"The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955) and "Quatermass 2" (1957) doubtlessly are excellent films and true classics that helped the great Hammer Studios become the legendary British Horror entity we love them as. The third and final installment to the series, "Quatermass And The Pit" (1967), however, is a masterpiece that even surpasses its predecessors in almost all aspects. Directed by Roy Ward Baker, who challenges Terence Fisher for the title of Hammer's greatest director, "Quatermass and the Pit" clearly hat greater production values and technical possibilities than its predecessors - there is no doubt that special effects went a long way between 1957 and 1967. The great look of this film is not the reason for me to deem it superior to its, already great, predecessors, however. This film, which was scripted by Sci-Fi legend Nigel Kneale (the inventor of the "Quatermass" franchise and writer of the original BBC TV-Show) simply has an incredibly fascinating story to tell - and does so brilliantly. The two predecessors were both exciting and creepy; this third part is genuinely scary and simply sublime however, as it magnificently combines a macabre premise and a variety of ingenious elements including evolution to lead to an utterly breathtaking conclusion.
When trying to extend the London Underground, workers uncover the mortal remains of prehistoric simian apes. Anthropologist Dr. Matthew Roney (James Donald) is convinced that the skeletons are of an unknown race of primates, older than any primate species known to contemporary science. His research is halted when an unidentified bomb is discovered near the primates, and the military develops interest in the discovery. When Professor Allan Quatermass (Andrew Keir) steps in the body, which was at first supposed to be a WW2 bomb, turns out not to be from this world...
As stated above, the two predecessors were great films, but they had their minor flaws and plot holes. This concluding entry to the "Quatermass" saga is far more elaborate in its storyline. The film, which is full of interesting, intelligently-drawn characters, has an increasingly tense atmosphere of doom from the beginning onward. The foreboding mood is intensely creepy, and the dark presentiment soon builds up to a truly captivating suspense level. Andrew Keir replaces Brian Donlevy as Professor Quatermass. Most people seem to regard this change as a good thing, whereas I am not quite sure. Both Keir and Donlevy are great actors, and both are truly great in the role. Personally, I really liked how the former film-noir tough guy Donlevy was a rough-and-ready Quatermass, resembling a tough private detective rather than a scientist in "The Quatermass Xperiment" and "Quatermass 2". In comparison to that, character mime Andrew Keir, who also enriched the Hammer-world when starring as a priest in "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966), seems quite typically Professor-like (in spite of a thick Scottish accent and relatively rowdy behavior for scientist-standards). James Donald is very good as the anthropologist, Julian Glover is great as an obnoxious military Colonel, and beautifully Barbara Shelley finally brings an interesting female character into the Quatermass franchise. Some fellow Hammer fans regard this film as the great Production Company's finest offering. My personal favorites are still some of their magnificent Gothic tales, such as their Frankenstein and Dracula film series, "The Vampire Lovers", "Twins of Evil" or "Vampire Circus" (my personal No. 1 Hammer film), but there is no denying that "Quatermass and The Pit" ranges among their truly great films. Brilliant stuff, and a must-see for all Horror/Sci-Fi fans!
When trying to extend the London Underground, workers uncover the mortal remains of prehistoric simian apes. Anthropologist Dr. Matthew Roney (James Donald) is convinced that the skeletons are of an unknown race of primates, older than any primate species known to contemporary science. His research is halted when an unidentified bomb is discovered near the primates, and the military develops interest in the discovery. When Professor Allan Quatermass (Andrew Keir) steps in the body, which was at first supposed to be a WW2 bomb, turns out not to be from this world...
As stated above, the two predecessors were great films, but they had their minor flaws and plot holes. This concluding entry to the "Quatermass" saga is far more elaborate in its storyline. The film, which is full of interesting, intelligently-drawn characters, has an increasingly tense atmosphere of doom from the beginning onward. The foreboding mood is intensely creepy, and the dark presentiment soon builds up to a truly captivating suspense level. Andrew Keir replaces Brian Donlevy as Professor Quatermass. Most people seem to regard this change as a good thing, whereas I am not quite sure. Both Keir and Donlevy are great actors, and both are truly great in the role. Personally, I really liked how the former film-noir tough guy Donlevy was a rough-and-ready Quatermass, resembling a tough private detective rather than a scientist in "The Quatermass Xperiment" and "Quatermass 2". In comparison to that, character mime Andrew Keir, who also enriched the Hammer-world when starring as a priest in "Dracula: Prince of Darkness" (1966), seems quite typically Professor-like (in spite of a thick Scottish accent and relatively rowdy behavior for scientist-standards). James Donald is very good as the anthropologist, Julian Glover is great as an obnoxious military Colonel, and beautifully Barbara Shelley finally brings an interesting female character into the Quatermass franchise. Some fellow Hammer fans regard this film as the great Production Company's finest offering. My personal favorites are still some of their magnificent Gothic tales, such as their Frankenstein and Dracula film series, "The Vampire Lovers", "Twins of Evil" or "Vampire Circus" (my personal No. 1 Hammer film), but there is no denying that "Quatermass and The Pit" ranges among their truly great films. Brilliant stuff, and a must-see for all Horror/Sci-Fi fans!