The X From Outer Space (1967) Review | Godzilla Island Archive

Note: This article was originally published on Godzilla Island in 2015 all views and opinions may have since changed.

The Plot:

The movie starts off with a space expedition in search of a missing research team that disappeared near Mars after encountering a UFO. As the space crew approaches the Moon after leaving Earth, they spot a UFO, and one of the crew members gets sick from space sickness. The team is forced to land at a lunar facility for a short time before continuing their journey to Mars in search of the lost team.

As the ship nears Mars, they get caught in a meteor shower caused by a UFO. Once they clear the storm, the crew notices the back of their ship is covered in a strange substance. The captain and biologist Lisa go out to collect a sample. When they return to Earth, Lisa explains that the substance is a radioactive organic material.

The sample is kept at a research lab while the team goes out to celebrate their successful return. But while the lab is left unattended, the spore begins to absorb energy and quickly grows into a giant monster Guilala!

Guilala becomes enormous after draining all the energy from a nearby power plant. We soon learn that Guilala can feed on almost any energy source electrical, nuclear, or even heat.

The creature stomps across Japan, feeding on every energy source it can find. The military attacks, but their weapons have no effect. Lisa soon discovers that the substance Guilala is made from can be neutralized by a compound found in space called Guilalanium.

The military arms itself with Guilalanium missiles and begins the final attack. The missiles coat Guilala in foamy Guilalanium, and the monster begins to slow down. Eventually, Guilala shrinks back into the tiny spore it once was. The military then launches the spore into space trapping it on a never-ending orbit around the sun.

My Thoughts:

This movie wasn’t bad, but the whole space trip part felt really drawn out they could’ve done without stopping at the Moon. It took quite a while before we got to the monster action, but when Guilala finally appeared, things definitely picked up.

Guilala was a pretty interesting kaiju. It had the ability to shoot fireballs and even turn into a flying ball of energy that destroyed everything around it. The design, though, was kind of goofy with a bird-like beak, oddly shaped head, and a bulky body. It honestly looked like something straight out of an Ultraman episode.

Like I said, the space scenes dragged on, and the beginning was slow. I caught myself just waiting for Lisa to show up again mostly because she was a lot more fun to watch than the crew talking into their constantly broken radio.

Overall, this was an okay movie. I definitely enjoyed Yongary, Monster from the Deep a lot more when it comes to lesser-known monster films. My advice: fast forward through the beginning so you can get to the good stuff. The monster action was solid, the dialogue was repetitive, and the pacing could’ve used some serious tightening up but for classic kaiju fans, it’s still worth a watch for Guilala’s wild design and energy-based powers.