Quatermass and the Pit

Roy Ward Baker directed this belated(10 years later) third entry in the Quatermass saga, this time casting a proper British actor to play British rocket group scientist Bernard Quatermass, called in to investigate a skeleton found near a presumed undetonated German bomb in the London underground being excavated for a new subway line, that turns out to be an alien spacecraft with Martian insect-humanoids aboard. James Donald plays Professor Roney, in charge of the dig, and one of the few unaffected by the Martian attempt to use their human descendants to purge all those not part of the hive... Intelligent, ambitious, and audacious science fiction story may have some off-putting elements, and primitive model F/X, but remains a prime example of how to do this kind of story right. Based on the Nigel Kneale miniseries, this is by far the best of the trilogy.

The picture concerns about the strange deeds into a London underground . There find a Martian aircraft which probes the humanity is created by a superior civilization . Then arrive Quatermass (Andrew Keir) , an official army (Julian Glover) and two obstinate scientists (James Donald and Barbara Shelley) , all of them discover fantastic events . The plot is developed for continuous discovery , leading a spooky and astounding finale.

The movie is an outstanding adaptation from a TV serial exhibited in BBC (1958-59) written by Nigel Kneagle . As protagonist turns up Andrew Keir substituting to Brian Donlevy starring in ¨The Quatermass experiment¨ and ¨Quatermass II¨ , both of them directed by Val Guest , besides John Mills starred the final chapter titled the ¨Conclusion Quatermass¨ directed by Piers Haggard . This 1967 film is one of the greatest British science fiction films and the best of Quatermass trilogy . The great climax film is , of course , the final confrontation between the starring and the weird entity . In the picture appears the usual Hammer technicians and artistic team as cameraman Arthur Grant creating a riveting and colorful cinematography , Bernard Robinson making an awesome production design and ordinary musical conductor Philip Martell . The film is well produced by Anthony Nelson and magnificently directed by Roy Ward Baker . The flick will appeal to science fiction movie enthusiasts and Hammer fans . Rating : Above average and well worth watching .

Quatermass and the Pit is one of the finest of Hammer's vast and largely very fine oeuvre. Strangely, however, when you hear people speak of Hammer horror, this film rarely gets a mention, and that's a great injustice as it easily ranks up there with the best of them. The plot follows a group of construction workers that discover a plot of skeletons while extending London's subway station. This immediately attracts the attention of local scientists Mathew Roney and Barbara Judd, and later the man of the title; Dr Quatermass, who end up facing opposition from both the army and the press while trying to investigate the find. Where did the skeletons come from? How did they get there? And what's the meaning behind that bomb in the tunnel? All these questions and more are answered in Quatermass and the Pit.

As you might expect, the film is very camp. The effects are truly ridiculous and very easy to laugh at; but they add to the fun and charm of the movie. The reason why Hammer Horror films succeed is that, despite being unpleasant at times, it's obvious that they were made with a lot of heart, and the good nature that went into making them always shines through. Unlike many horror (or Sci-Fi) films, however, this one actually bothers to pose some interesting questions and really gets you thinking. The normal idea behind alien based Sci-Fi is completely turned on it's head, and it makes for both an enjoyable and interesting, not to mention original movie. It's quite ingenious, in fact; much more so than many recent 'thought-provoking' movies. There is also quite a lot of the trademark British humour in the film, which is always nice to see. It's obvious that the film is meant to be tongue in cheek anyway, but it's always nice to have a few moments of laughter in there. Quatermass and the Pit is directed by Hammer Horror supremo Roy Ward Baker. When people think of Hammer directors, it's often Terrence Fisher that comes out on top; but Baker is by far my favourite. He's delivered the lovely Asylum, the ingenious Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, not to mention The Vampire Lovers; and now this. And that's only the ones that I've seen!

Overall, this is an incredible movie. It's generous mix of horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy is truly refreshing and it makes for an interesting and enjoyable ride. I loved every minute of this film, and it easily ranks as one of the best Hammer Horror's that I've seen. Make sure you don't skip this one.

A lot of nonsense is written about the significance and meaning and quality of Hammer Films, whereas mostly they were pedestrian and derivative. There were some gems in their output and this film is one of them. The science may be wayward but it unfolds plausibly from the initial discovery of the thing in the pit to mayhem and madness in the streets of London. The opening credits are sparse and it goes straight into the story and never lets up.

It has a clear narrative and each new discovery pushes the envelope of fear and amazement further out. There is no romantic interest (though I must declare the Miss Judd character is pretty darn attractive) to hold up the driving plot. If there is a fault it is that the story can scarcely contain the wealth of material that Nigel Kneale puts in the script. Presumably there isn't a longer director's cut in some film archive!

With limited resources at hand the director, Roy Ward Baker, directs some great scenes, weird and strange and scary. He is served well by the acting of James Donald, Andrew Keir and Barbara Shelley, which is perfect for their roles. As the alien presence become stronger you believe it when it affects the characters. The scene at the pit where Miss Judd has her visions recorded is excellent. The special effects are varied but the green arthropods and the space ship look quite malevolent. The ending is great and somehow disquieting as the closing credits slowly roll.

This is a good example of an interesting intelligent film, costing less than the catering budget of the elephantine mega-budget film we have these days, but much more effective and memorable.

This is an excellent Sci-fi movie that holds up after 32 years. It does have that Hammer-films look so unique to the others made around that time. Some of the actors are recognizable from the Christopher Lee Dracula series. I saw this movie when I was very young and it haunted me through-out my adult life. I didn't even realize it, until I saw it again recently. You see, eveytime I would see one of those huge construction cranes, I would get this foreboding, disturbing feeling I couldn't get a grasp on. I would stare at the crane, trying to figure out why it disturbed my so. It didn't click into place until I saw the movie again.