Quatermass II

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DanTheMan 2 With the success of the first Xperiment, Hammer greenlighting a sequel was a certainty, so much so that they purchased the film rights to Kneale's follow-up before the BBC had even begun transmission. This time, Quatermass II sees much more involvement from Kneale, streamlining his original teleplay but remaining largely faithful, superior ending notwithstanding. Once again, the script channels an extra dimension of suspense and horror, choked with a pervasive air of paranoia and panic. Returning director Val Guest realises these more fantastic elements with the greatest degree of realism, sharpening up the original serial and smashing together the two-part climax into one of unbridled tension and terror. Any issues with Brian Donlevy's Quatermass in the original film have been smoothed out, he's a much more likeable character and although Jack Warner was sadly unavailable, John Longden makes for a fantastic substitute; hell even the usually comedic Sid James is marvellous in a much more straight role, one that Roger Delgado had played in the original. Thanks to its quicker pace, livelier production, better climax of nonstop anxiety-riddled thrills and one of James Bernard's best scores, Quatermass II is a masterful near-satire of Cold War paranoia about dehumanisation and conformity, one that has remained starkly relevant to this day. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/13/24 Full Review Matthew B The title of Quatermass 2 may seem unremarkable now, but it was rare to have sequels that tacked the word ‘2' onto them at the time. There is a double meaning here, as Quatermass 2 is actually the name of the rocket that Quatermass is working on. The sequel was much closer to the original teleseries because Nigel Kneale had more input into the film's making. It tells the basic story, and is slightly longer than The Quatermass Xperiment, so less of the original story is removed. Nonetheless much of it does have to go in the interests of keeping the film down to a suitable length, and a few of Kneale's ideas are lost. Many of them remain, and what dark ideas they are too! The story once more deals with the dangers of alien invasion and aliens possessing the minds of human beings. Only this time the invasion has already begun some months or years before Quatermass finds out about it, and a larger number of people have their minds taken over. Quatermass 2 fits into the different Cold War mentality of Britain. The threat here is not subversives within society, but officialdom itself. This was an age where old villages such as Winnerden Flats were being swept away in favour of New Towns, and government secrecy led to large parts of the countryside being sealed off and turned into secret establishments where people did not know what was going on inside. As a result, freedom of movement and thought was being encroached upon by the state, and this is what Kneale was concerned about, a point made more explicitly in the teleseries. Hence the danger here lies in the establishment – politicians, police chiefs, and the like. The people who should be protecting society are now the people who are threatening it. I wrote a longer appreciation of the Val Guest Quatermass movies on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/04/14/quatermass-experiments-the-val-guest-movies-the-quatermass-xperiment-1955-quatermass-2-1957/ Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/03/23 Full Review john p You have to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate how well done this movie was for 1957. I tracked down all the Quatermass movies recently. I decided to watch this one first since as a young child after watching this — I had recurring nightmares about it for several years. It creeped me out that deeply. Talk about conspiracy theories and mind control and a deep Lovecraftian dread hanging about — this movie has it all. The finale was quite impressive and so very weird — I loved seeing it afresh even all these many decades later. Recommended.😎👍 Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It only loses half a star, because of Donlevy. Americanising Quatermass was one thing but he sucked. Ok, less in this one, I like him more in this one, hence the half a star. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Brilliant early sci-fi horror that many TV shows and films today owe a debt to. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member A bit of a disappointment of a sequel the ending is good but with bullets flying everywhere and nothing gets hit it loses its power, and the script isn't great. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Quatermass II

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