BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

JLRVancouver "Evil Brain from Outer Space" is an almost randomly assembled series of clips from the last three episodes of the Japanese kid's tokusatso "Space Giant" (7, 8, and 9) with a ridiculous voice-over plot involving the preserved brain of Balazar, dictator of planet Zemar and the disembodied organ's plans to conquer Earth with his army of mutants. The benevolent beings of the Emerald Planet once again send Starman (the hero's English moniker), equipped with the miraculous 'globemeter', to save Earth. The film makes little sense (three independent adventures were chopped up and some of the pieces reassembled into this opus) and mostly consists of lengthy, poorly choreographed fights scenes that rise above tedious only when the acrobatic mutant shows up. Only worth watching by fans (or students) of the genre who want closure on the four movie Starman franchise.

brando647 In my 30+ years on this planet, I had never had the pleasure of discovering Starman. Then I bought a 50-movie collection of public domain films long-since lost in the sands of time and there it was buried on a disc amidst a handful of relatively forgettable cine-trash: EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE. This "movie" is a treasure. It is something special, and it deserves an audience. Originally airing on television in 1965, EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE is an amalgamation of three separate Japanese movies featuring the superhero Starman. Whether he is actually known as Starman in his own films (or if that's an American contribution) or if the plot of any of those three movies reflects in any way the disjointed through-line of EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE (I doubt it), I couldn't say for certain. All I know is that this confusing bundle of fun was an absolute blast. The plot, as best I can decipher it: an alien genius was assassinated but his brain survived. This brain now has revenge on its…um, mind. It focuses its vengeance on the planet Earth where it hopes to use its powers of mind control and manipulation to cause nuclear war. This nuclear war will then…pollute space? Wasn't the movie STAR PILOT worried about nuclear space pollution originating from Earth too? Anyway, a space council on the Emerald Planet decides to send their hero Starman to Earth to combat the brain and prevent it from accomplishing its demented, nonsensical goals.A quick introduction to Starman (Ken Utsui): he's a superhero from space that walks the Earth in disguise as a normal human and transforms into Starman through use of a space watch when danger rears its ugly head. I'm not sure of the reason for the disguise since he has no problem introducing himself in all its strange detail when questioned:"I was not born on your planet Earth. Instead, I was sent here to save you from the Zemarians. You will die if I fail to kill him. Starman is what I am called."This is his response to a simple "Who are you?" from a police officer that witnessed Starman (in his alter ego form) save a couple of school children from evil Zemarian henchmen. Rather than lock him up for sounding utterly nutty and having proved himself dangerous, the cop just accepts it. Starman has arrived on our planet to find a means of destroying the evil brain of Balazar in a race against time, but it doesn't mean he won't have time to save the odd citizen from danger. Who are Starman's allies in his battle against evil? Depends on which segment of the movie you're watching. There are three distinct segments to this movie and characters, good and evil, will come and go without much fanfare. Characters who appear in the first segment will disappear from the movie altogether or reappear at the end for a final appearance without explanation. We get two separate pairs of plucky children for Starman to comfort with promises of saving the world. The kids in the second segment are even key players for a while, stumbling across a secret alien base under a hospital to give Starman a reason to bust in and beat up some alien scum. Then the kids disappear from the movie and are later replaced with the original two children from the first segment who show up at the end of the movie inexplicably for the final few shots.There isn't enough room to shower praise on everything I love in EVIL BRAIN FROM OUTER SPACE but here are some of the best bits:Starman's costume: he looks like Quailman (that's a "Doug" reference for those not in the know) joined a circus trapeze troupe. The evil Zemarians look like 1960's Batman at an EYES WIDE SHUT party: jumpsuits, capes, and cheap Halloween store domino masks. Also their salute is very Nazi-esque.The Zemarian mutants. Evil creatures created by the Zemarians that look like an Aztec carving of a monkey come to life and attack with solid cobalt claws (deadly to Starman).The fight scenes are phenomenal. The choreography is erratic and blows never seem to land. When Starman and the mutants use their powers to jump great distances, it's just a jump cut between locations. So, so wonderfully cheesy. Every so often, during a fight with a large group of baddies, Starman will throw one off screen; he then reaches off screen to retrieve a matching dummy for a super toss across the room.Literally EVERYONE has a secret passage leading to a secret Zemarian base.Sudden third act space witch! With nuclear fire attack action!The list goes on and on. Whoever edited these movies together couldn't care less about their job. They were really banking on the English language dubbing to keep the audience in the loop on the story but it often fails. Things happen for no reason. Entire sequences are completely irrelevant. But as long as you keep the premise lodged in your head…Starman is here to save us from the machinations of the evil brain of Balazar…you'll do fine. I'm not suggesting you watch EVIL BRAIN IN OUTER SPACE for the compelling screen writing. I'm suggesting it for literally everything else. This is a movie where you get together with a group of friends, say good-bye to sobriety, and just laugh. I wish I could run you through every delightful moment of this "movie" but, really, you should just do yourself a favor and watch it.

peterjwilson98 It's hard to really give this movie an honest rating, I mean it is what it is, A B-Rated alien film. Obviously, if you are a cinemotagraphy expert who looks for the acting and dialogue, and the "art" in the film. Well Yeah, it's no Oscar, I'd give it 0 stars. But I'm giving it 10 because; truthfully, you are looking for a cheesy B-Movie if your watching this, and it doesn't get much better than this. (If that's what you're looking for). For parents the movie is 100% clean, if you were wondering. This movie was actually a long running Japanese Serial, for it to be released on USA TV, it was cut down to a movie. I describe this movie as a Japanese attempt to make Superman! Basically, an evil brain is sending down mutants, that look slightlty like Sesame Street Characters, and recruit a mad scientist. Then a race of good aliens send STAR MAN to save the universe. Yeah! Pretty redundant, I recommend the movie though.

Hitchcoc This is remindful of the bad television shows that made up the majority of offerings of the fifties. It may have been the golden age but there was a lot of lead among the gold. This has a sappy superhero in tights (like Superman) who clicks with little kids. He doesn't seem to have any problem beating up 60 or 70 bad guys at a time. There is a threat from outer space and a brain that controls everything. It must be destroyed. The monsters are a collection of Japanese guys in weird costumes. They seem versed in the martial arts, but come to no good end. This isn't a show for adults and if you were to update it and substitute cartoon characters for the humans here, it would fit right in on Saturday morning. Hardly worth the effort.