The Mysterians

The Mysterians (Chikyu Boeigun) (1957)

Runtime: 89 minutes

Directed by: Ishiro Honda

Starring: Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Momoko Kochi, Akihiro Hirada, Takashi Shimura

From: Toho

So… last night for a few hours I thought I saw a UFO! That is the technical term of “UFO”, meaning “object in the sky whose origins were unknown to me.” I phrase it that way as it’s not an automatic declaration that the object I’ll describe in a moment was piloted by aliens. Yet, until some Google-fu later (really, knowing what to search for) I was bamboozled as to what it was.

Last night I was outside soon after the sun set, alone at home. Suddenly, I saw a light in the sky so naturally the assumption was that it was some sort of plane. However, it did not move as fast. The light then went out for a few seconds before returning… then suddenly a huge plume of smoke comes out of it as it moved oddly in the sky before disappearing behind a house. I wasn’t able to follow it any further. An initial Google search revealed nothing. After the movie I DID discover what it was, and what a punchline that is; that will be at the end of the review.

Because of this event, a sci-fi picture involving aliens was obvious. I thought of watching this on the Criterion Channel for a little while so this is the direction I went. A movie directed by Ishiro Honda, a score from Akira Ifukube, effects from Eiji Tsuburaya and even supporting role for Takashi Shimura & Akihiro Hirada… this is why I was interested. Aliens come to Earth and they at first seem benevolent. They request a small patch of land—and some Earth women! Is it a spoiler to suggest that humanity shouldn’t fully trust masked aliens whose outfits are like that of the Power Rangers?

There’ also a bipedal robot named Moguera which wrecks s--- in the classic kaiju fashion. That robot would have a different backstory/usage in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Japan is aggressively against The Mysterians despite their pleas that they are just pacificists. Can they be trusted? An unexpected plot point revolved around nuclear weapons; what timing considering what was released a few days ago. How they apparently were PISSED at the Mysterians for that “we want your women!” demand did make me chuckle. There’s plenty of charm with the 50’s sci-fi aesthetic and the quaint effects. Thus, I was entertained.

As for what I saw in the night sky a matter of hours ago? It was… one of Elon Musk’s rockets! That is not something I follow and the thought that they’d launch it Sunday evening at 8:50 PM ET did not cross my mind. It was a nice sight to see now that I knew what it was; no comment on Musk or especially the weekend he had where even more people scoffed at him & thought he was a dunce!