Quatermass II

1957

1h 24m

Sci-Fi

Horror

List

80%

10 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy), in his attempts to convince the British government to colonize the moon, learns that thousands of meteorites are landing in the same location on Earth. When his colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) joins him in a quest to uncover the truth, they discover a government complex built around the landing spot. When Marsh goes missing, Quatermass attempts to rescue him -- and discovers the truth behind an alien invasion conspiracy and cover-up.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Val Guest's direction is as uncertain as script on which he collabs with Nigel Kneale [author of original story], with the result that all characters are stodgy.

May 14, 2008

Full Review

Time Out

Despite some clumsy moments that have not worn well, it remains one of the more bizarre and impressive of the early British horror pictures.

Jan 26, 2006

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The best of the original trilogy, choked with a pervasive air of paranoia and panic.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 3, 2019

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TV Guide

This is one of the best science-fiction films ever to come from Britain.

Rated: 3.5/4

May 14, 2008

Full Review

Ali Catterall

Film4

A masterful near-satire of Cold War paranoia and, arguably, the best of the Quatermass series.

May 14, 2008

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Mel Valentin

eFilmCritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Dec 6, 2005

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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 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

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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 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 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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kevin w

Cracking good sci-fi horror yarn comes from Hammer Productions over in England about an alien invasion. What makes the work sing is how nobody in it wants to hear anything about any alien invasion. Brian Donlevy plays a scientist who finds out about it firsthand and he doesn't want to hear it. Alien invasion?!? By the time anyone is on board...it's very near too late. And unlike a lot of other films from this era, this one moves pretty quickly. Overall a surprise treat for early creature feature addicts.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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martin a

Wow this is good, with an excellent story, and really scary about an Alien invasion which is getting ready to take over mankind. Fantastic

Rated 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 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

Full Review

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Val Guest

Director

Brian Donlevy

Quatermass

Michael Ripper

Ernie

Sid James

Jimmy Hall

Bryan Forbes

Marsh

John Longden

Lomax

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Synopsis

Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy), in his attempts to convince the British government to colonize the moon, learns that thousands of meteorites are landing in the same location on Earth. When his colleague Marsh (Bryan Forbes) joins him in a quest to uncover the truth, they discover a government complex built around the landing spot. When Marsh goes missing, Quatermass attempts to rescue him -- and discovers the truth behind an alien invasion conspiracy and cover-up.

Director: Val Guest
Producer: Michael Carreras
Screenwriter: Nigel Kneale, Val Guest
Production Co: Hammer Films
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (DVD): Dec 5, 2008
Runtime: 1h 24m