The Quartermass Xperiment (1955)

An experimental rocket returns to Earth with the 3-man crew.  When those on the ground crack it open they find that 2 of the men are gone and the 3rd is seriously ill.  The survivor gets sicker until he finally breaks free from the hospital, killing along the way.  See it seems that the survivor isn’t himself anymore.  An alien life form has hitched a ride back in his body and starts mutating him.  Before you know it he is a green blob with tentacles sprouting all over the place.  The real kicker is that Dr. Quartermass must figure a way to kill the creature before it spawns and the planet it doomed!

Most fans are familiar with the creature features from Hammer.  Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy were all staples in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  But that isn’t the only movies that they made.  At the same time Hammer put out a couple of classic Sci-Fi/Horror movies involving the character Quartermass with the first one being The Quartermass Xperiment (aka. The Creeping Terror).  This is the movie that I finally got a chance to check out on DVD recently. 

Unlike many of the American movies from the ‘50s this one from Hammer is much more serious and creepy.  The idea that the astronaut was changing into something else and that he was aware of it was really scary to me as a kid and even works a bit on me now.  This is a more serious kind of horror flick where they let the idea of what is happening add to the audience’s discomfort.  Not to say that we don’t have the more traditional things going on as well.  There is the creature and body count.  Together these make for an entertaining way to spend your evening. 

There is an edge to The Quartermass Xperiment’s effects that sets it apart from the other genre movies from the ‘50s.  We get some really gruesome shots of the victims after the creature has drained them.  Not once but tice we see close ups of the collapsed faces.  This is really out there for a ‘50s movie and I appreciate it.  The design and look of the infected man is nicely done.  He has a cadaverous look to him that is created with lighting and a simple makeup job.  But it does make him look sick or infected.  When we do get to the full-blown creature it is a more standard looking rubber suit that doesn’t move around much.  But as far a creature goes it is okay.  Overall I liked what I saw in this one.

For years I’ve been waiting for an official DVD release of this one.  Finally the nice folks at http://www.classicmoviesnow.com/ have made that a reality.  The DVD is bare bones with only the movie and a trailer, but beggars can’t be choosers.  Like I said I’ve been waiting for years so I’m happy to have anything.  The picture quality is pretty good and I’d have to say that it is worth the price.  Check out there website for this and many other long awaited titles.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer