Another film watched for the "House of Hammer" podcast. I watched the first Quatermass film a couple of weeks ago and whilst I thought it was solid, I had a few issues with its pace and with Brian Donlevy's characterisation of Quatermass. Though I was a little warmer to Donlevy this time I do feel like this was an inferior film.
Whilst investigating a prolific meteorite shower, Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) discovers a mysterious industrial plant that looks oddly similar to plans for moon colonisation that he submitted and was recently refused funding for. During his investigation, Quatermass' colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) is infected by one of the meteors and carried into the complex by armed hazmat suited guards. Quatermass tries various methods to get inside the building and see what's happening but meets resistance from all sources.
Yes, Donlevy is a little bit more tolerable in this film. It perhaps helps that, unlike in the previous film, this is not all his fault - but rather a situation he stumbles into, so his frustration and lack of contrition is understandable. He is still unbelievably short with his staff though. The only other member of the cast I recognised was Sid James, who returns to Hammer to play a perpetually drunk journalist, albeit one who comes good towards the end.
I wasn't overly fussed about the film though. "Invasion of the Body Snatches" had been released the previous year and this feels like it borrows liberally from that, though in truth the bulk of the plot was present in Kneale's own Quatermass 2 TV series, which included ideas of Alien infiltration a few years earlier. Whilst this film has some good special effects, particularly the melting man, it was again a little slower than I was hoping for - maybe it's watching it through the prism of a thousand movies on a simar theme, but I found myself thinking - 'OK, I get this' quite a bit and wanting the film to move on.
Whilst this isn't the end of Hammer's sci fi period, nor even its last "Quatermass" film, Frankenstein had shown them the profitable way forward and they're leaning that way from now on.
Whilst investigating a prolific meteorite shower, Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) discovers a mysterious industrial plant that looks oddly similar to plans for moon colonisation that he submitted and was recently refused funding for. During his investigation, Quatermass' colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) is infected by one of the meteors and carried into the complex by armed hazmat suited guards. Quatermass tries various methods to get inside the building and see what's happening but meets resistance from all sources.
Yes, Donlevy is a little bit more tolerable in this film. It perhaps helps that, unlike in the previous film, this is not all his fault - but rather a situation he stumbles into, so his frustration and lack of contrition is understandable. He is still unbelievably short with his staff though. The only other member of the cast I recognised was Sid James, who returns to Hammer to play a perpetually drunk journalist, albeit one who comes good towards the end.
I wasn't overly fussed about the film though. "Invasion of the Body Snatches" had been released the previous year and this feels like it borrows liberally from that, though in truth the bulk of the plot was present in Kneale's own Quatermass 2 TV series, which included ideas of Alien infiltration a few years earlier. Whilst this film has some good special effects, particularly the melting man, it was again a little slower than I was hoping for - maybe it's watching it through the prism of a thousand movies on a simar theme, but I found myself thinking - 'OK, I get this' quite a bit and wanting the film to move on.
Whilst this isn't the end of Hammer's sci fi period, nor even its last "Quatermass" film, Frankenstein had shown them the profitable way forward and they're leaning that way from now on.
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