godzilla would never treat us like that.
Once the monster, "code-named" Guilala, does arrive, he's spectacularly silly-looking. Triangular head, beak, deely-boppers, weird, over-sized shoulders, and frills on his limbs and body that make him look like he's constructed from Chinese dumplings. (The modelwork, on the other hand, is reasonably good.) He stomps a few cities, feeds on radiation, fights the military, and is eventually defeated through superscience, exactly as one might expect.
The real prize in this movie is where you'd least expect, usually the least interesting part of any kaiju - the human plot. OK, our Rocket Captain Hero, Sano, is supposed to be torn between his Japanese girlfriend, Michiko, and a blonde Western scientist, Lisa. Michiko is supposed to be intensely jealous of Lisa. And in the end, Sano is supposed to realize that he is better off with a Japanese girl, 'cause apparently, the races are not meant to mingle, or something.
The problem is, Sano never shows any real affection for either woman, while Lisa and Michiko are bestest friends when M. isn't pouting over Sano. They even buy each other gifts and show up together dressed for dinner. It becomes much easier to imagine that Lisa and Michiko are the two in a relationship, and that M. is jealous of Lisa's attraction to Sano. And at that point, hilarity ensues.
If you watch this film, first plant your mind firmly in the gutter. You'll be glad you did.