Get ready to blast off for a healthy dose of campy, 1960s sci-fi goodness! In Japan, it is known by its much cooler title, Uchū Daikaijū Girara (Giant Space Monster Guilala). The 1967 film The X From Outer Space is a beloved entry into the kaiju (giant monster) genre, even if it is utterly ridiculous. Kazui Nihonmatsu directed this movie. It is a monster mash from Shochiku studio. The film is the perfect blend of space adventure, rubber-suit mayhem, and a monster who looks like a confused space-chicken.
🚀 Part I: The Not-So-Smooth Space Race
The film starts with the international crew of the spaceship AAB-Gamma launching from Japan. They are on a mission to Mars. Several previous expeditions had mysteriously failed at this task. Captain Sano leads the crew. The international cast includes the American scientist Lisa Schneider, played by Peggy Neal. They make a brief but essential stop at a futuristic-looking moon base.
- The Problem: Nearing Mars, the ship is attacked by a bizarre, unseen UFO, which sprays the AAB-Gamma with a strange, foamy substance containing spores.
- The Mistake: In classic B-movie fashion, the crew decides to collect a sample of the glowing, otherworldly substance to bring back to Earth for study. What could possibly go wrong?
The early parts of the movie offer an enjoyable mix of groovy ’60s set design and international intrigue. There is also an unnecessary love triangle. The model work for the spaceships is surprisingly decent, giving the audience a feeling of genuine space exploration. Then, things get truly absurd.
🐔 Part II: A Star Is Hatched: Introducing Guilala
Back on Earth, the collected spore is being studied in a lab. Inevitably, the tiny alien life-form escapes its confinement and begins to grow. Rapidly.
- The Monster’s Moniker: The gargantuan creature that emerges is named Guilala (or “Girara” in the original Japanese).
- A Truly Unique Design: Guilala is arguably one of the most wonderfully bizarre kaiju ever put to film. He is a bipedal, lizard/bird hybrid with large, glowing red eyes and a hammerhead-like, metallic-looking skull. Fans affectionately describe him as a “20-story chicken with a jet-plane head” or simply a “space-chicken.”
- Guilala’s M.O.: The monster’s rampage across Japan is driven by a hunger for energy. He spits destructive fireballs, turns into a flaming energy ball to travel vast distances, and, most alarmingly, starts targeting nuclear power plants for a tasty, atomic snack.
The monster suit and miniature work here are wonderfully low-budget, lending the destruction scenes a distinct, high-camp charm. Guilala’s clumsy, stomping gait is pure entertainment. He seems less menacing and more like a bewildered cosmic tourist. It’s as if he’s just stumbled into the wrong neighborhood.
🧊 Part III: The Science of Silly: Defeating the “X”
Guilala is growing stronger by the minute. He absorbs all the energy the military throws at him. Humanity must turn to science for an answer. The solution lies in the very substance the monster came from: an element they synthesize into a new, monster-stopping compound.
- The Secret Weapon: The heroic scientists race to create Guilalalium (yes, really!), a substance designed to prevent Guilala from absorbing energy.
- The Grand Finale: The final showdown involves Captain Sano and the rest of the crew baiting the energy-hungry Guilala with a huge cache of atomic fuel, luring him into a trap where fighter jets can douse him with the precious Guilalalium.
- The Result: Exposed to the substance, the massive monster shrinks back down to its original, harmless spore size. In the ultimate act of space-trash disposal, the government seals the spore in a container filled with Guilalalium. It then launches it into an orbit around the Sun. This ensures it will never bother Earth again.
The X From Outer Space is a film that fully embraces its own ludicrous premise. Its wonky science contributes to this reputation. The earnest space adventure adds to the charm. The delightful absurdity of a monster that looks like a giant metal-headed chicken makes it unforgettable. It has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the silliest and most beloved rubber-suit monster movies ever made.
To see other entries in my KAIJU KONNECTION series, click HERE! If you would like to add this film to your Kaiju movie collection, click on the DVD cover below.
