EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE (1956)

Directed by Koreyoshi & Akira Mitsuwa

Written by Akira Mitsuwa & Ichiro Miyagawa

Starring Ken Utsui, Junko Ikeuchi & Minoru Takada

The evil genius Balazar, from the planet Zemar has become a living brain bent on the conquest of the universe. His first stop is Earth and the only one who can stop him is Starman (Ken Utsui).  Created by the Emerald Planet, Starman is made of unbreakable metal and with his Globe-Meter he can fly through space, detect radiation and speak and understand any language. Add to the fact that he is invulnerable to any damage and Balazar has his hands pretty full.

EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE began life as the final three SUPER GIANT films from Japan; THE SPACE MUTANT APPEARS, THE DEVIL’S INCARNATION & THE POISON MOTH KINGDOM. The total running time of the three films was 159 minutes and they are edited down into one, incomprehensible mess of 78 minutes for this feature.

Reflecting the attitude of American serials of the 40’s there is a lot of fight scenes and men in tights. Even the bad guys wear spandex. Black, of course, to offset Starman’s white costume. It is odd that when he’s not Starman he wears a black suit and the bad guys wear white trench coats. Kind of a Yin Yang thing I guess.

There are some odd monsters that are veiny and weird looking from the waist up and then spandex from the waist down. Spandex, I might add, that could have benefited from the actor wearing some sort of undergarment. These pants are too tight and show more than we should have to endure in a superhero flick. Starman also seems to have this particular wardrobe malfunction, but, if you believe the hype, they did this on purpose to make him more attractive to the ladies.

Whatever. Yeesh!

A hat’s off to whomever the insane editor was who could make this into a feature at all. Characters show up and disappear at the drop of a hat. And, after a while, you think the bad guys would just stop wasting the bullets. They know he’s bulletproof, but they continue to blast Starman at every opportunity.

I did think it was funny that when the movie was over, it was just over. Starman bid farewell and headed back to The Emerald Planet to get away from us. The evil brain is melted and he is out of there.

Of the three Starman movies, I think this one for its pure insanity remains my favorite.