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Thanks for the memories!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Hammer had been producing a string of cheap, intellectual sci-fi flicks at the beginning of the '50s, but it took this TV adaptation for the horror to really set in. Seen today, it's a quaint and rather lovable slice of retro fun, ably mixing horror and sci-fi on a small scale and actually being effective in many of the quieter moments. The plot is a rather predictable piece of hokum about a rampaging alien monster, but what impresses is the level of scientific detail that has been gone into, really adding to the depth of the film. Shot in stark black and white, this is a slow paced but short little number with some great bits of music from James Bernard and solid direction from Val Guest, who would later make the effective THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE.THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT contains many fine scenes. Early on we see a grainy film of what happens to three astronauts on a spacecraft when they are exposed to an alien entity; this is a truly frightening moment despite its age, and still tremendously powerful and unsettling. Similarly the spooky night-time scenes shot in an atmospheric London are great to watch, and an attack on a zoo complete with an aftermath of dead animals makes for great spectacle on the smallest of budgets. The ending of the movie changes gear and becomes a fully-fledged US-style monster shocker, with a giant squid/octopus like creature up on the scaffolding at Westminster Abbey; Les Bowie's special effects are top-notch making this a superb conclusion.The acting is also very good and another reason to check this film out. Many dislike Brian Donlevy's hard-headed Quatermass, but I loved him as he's always picking fights and getting things his own way. His last line in the film is a classic. Strong and amusing support comes from Jack Warner, whilst Thora Hird gets a good moment of outright comedy to herself. The British stalwarts supporting the leads are decent enough, but the best performance comes from creepy Richard Wordsworth as the possessed astronaut gradually overtaken by the alien virus. Out of all the actors to play aliens in the movies (with the exception of the 1978 version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS), Wordsworth is by far the most frightening despite only having about one line. Great stuff and a great little movie for genre buffs, dated but still with much to appeal.

Hammer films started out making feature film versions of BBC TV sci- fi serials. These harder edged films although rather tame by today's standards were popular with audiences leading to Hammer specialising in the horror genre.Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) sends a rocket into space containing three astronauts and when it crash lands two of the astronauts are missing but the survivor, Victor Carroon has been taken over by an alien fungus and is slowly mutating.There are shades of Frankenstein in Carroon as he realises that he is becoming a monster and the film has nods to the James Whale Universal classic.The big problem is and a reason why creator Nigel Kneale was unhappy with this version is the characterisation of Quatermass. Donlevy was Irish born but resided in America and here he is portrayed as a ruthless little gangster than a scientist with no time or empathy for anyone. The direct approach is a world away from other portrayals of Quatermass.

I guess Hammer doesn't need any introduction to horror geeks. They were known for their Gothic horrors and also for their horrors containing nudity. But before Dracula and Frankenstein were summon Hammer did a few flicks based on a television play concerning Professor Quatermass.I was a bit afraid to put it into the DVD player because flicks from that era were low on everything but what a surprise it was to see that they used some effects that looked great. That the effects worked was shown once it hit the theaters. One man died in the US by heart attack due watching this flick. Soon words were spread that you could die watching it.It takes a while before things go awry with the one survivor of a missile which was launched by Quatermass. Slowly he turns into a creature that couldn't be helped. It reminded me a bit of The Fly (1958) and The Thing From Another World (1951). At the end, at the church, you could see wires used to move the arms of the creature.Low on everything but still you keep watching it because the metamorphosis goes on and on. Recommended for the Hammer freaks because you could see by some effects (sucking out of a body) that they would become a trademark.Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

Quatermass Xperiment, The (1955) *** (out of 4) Effective sci-fi tale from Hammer has Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) sending a rocket into space with three astronauts but when it crashes back to Earth there's only one alive with the other two missing. The one who survived, Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth) soon starts to transform into some sort of monster and before long he's stalking London. I'll be honest and admit that I'm really not a huge fan of British cinema and especially some of the science fiction that came from them during the 50s and 60s. With that said, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT is without question one of the best of its genre simply because the film goes for the "less is more" approach and this really adds a level of creepiness that's hard to find in a genre picture from this era. Just take a look at the opening sequence as lovers are in a field making out only to heard a loud noise, which sends them running into the house and seconds later there's a crash. The sci-fi genre has had countless spaceship crashes but I really can't think of one more effective than what's on display here. We never really get to see anything but it's the direction of Val Guest that really puts us on the edge of our seats. This strong direction continues in the next major scene when they go to open up the spacecraft to see what's inside. The screenplay is actually very well-written and offers up several good twists and turns as the film moves along. One such example is a scene where the wife of the astronaut tries to sneak him out of a hospital and things don't go as planned. As for the monster, it's quite effective and again it's because of the less is more approach. We really never get a good look at the monster and as it deforms more we just see bits and pieces of it. When we first see what's happened to the hand it's just a few seconds that we get to see but the effect is quite chilling. The performances are another major plus with Donlevy doing an excellent job as the scientist only interested in the future and not caring what's going on in current times. Donlevy manages to be a guy you love to hate and this serves the film well. Wordsworth is very effective in his scenes dealing with his mental breakdown and Jack Warner is fun as the Inspector. THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT has become a cult favorite over the years and it's easy to see why. This genre gave us so many bad movies that it's always hard trying to find one that actually works. It's clear not too much money was spent on the production but everyone involved took the material and raised it up to the levels of a classic.