VividSimon
Simply Perfect
SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Red-Barracuda
The success of The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) was the factor that alerted the hitherto obscure British film studio Hammer that the future for them might be with horror movies. This follow up movie – incidentally, the first sequel to use '2' in its title – merely cemented this notion and by the end of the decade Hammer's hugely influential cycle of horror movies was truly underway. At this earlier stage in the mid-50's though, the fashion was not yet for Gothic horrors filmed in glorious colour but for sci-fi/horror in traditional black and white. With its story of a meteor shower that ultimately results with people being taken over by alien entities, it not only indicates the influence of the earlier Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) but more generally shows itself to be a product of the Cold War years, where people suddenly become roboticised by external forces (which was essentially what many folks from the day thought those dastardly communists were doing).Its lower key British sensibilities, setting and plot-line make it feel like a definite precursor to the sci-fi series 'Dr Who', which would kick into gear at the beginning of the next decade. Similar to that, Quatermass 2 is an imaginative piece of work which benefits from a creative script from genre specialist Nigel Kneale. Val Guest who directed the first instalment returns here again, as does Brian Donlevy to reprise his role as the somewhat prickly title character. Less expectedly it also features 'Carry On' legend Sid James in a role which by his subsequent standards is very serious.I think this sequel may in fact surpass the original. It seems to have a little more budget and it makes that count. The production is still a modest one but makes use of its locations, especially the power plant where the action orbits, while the big finale is pretty well executed with some nice special effects. I think over and above that, it has an effective slightly downbeat atmosphere which suits this story well and, on the whole, this can certainly be considered one of the upper bracket science fiction films of its day.
vkorchnoifan
I hope that some producer out there will remake this excellent British SF film. The Quatermass films are one of the best SF films to come out of the UK. Quatermass 2 is the best. Almost all of the stars in this film have passed. Thanks for the film and the memories.Vera Day is the only one. A beautiful woman who starred in a another SF film "The Woman Eater". But according to her filmography she is still working in films. Nice to see that. Brian Donlevy, known for tough guy roles, was very credible in this film. All the rest, give the film the good support as actors. I just wish some producer would give it a shot and do a remake. There several UK films that are worthy of remake but this film deserves it.
1bilbo
The really irritating thing about this film is the way Brian Donlevy cuts people off when they speak to him – won't listen and then stomps out of the room.Is it a shame because the whole premise of the story is quite good – this film reminds me of "X the unknown" which is far superior.The women in the film are dispatched to "Keep everybody in coffee," whilst the men get on with saving the earth from invaders. Sign of the times.The other poor item in this film is the dialogue – one could be forgiven for believing that the actors made it up as they went along. Also opening up with machine gun fire at every opportunity with nearly all the bullets missing!Poor Hammer films ! They probably had to do this on a shoestring with backers screaming for a quick return – with a little more care this could have been a great film.
Michael_Elliott
Quatermass 2 (1957) *** (out of 4) Sequel to the cult classic has Professor Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) trying to build up support for his idea of a moon colonization. Without any luck, he ends up stumbling across such a place where it seems some sort of meteor is falling and when it burns a person it helps take over their body. At first no one believes Quatermass so he must try and destroy this poisonous gas by himself. QUATERMASS 2 was released in some parts of ENEMY FROM SPACE and many consider it a classic and much better than the first film. I personally wouldn't go that far because I think the level of suspense here never comes close to that in the original movie but there's still no denying this is a pretty unique little film that manages to work well with its low-budget and in the end the viewer is treated to a fun ride. I think the story is obviously influenced by INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS as we get the same basic concept. I thought the way that this meteor/gas burns its way into the victims was a pretty good touch and there are some very effective moments with this form of creature. The highlight of the film is an extremely effective moment when one man comes down a ladder with this black goo all over him. The way he just pretty much melts as he grabs anything was very effective and while the special effect might not have cost much its impact is certainly felt. As with many British films, there's quite a bit of dialogue leading up to the eventual big finale. I think the film moves a little too slow in spots and I think the film would have been better had we gotten to the final showdown a little faster. What keeps the first half of the movie working as well as it does is the performance by Donlevy who is simply flawless as Quatermass. The level of paranoia he brings the character in the early scenes really gives the viewer a sense of something bad is going to happen and it's the performance that really draws us into the events that are going on. Once the ending does finally happen it's full of some nice action and an interesting monster. QUATERMASS 2 isn't as good as the original but it certainly gets credit for at least trying something different and it's proof that you don't need to be campy just because you don't have much money.
