Quatermass 2

Is Professor Quatermass a nice guy? No.
Are the effects great? No.
Is it a fun film? Absolutely, yes.

Brian Donlevy is great as the surly Quatermass. The story is classic 1950's Sci Fi / Horror. There are labs and scientists, space ships and aliens, and secret government plots.

If you like the genre, this is a really fun film.

The gothic horror films of Hammer generally trod a well worn route, with rules and conventions laid down not only by 19th century literature, but also by Hammer themselves. As a result a great number of these films now seem formulaic and unadventurous. The period directly proceeding THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in hindsight now seems one of the most interesting in Hammer's history. The period 1955-7, produced three films that although owing a great deal too gothic conventions are more ostensibly science-fiction. The three films THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT, X THE UNKNOWN and QUATERMASS 2, are far richer and rewarding than their colour contemporaries. The latter film also has a viable claim to being Hammer's greatest film. Nigel Kneale's distrust of government and its various institutional strands reaches its apex here. Whereas the first Quatermass film had an alien intelligence inside a human being, in the sequel the alien intelligence is already here and has with unrealistic ease infiltrated the highest reaches of British government. The film also gets to grips with industrialisation, military brute force and working class uprisings. A lot of substance and weighty issues cultural issues of the day are explored. With its military law, the area surrounding the synthetic food factory (really a processing plant to feed the alien infiltrators) has the feel of a fascist state. There are a number of layers to this film which reward repeated views. But the most interesting is the use and rejection of the working classes, whose only useful purpose to the alien invaders is to block up the pipes to stop lethal oxygen entering their domes. Once again Val Guest creates some impressive tension which is aided by the monochrome look. QUATERMASS 2 is a film that proves that British Science Fiction can uniquely speak to the culture of Britain and work as a fine example of the genre, for me this film remains Hammer's finest achievement.

This is a fantastic movie full of atmosphere and some real food for thought. In fact, it is extremely well done all around. The acting in particular by Brian Donlevy as Quatermass is very realistic and convincing. I particularly liked the mood setting cinematography by Gerald Gibbs and James Bernard's score. It goes without saying that the script by director Val Guest succeeded on many levels making it engaging to a wide audience. I found this film to be both entertaining and thought provoking. Val Guest really knows how to set the mood.

I am 57 years old...I saw the Quartermass movies growing up..I can barely remember this sequel that was called ENEMY FROM SPACE, but I do know it was well produced for its time. My question is..why not release Quartermass Experiment AKA THE CREEPING UNKNOWN with the other 2 in a triple scare package...
they were all ahead of there time in sci fi ideas and the FX weren't all that bad.

If you're looking for a special efects masterpiece for the time like Forbidden Planet or The War Of The Worlds forget it. If on the other hand you're interested in a plot driven story like Invasion Of The Body Snatchers or Invaders From Mars then by all means buy it. You won't be disapointed.