In letterbox, in a near-pristine print, in the original Japanese (with subtitles) I have to say this is a much better film than the one most of us saw on TV, back in the day.For one thing, the line "Monsters have rights, too!" is never uttered. even in translation. (Although -- now that I think of it -- some people might prefer the dubbed version precisely because of its goofiness.) Of course, that's just the dialog, and even the most handsome presentation of this film can't obscure its marvelously wacky weirdness. The miniatures and effects are kind of a mixed bag. The space-related sets and models are actually fairly well executed, but the monster effects are often sub-Toho, sometimes hilariously so, like when an absurdly out-of-scale F-101 Starfighter crashes into the X and just sort of hangs there for a few seconds. I think that's more from a lack of experience with kaiju flicks on the part of the studio and its technicians than penny-pinching. In the Criterion edition, at least, it's obvious that Shochiku put a not inconsiderable amount of money into this production.Silly as it undeniably is, there are in fact some very creative moments in this movie, such as when the monster absorbs too much energy from a nuclear reactor and turns into a gigantic, red-hot sphere which bounces around Tokyo, wreaking fiery havoc until it plunges into a lake.When you look at the competition, stuff like "Gappa: The Triphibian Monster" and "Yongary", in its very odd and quite unique way this is clearly one of the most entertaining of the Toho-wannabe giant monster films of the 60s.

This film was released in a year (1967) when seemingly every studio in Japan released a kaiju film. Toho released Kingukongu no gyakushu and Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko, Daiei released Gamera tai uchu kaijû Bairasu and even Nikkatsu got into the act with its one and only kaiju film Daikyojû Gappa. However, Japan's oldest studio, Shochiku, finally got into the act with what is probably the worst film in the genre. The monster definitely looks like a combination of a reptile and giant chicken and it definitely looked like one of the worst monsters that was ever created. As for the story, the writers looked as if they couldn't decide to make this film a serious science-fiction film or a spoof. Peggy Neal is the typical damsel in distress and makes it worse by acting like the stereotypical ditsy blonde. The rest of the cast is even worse. At least Toho's kaiju films had not only good stories but great acting as well. This was definitely the genre at its worst.

These are some of the lines that actress Peggy Neal has to utter in this silly Japanese monster flick. Story is about a team of astronauts that are to be sent to Mars because the previous ships that went have not reported back and they think it has something to do with the UFO activity in the area. The team of astronauts are led by Capt. Sano (Toshiya Wazaki) and one of his crew members is an American biologist named Lisa (Neal) and she is in love with Sano but Sano has a girlfriend Michiko (Itoko Harada) and she works at the lunar station on the Moon. While in space the ship encounters UFO's but they also discover some sort of growth on the outside of the ship. They collect what looks like an egg and bring it back to Earth. While this egg sits in a lab something happens to it and a creature hatches out. It grows to enormous size and it feeds on nuclear energy. It can spit out fire balls and goes on a rampage across Japan. They figure out that a certain element can stop it and they load up the missile's and send out the jets. This film was directed by Kazui Nihonmatsu and the first 30 to 45 minutes I thought that this was a silly but passable sci-fi flick but once the monster gets loose than the silliness goes just as you would expect of these Japanese monster movies. Neal recites lines about how she learned something from the monster but one thing that I found to be the funniest is that her character is suppose to be in love with Wazaki who appears to be even shorter than she is. And he spends the whole film being very stoic and keeping things very professional. I also laughed when the team of astronauts are in space and Neal who is a biologist is still expected to get coffee and hand out meals to everyone. So much for being a biologist! The special effects are pretty bad even by "Mothra" standards and in one scene two people are suppose to be floating while on the Moon but it's obvious that they are jumping up and down on a hidden trampoline in slow motion. The studio brought out the toy tanks and jets and of course when in space you can see the wires. The monster costume is especially laughable and it's kind of a cross between a lizard and a chicken but it has two antenna's on it's head. There is also this spout sticking out of it's forehead and I guess I missed the scene where this was put to use by the monster. I did like the two actress's in the film (Neal and Harada) and in one scene they are both taking a shower and kicking the soap back and forth. This is your typical low budget Japanese monster movie with extremely bad special effects. Like I said, typical!

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Where to begin? This film has it all. First we have the crazy 60s era costumes and sets (far out). Then the crazy dubbing over the Japanese voices, which is hilarious. Just listen to when they identify the ship "AA B GAMMA... AA B GAMMA!" There's also the scenes on the moon with the nearly visible trampolines with people in space suits jumping merely up and down. Classic.But then, like an hour into the movie, the real treat. GUILALA arrives on the scene.When GUILALA (pronounce gee la la, with little emphasis on the g sound) arrives on Earth, all hell breaks lose. This space chicken from hell sure packs a punch. He lays waste to the whole Japanese air defense force (one plane smacks him square in the face and he keeps on going). His fire ball breath is a riot, especially when he hits the one plane *directly* above him perfectly. He does a lot of cool stuff including absorb nuclear energy and transform in a large energy ball that can set cities on fire (sparing a few neighborhoods however).GUILALA should have had his own series as GODZILLA and GAMERA have had. He's got power, charisma, and a certain cheesy charm with those glowing red eyes and silly antenna bobbing up and down. I love the little guy's roar too. (RRRrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaRR!!!)Along with my friend Stephanie, I felt really sad for poor GUILALA in the end....*** SPOILERS!!! *** DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER *** SPOILERS!!! ***...they defeat GUILALA using a rare material known as "Guilalium", which blocks GUILALA's main drive; it stops the flow of energy. Using some remaining jets, the Japanese Defense Air Force literally bukkakes the mighty monster into his small, harmless spore form. This movie marks the first bukkake scene in history.GUILALA is then launched into space as a spore. Sadly, when the end credits roll, you too will feel bad for the little guy. Hopefully we may see a remake or sequel down the road, but since this was made in 1967, the chances are slim.Note that GUILALA isn't the only "space chicken" seen in kaiju (giant monster) movies. GODZILLA's foe GIGAN is also a space chicken, although GIGAN came later and he had cybernetic enhancements such as a chest buzz saw.Pray for an American DVD release for "THE X FROM OUTER SPACE" because it is only available on DVD as an import.GUILALA, "THE X FROM OUTER SPACE" is truly a kaiju classic and it's a lot of fun to watch with a group of friends. Give it a whirl.GUILALA had earned the right to be recognized among Monster Island legends GODZILLA, RODAN, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH, GAMERA, and GYAOS! ALL HAIL GUILALA!