Movie Info
Movie Name: Quatermass 2
Studio: Hammer Film Productions
Genre(s): Sci-Fi/Horror/B-Movie
Release Date(s): May 24, 1957
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Oil from space! Hey, this sounds like a good idea for a series…
Meteorites have been landing in Winnerden Flats, and Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) has set out to find them. When Quatermass and a friend find a meteorite and it releases a gas, Quatermass realizes that the meteorites are the first wave of an alien invasion. Now, Quatermass must stop the aliens and protect the world…while fighting a village full of alien slaves.
Directed by Val Guest, Quatermass 2 is a sci-fi horror film. The movie is a sequel to The Quatermass Xperiment from 1955 and based on the BBC series Quatermass II which aired from October 22, 1955 to November 26, 1955. The movie received mixed reviews but a relatively strong box office return.
Oh…this thing looks like a bomb…let me give it a hug
Both The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2 have a very X-Files feel (or X-Files’ inspiration Kolchak: The Night Stalker). Quatermass isn’t an action hero, but he’s up against insurmountable odds. It is sci-fi but it is also horror, and I do like that aspect of the film.
The plot of the movie does move rather slow, but it picks up once Quatermass essentially becomes trapped in the city by the aliens who have overtaken the military. The dialogue is pretty stunted and generic “sci-fi” but the movie’s basic plot of an alien invasion is fun and has aspects of Invasion of the Body Snatcher or Invaders from Mars.
Generic Alien Monsters!
The acting is quite wooden throughout the film. Quatermass is a scientist and he acts like one throughout the movie. This doesn’t lend itself for a lot of dynamic acting. I kind of wish that Quatermass was more like a Doctor from Doctor Who…and the plot seems a bit like a Doctor Who serial.
There are some nice visuals from the movie despite its B-Movie nature. I like the black slime and the alien delivery method of meteorites. The giant monsters at the end of the film don’t seem as terrifying as the idea of the infection and it does feel a lot like Doctor Who at this point.
Quatermass 2 is worth seeking out especially if you are a fan of X-Files or Doctor Who. The movie feels like classic sci-fi, and the black-and-white film has that real feel of ’50s sci-fi. I wish the story had been a bit more dynamic and the acting stronger, but it wasn’t uncommon for this time. Quatermass 2 was followed by Quatermass and the Pit in 1967.
Related Links:
