QUATERMASS II (1957)

QUATERMASS II (1957)

Tagline: A horrible enemy from the unknown strikes terror across the earth!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, Goo Goo Dolls) [PG]

Note: This movie was never given an MPAA, but if it came out today, it would be a [PG]. 

I don't know what you mean by 'flatly refuse', sir. As I see it, you ran into a project you don't understand in a place you had no right to be.

In this one Professor Quarter mass wants to colonize the moon so he puts together a project designed to send hundreds of rockets there if he can, but he is also sidetracked by mysterious objects falling from the moon. Anyone that touches the objects suddenly develops an infection that kills them almost immediately. Meanwhile, there is a factory nearby but secluded said to be producing synthetic food, only it inexplicably has armed guards and is believed to be the location of something very deadly and very alien.  

Regarding the pacing, this one takes a bit of time to ramp up, but Brian Donlevy’s (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT) acting really elevates this movie’s tension. The rest of the cast is also really good. I am not really sure, but it seems like they just didn’t want a lot of women around in this movie, because the only one we see for more than 5 seconds is Vera Day who plays Sheila. She maybe gets 120 seconds on screen. This isn’t the end of the world, it’s just very noticeable. 

The score is decent, but it’s not used as often as I would expect. There is a lot of this film where there isn’t any score at all. The sets are pretty cool and I actually liked the simplistic but effective look of these giant goo monsters once we finally get to see them. I guess they would be considered kaiju? 

If there is anything we can learn from this movie it’s that if you see something from outer space that looks like a rock or whatever, just don’t touch it. Don’t pick it up, don’t take it home, don’t feed it after midnight, or build a giant factory around it and try to hide it. Simple.

If anything bugged me about this movie it’s the ending. The explanation for the apparently temporary resolution is way out of left field. I know this is widely considered a solid sci-fi movie, but it is super basic and does almost nothing to make you care about the characters. There is no relationship, in the movie, no humor, and it doesn’t really have any personality. It’s just a really dry run of an idea that is awesome but doesn’t really have a “story” behind it and I really think that would have helped this one out. Yes, we do get a plot, I just really didn’t feel connected to this one. 

Overall this installment in the QUATERMASS trilogy just kind of lost me and I really wanted to enjoy it more. I will say as a kid I might have loved this thing because it’s got giant goo monsters in it and it’s never a bad idea to make a movie that has giant goo monsters in it. 

For me, this is a 3 out of 7. It’s not terrible, but it didn’t hit the mark that THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT set for the series.
 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF HAMMER FILMS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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