Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

writetopcat I find this movie difficult to stay interested in, not because the sci fi plot is unbelievable, after all, that is why we watch sci fi movies. Sci fi flicks usually have a plot that includes an element which requires us to suspend disbelief, something far outside of currently accepted scientific knowledge. This element is usually inserted into the lives of human beings we can easily relate to. That is what makes it interesting and what allows us to engage in the story. We see people acting in ways we can understand to something which is beyond our understanding. But when these peoples' behaviors deviate drastically from what we all know as rational and sane, for me at least, it becomes hard to relate to them. When Victor Caroon alone returns to earth, the scientists are attempting to help him recover and to gain some understanding from him as to what occurred to him and the other two astronauts during the spaceflight. You would expect him to receive round the clock medical attention and monitoring, especially since he seems unable to communicate and does not respond to his own name. But he is often left with only one attendant. During this time he cycles between a semi-conscious fugue state and an agitated, hysterical state, with little ability to respond to anyone. He appears delusional and out of control. Then, for the first time, he gets out of bed and takes a couple of steps before going into one of his unresponsive fugue states, standing motionless staring straight ahead. At this point the doctor decides to leave the room, with the Judith Caroon there to watch Victor. You can guess what is coming next; he is going to overpower her and escape from the medical facility. Bingo. This is completely unbelievable. Victor had never demonstrated rational behavior since his return, and on several occasions he was agitated and out of control. To leave him alone with a single female whom he could easily overpower should he become agitated again, and to do so when he was out of bed and unresponsive to commands for him to return to bed, is ridiculous. We expect to suspend disbelief with respect to the sci fi element of the plot. But when we have to do so in order to explain the behavior of the "normal" people in the movie, the whole thing starts to become a joke. You cannot take anyone in the film seriously, though we are expected to. Too bad. Some b movie sci fi movies become cult comedy films because they lack the pretense of being taken seriously. This one doesn't even do that. The writers attempted to build suspense and tension by making nearly everyone in the film emotionally labile and immature. There is less drama amongst high school girls. Even the news reporter shouts at people he is trying to get information from. This is so overdone that, again, you cannot take anyone seriously. At one point when Dr. Briscoe and Victor's wife, Judith Caroon are theorizing about what might have happened to Victor, she says: "We're creatures of this earth, we live by its terms and conditions, that's all we're able to grasp". Too bad we can't grasp or believe the behavior of the characters in this movie. This is a remake of a 50s sci fi movie which could have been done better.

simonpcpearson The idea of a modern version of Quatermass is an intriguing one, but unfortunately this poor effort is a wasted opportunity.The decision to transmit the programme live is ultimately a gimmick that damages the project. It would appear that the budget was quite low, which, when combined with the live aspects make this look like a you tube video.Jason Flemyng is arguably miscast as Quatermass, although it might be argued that this incompetent production doesn't give him a fair chance.David Tennant fares a little better , but of the rest of the cast the females are the only ones who seem to be even trying. Isla Blair and Indira varma bring a bit of much needed credibility to the proceedings.The really big problem is Richard Fell's awful script which is amateurish in every imaginable way. When listening to the dialogue one imagines of the writer or director have ever heard real people speak. Fail.

nuepb The story may be 50 years old but this revised version,shown live in 2005, was every bit is tense and thrilling as the original.Great performances by David Tennant,Adrian Dunbar,Andy Tiernan and Jason Flemyng were overshadowed by the acting of Indira Verma and Mark Gatiss who stole the show.The lack of CGI and any real special effects will probably seem strange to the modern audience who like monsters and gore but I found it a treat to be able to use my imagination which was stoked up by the performances.The ending may also disappoint in this regard. However given the premise that Quatermass is appealing to the "Humanity" of the victims I think it works very well on an abstract level and has a creepy feel all of its own.The DVD version uses two clips taken from the recording of the final run through and allows for the smooth running of a couple of shots that, on the night, didn't go to plan! This is a pity as it gives the over all production too much polish and loses some of its "as live" appeal.No matter - maybe the programme will be repeated as was in the future (Or the cut scenes will appear as extras somewhere - they are not on the DVD unfortunately!).There is an easter egg on the video if you search for it - and is of great interest to Doctor Who fans! Bob

rporldavies Very, very different to the flash-bang wizardry of almost all TV sci-fi these days, but a marvellous and suspenseful piece of viewing.It requires more than the usual suspension of disbelief until the characters and story fall into place, but the acting--live remember--is powerful and extremely effective. Flemying is excellent as Quatermass, and the supporting cast uniformly good.It isn't perfect. It is acted live, with all the limitations that brings with it. It has a mix of styles and seems uncertain of what year it might actually be set in, but it becomes a riveting piece of television.