An experimental space rocket crashes on re-entry with two of the crew missing and the survivor in a catatonic state. The scientists slowly diagnose some form of alien space virus invaded the ship, but not before the astronaut, whom they now realise is gradually transforming into some kind of monster, escapes ...
Nigel Kneale's original series of Quatermass BBC TV plays are amongst the best sci-fi / horror yarns ever written; gripping, suspenseful, intelligent, imaginative and scary as hell. The ideas are fantastic but the reasoning behind them is well worked out, and this movie of the original story is a wonderfully creepy affair, beautifully played straight by an entire cast of authority figures (a complete contrast to the equivalent Roger Corman films of the time). Even the London locations seem to add authenticity (Westminster Abbey, the zoo at Regent's Park, the old docks at Deptford) and the movie explains just enough of what's going on to leave the viewer puzzled, intrigued and worried. Guest's direction is first-rate with unobtrusive photography and editing, shooting the movie almost like a documentary and capturing the tensions perfectly. This was a very big influence, both stylistically and thematically, on a lot of subsequent films (for example, John Carpenter's The Thing) and is undoubtedly one of the most important science-fiction films of the fifties. Featuring several British cult stars - Warner (Dixon of Dock Green), Jeffries, Jackson, Hird and Asher (the little girl with the dolly). The first great movie by Hammer Studios (here billed as Exclusive Films), released in the US as The Creeping Unknown, and followed by an even better sequel, Quatermass 2 / Enemy From Space. Magic stuff.
Nigel Kneale's original series of Quatermass BBC TV plays are amongst the best sci-fi / horror yarns ever written; gripping, suspenseful, intelligent, imaginative and scary as hell. The ideas are fantastic but the reasoning behind them is well worked out, and this movie of the original story is a wonderfully creepy affair, beautifully played straight by an entire cast of authority figures (a complete contrast to the equivalent Roger Corman films of the time). Even the London locations seem to add authenticity (Westminster Abbey, the zoo at Regent's Park, the old docks at Deptford) and the movie explains just enough of what's going on to leave the viewer puzzled, intrigued and worried. Guest's direction is first-rate with unobtrusive photography and editing, shooting the movie almost like a documentary and capturing the tensions perfectly. This was a very big influence, both stylistically and thematically, on a lot of subsequent films (for example, John Carpenter's The Thing) and is undoubtedly one of the most important science-fiction films of the fifties. Featuring several British cult stars - Warner (Dixon of Dock Green), Jeffries, Jackson, Hird and Asher (the little girl with the dolly). The first great movie by Hammer Studios (here billed as Exclusive Films), released in the US as The Creeping Unknown, and followed by an even better sequel, Quatermass 2 / Enemy From Space. Magic stuff.