GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- X, the Unknown, 1956. On a secret atomic energy British instillation, some mysterious local murders occur with horrific results to the bodies. The scientists investigate to find a strange underground living 'putty' that is attracted to all things radioactive, but kills.*Special Stars- Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, Leo McKern, Anthony Newley, Ian MacNaughton, *Theme- Be careful about opening that door for our atomic age. *Trivia/location/goofs- B & W. A Hammer film from UK. Originally to be a sequel to the big film, Quatermass Xperiment ('55) but the scientist was renamed and re-cast. Look for the British pop singer, Anthony Newley in one of his first screen roles. The film's performers and production staff was affected by the era's Hollywood Blacklist.*Emotion- A wonderfully watchable, enjoyable, and dramatic film. The plot is well produced and easy to follow so the viewer. They can experience some terror and mystery. I would like to own this film.*Based On- Atomic bomb fears and speculation.

AaronCapenBanner Leslie Norman directed this science fiction film from Hammer Studios about British commandos in Scotland on maneuvers in a marsh who become ill from radiation. Dr. Royston(played by Dean Jagger), an atomic scientist from a nearby research station is called in to investigate, and discovers a strange new life form that seems to be a living radioactive mud from the depths of the Earth that needs more radiation to feed on, as it continues to grow in size, and will kill anyone who gets in the way. How to kill such an unusual life form? Effective film with good script and direction, and makes imaginative and plausible use of its unusual menace. Underrated thriller.

Prismark10 X: The Unknown from Hammer Films was intended to be a sequel to the film, The Quatermass Xperiment, but objections from the writer Nigel Kneale meant that the plot of the film was reworked.The original director was slated to be the noted American blacklisted Joseph Losey who started shooting the film but due to illness had to be replaced by Leslie Norman (Father of film critic Barry Norman.)This is an unpretentious film dealing with issues with nuclear radiation very much in vogue in the 1950s in horror and sci-fi films. The films also predates The Blob by a few years which is more campy.Soldiers in Scotland discover a bottomless crack in the ground with a mysterious source of radiation activity. An explosion kills a few of the soldiers from radiation burns. Soon several more people die of radiation burns.American actor Dean Jaggger plays Dr Royston from an Atomic Laboratory who hypothesises that a form of life from pre-history trapped in the crust of the Earth, tries to reach the surface every 50 years depending on the alignment of the sun and tidal waves in order to find food from radioactive sources.As the entity which is a glowing blob feeds on radiation its mass increases as it tries to make its way to nuclear plants to find more radiation.The film has a mix of good special effects especially with people melting and some ropey ones as the blob moves taking over the town or with fire explosions that look like a match going off. A lot of the horror is off camera but the film maintain its thrills.The acting from Dean Jagger and Leo McKern is straightforward. It has a fair amount of thrills such as a little girl being left behind in a church as the blob approaches or at the climax when a jeep gets stuck in the mud.

dougdoepke Two years before an alien blob of Technicolor jello menaced Steve McQueen and American teenagers, this b&w glob of radioactive mud menaced all of England. Except the alien blob was all for fun, whereas this power-hungry seepage from inner Earth is in deadly earnest. It's 80-minutes of unrelieved what-the-heck-is-this-stuff and how-the-heck-do-we- kill-it type dialog. Good thing actor Dean Jagger is on loan from America so his scientist can figure things out and save the trans-Atlantic alliance.Certainly can't say director Norman doesn't use about every suspense trick in the book, from screaming close-ups to unseen monsters to stricken hands reaching for an alarm. Trouble is that it's a movie of good parts that somehow doesn't add up to a memorable whole. I suspect two reasons hold back the end result. Let's face it, there's just nothing very scary about mud, even when dressed up in radioactive glow. So when the culprit finally reveals itself in all its gooey glory, it's more like "yuk" than "yikes". Then too, there's no one the audience can really identify with. Jagger's scientist is the hero, but too technical to identify with. As a result, we watch him, but don't participate with him.Nonetheless, those empty gravel pits are unusually gloomy and a real eye catcher for a backdrop. All in all, it's a decent thriller, but nothing exceptional.