A giant alien named Moguera comes to Earth causing destruction and wreaking havoc. Its creators, the Mysterians, a race of aliens who wear cool motorcycle helmets on their heads, call off the monster and offer mankind a truce. They say they won’t instigate war with the earthlings as long as they can mate with our women! Well, we can’t have that now, can we! Earth’s best scientists then set out to find a way to use the Mysterians’ advanced weapons of war against them.
The Mysterians is a lot of fun, mostly because Moguera is a cool monster. He has a robot body, a large anteater-like snout, and he shoots lasers from his glowing eyes. I kind of wish he had a little more screen time, but luckily the flick continues to be quite entertaining even in his absence.
Directed by Ishiro (Godzilla) Honda, The Mysterians is like getting three films for the price of one. The first act is like your typical Japanese monster movie as it features Moguera doing some first-rate monster mashing. The middle section plays like a goofy sci-fi flick full of cool aliens in spiffy colorful outfits. Things more or less turn into a war picture by the end, and although some of the military action in the third act tends to get repetitive, it’s nevertheless a lot of fun. Heck, even the human drama is fast-paced and engrossing.
Akira Ifukube delivers another fine score too. There are definitely elements of his iconic score to Godzilla at work here, but the music still has its own vibe and style. Overall, any fan of kaiju cinema should check it out. It’s another winner from Toho that may not be as well-known as Godzilla, but it definitely deserves a look.
A sequel titled Battle in Outer Space followed.
AKA: Defense Force of Earth. AKA: Phantom 7000.
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