Quatermass 2 (1957)

The success of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) was the factor that alerted the hitherto obscure British film studio Hammer that the future for them might be with horror movies. This follow up movie – incidentally, the first sequel to use '2' in its title – merely cemented this notion and by the end of the decade Hammer's hugely influential cycle of horror movies was truly underway. At this earlier stage in the mid-50's though, the fashion was not yet for Gothic horrors filmed in glorious colour but for sci-fi/horror in traditional black and white. With its story of a meteor shower that ultimately results with people being taken over by alien entities, it not only indicates the influence of the earlier Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) but more generally shows itself to be a product of the Cold War years, where people suddenly become roboticised by external forces (which was essentially what many folks from the day thought those dastardly communists were doing).Its lower key British sensibilities, setting and plot-line make it feel like a definite precursor to the sci-fi series 'Dr Who', which would kick into gear at the beginning of the next decade. Similar to that, Quatermass 2 is an imaginative piece of work which benefits from a creative script from genre specialist Nigel Kneale. Val Guest who directed the first instalment returns here again, as does Brian Donlevy to reprise his role as the somewhat prickly title character. Less expectedly it also features 'Carry On' legend Sid James in a role which by his subsequent standards is very serious.I think this sequel may in fact surpass the original. It seems to have a little more budget and it makes that count. The production is still a modest one but makes use of its locations, especially the power plant where the action orbits, while the big finale is pretty well executed with some nice special effects. I think over and above that, it has an effective slightly downbeat atmosphere which suits this story well and, on the whole, this can certainly be considered one of the upper bracket science fiction films of its day.

After the huge success of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) - the film that launched Hammer Productions into the mainstream - Hammer and the BBC were quick to greenlight an adaptation of the sequel before the television serial of the same name even aired. Original creator Nigel Kneale was brought back in to pen the early draft, which was later revised by director Val Guest. Kneale's main problem with the first film was the brusque performance of American Brian Donlevy, and was disappointed that he would again reprise his role. But Kneale's criticism's aside, Quatermass 2 is a more action-packed and dramatic effort, although admittedly inferior to the first.Professor Quatermass (Donlevy) is struggling to get his Moon Project off the ground. His plan is to set up a base on the moon and be the first to successfully colonise it. These plans are interrupted when Quatermass becomes intrigued with various meteorites that have been landing in the area. After travelling with his colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) to one of the meteor sites, Marsh is injured as one of the meteorites cracks open and leaves him with a 'V'-shaped burn on his face. Armed guards with similar facial scarring take Marsh to their nearby government facility, leaving Quatermass to contact his old friend Inspector Lomax (John Longden) for advice. This leads him to Vincent Broadhead (Tom Chatto), a member of parliament also investigating the strange going-ons at the site.Although it was Nigel Kneale's main gripe with the movie adaptations of his creation, Donlevy's (possibly alcohol-fuelled) performance as Quatermass is one of the most intriguing aspects of the Quatermass series. He should be your typical Sherlock Holmes-esque British inquisitor, but Donlevy's interpretation is arrogant, selfish and abrupt, making him one of the more interesting 'heroes' of the genre. Here he is more action star too, dodging machine gun fire and making quick getaways in a film that is much more action-orientated than it's predecessor, although it retains much of it's realism. Due to this, it lacks the slow-build atmosphere of Xperiment, almost losing it completely with the overblown climax full of explosions and gun-fire. Even though it was overshadowed on its release by Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), it is still a fun film, and even features of pre- Carry On Sidney James.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

*Spoiler/plot- Quatermass 2, 1953. Professor Bernard Quatermass, Director General of the British Experimental Rocket Group, launches the first manned space flight from Australia. A malfunction explodes the nuclear rocket motor and the disaster stops the plans to colonize the moon. As the same time, several small meteorites are being tracked and fall in the UK with the local townsfolk 'finders' acting strangely upon finding the downed space rocks. A whole village is destroyed (Wynerdon Flats) only to be replaced by a TOP SECRET camp. Doctor Quatermass investigates finding an invasion of Earth is progressing with some strange intelligent assistance.*Special Stars- John Robinson.*Theme- Space exploration requires oversight and planning.*Trivia/location/goofs- The second of the Quatermass films, B & W, produced as six episodes on TV, titled: 'the Bolts'- 'the Coming', 'the Food'. One of the most re-made film script writers-Nigel Kneale and UK scifi genre- Quatermass. Goof: As the nuclear rocket lifts off(miniature set) the shadow of the set support is clearly seen to make the rocket ascend. Several time Dr. Quatermass (JOhn Robinson) muffs his lines only to pick them up quickly again while speaking to others in the Govt. installation scenes.*Emotion- I saw a six episode early TV version 1953 on Internet TV. I had heard about this genre for years and wanted to see the oldest version. It was intriguing, satisfying and dramatic if you looked past the archaic special effects, sets, and staging. The scifi suspense is definitely there especially when you know that so make re-makes and 'knock-offs'(X-Files) of this script would be produced through the decades up to today.

Quatermass 2 (1957) *** (out of 4) Sequel to the cult classic has Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) trying to build up support for his idea of a moon colonization. Without any luck, he ends up stumbling across such a place where it seems some sort of meteor is falling and when it burns a person it helps take over their body. At first no one believes Quatermass so he must try and destroy this poisonous gas by himself. QUATERMASS 2 was released in some parts of ENEMY FROM SPACE and many consider it a classic and much better than the first film. I personally wouldn't go that far because I think the level of suspense here never comes close to that in the original movie but there's still no denying this is a pretty unique little film that manages to work well with its low-budget and in the end the viewer is treated to a fun ride. I think the story is obviously influenced by INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS as we get the same basic concept. I thought the way that this meteor/gas burns its way into the victims was a pretty good touch and there are some very effective moments with this form of creature. The highlight of the film is an extremely effective moment when one man comes down a ladder with this black goo all over him. The way he just pretty much melts as he grabs anything was very effective and while the special effect might not have cost much its impact is certainly felt. As with many British films, there's quite a bit of dialogue leading up to the eventual big finale. I think the film moves a little too slow in spots and I think the film would have been better had we gotten to the final showdown a little faster. What keeps the first half of the movie working as well as it does is the performance by Donlevy who is simply flawless as Quatermass. The level of paranoia he brings the character in the early scenes really gives the viewer a sense of something bad is going to happen and it's the performance that really draws us into the events that are going on. Once the ending does finally happen it's full of some nice action and an interesting monster. QUATERMASS 2 isn't as good as the original but it certainly gets credit for at least trying something different and it's proof that you don't need to be campy just because you don't have much money.