Classic Horrors Club

If you’re not a fan of cheesy alien design in 1960s science fiction films, stick with Warning from Space (1966); the creatures soon forego their natural appearance for human disguise, and the rest of the movie might surprise you. If you are a fan, the rest of the movie might disappoint you. In either case, if you’re expecting giant aliens to stomp through Tokyo as the publicity photos indicate, it never happens. I don’t know if that would surprise or disappoint you.

When describing the Pairan, I’ll play the “Giant Claw” card. Who’s to say aliens don’t look like big-as-a-battleship dazed buzzards? In this case, who’s to say aliens don’t look like humans sewn inside cloth star costumes with a single eyeball attached to the chest area? There’s only one scene where it’s blatant, and Warning from Space embraces it. There’s not just one human sewn inside a cloth star costume, there are many. If you want something modernly “realistic,” I recommend James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (2021.)

Enough about the aliens! What are they doing? Well, after a brief period of fearing they’re here to destroy us, we learn they’re here to warn us; hence, the title. They’re from a world on the other side of the sun and are aware of a rogue planet (later known as “Planet R”) that’s on a collision course with Earth. For some unknown reason, they want to save our planet. Thank goodness “Planet R” isn’t heading toward us in 2026; the Pairans might feel differently about it.

Warning from Space is an imperfect movie, but it’s not bad. For my taste, it takes too many “side trips” along the way toward its final destination. For example, early in the story, when telescopes reveal only balls of light shooting toward Earth from a single spot in space, scientists launch a rocket to take pictures closer to the source. It’s an experiment that fails and is quickly forgotten. Then, we witness the arrival of some “star-creatures” on Earth, but they ultimately have little to do with the proceedings.

Well, I guess that may not be true. It’s the terrified reaction of those they encounter that causes them to realize they should travel incognito. Here, the movie exercises some charm and humor. The Pairans examine the photo of a beautiful entertainer, Hikari Aozora  (Toyomi Karita), and scoff:

This is their concept of beauty? It has a very large lump in the center of its face.

The alien, Ginko, assumes her form to better fit in with the crowd, not considering that people would recognize her. Or, perhaps that was part of the plan, allowing her celebrity to provide easy access. It’s irrelevant, though, because she can appear out of nowhere to meet with the scientists and reveal their true purpose.

Into the mix comes some political reality. Initially, the “World Council” will not approve launching nuclear weapons at the approaching planet. However, when the threat becomes urgent, they relent. Guess what, though? That plan doesn’t work. Nuclear explosions in space are mere pinpricks against the massive size of Planet R. This leaves the survival of Earth in the hands of Dr. Matsuda (Isao Yamagata) and his theoretical formula for a greater power. Unfortunately, on one of the movie’s side trips, Matsuda has been kidnapped by spies who want the formula.

There’s a race against time as Matsuda is left bound and gagged on a chair in a building that’s crumbling due to the early effects of impending doom. Animals are dying left and right. How will the world be saved? Rest assured, it will be, and that’s when we see some terrific shots of Planet R getting closer. Warning from Space is fun, but again, not perfect. It also carries some historical significance. It was the first Japanese film to be produced in color and the first to feature an extraterrestrial race. Let’s give it a little respect.

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