Writer Jimmy Sangster, the man behind Hammer films such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, and Paranoic, watched earlier this evening, also penned this sci-fi/horror/mystery gem. Sangster, sadly, departed our presence last month, but his legacy of films lives on.
A bunch of half-wit Scottish soldiers are bumming around in an old pit while practicing how to use a gigameter. A horrific giant turd of radioactive underground goo monster appears topside at that exact moment and goes on a killing rampage, hungry for radioactive material.
*Spoiler/plot- X, the Unknown, 1956. On a secret atomic energy British instillation, some mysterious local murders occur with horrific results to the bodies.
X: The Unknown from Hammer Films was intended to be a sequel to the film, The Quatermass Xperiment. Objections from the writer Nigel Kneale meant that the plot of the film was reworked.
I saw 'Quatermass 2' (the film, not the series) once and that had a similar 'oily ooze monster' in it that one was filmed partly in a Shell (yes, the oil company) location. This one wasn't, as far as I know, though both did come from the legendary Hammer Studios.
This film laughs in the face of scientific realism and tweaks the nose of plot credibility. It's enjoyable with a good turn from Leo Mackern and s nice example of British 50's SF.
50s black and white movie which on first glance looks like most 50s b&w sifi horror movies but watching it you can see similar in more modern films with a lot higher budget remarkably some of the special effects are typical of the day others like the doctors face melting looks far more advanced. In short good for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
My expectations for "X: The Unknown" were big, especially when I read that writer Jimmy Sangster modeled his scenario on the previous year's Hammer milestone "The Quatermass Experiment". That film, as well as its two sequels, is an undeniable masterpiece of Science-Fiction and just plain and simply features one of the most intelligent and absorbing screenplays ever penned down.
It's almost a Quatermass film but not quite. Originally intended by Hammer to be a sequel to the previous year's successful The Quatermass Xperiment, writer Nigel Kneale refused permission for the character of Bernard Quatermass to be used.
