Starring Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, Leo McKern, Anthony Newley, Jameson Clark
Directed by Leslie Norman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
An atomic scientist discovers a radioactive monster has emerged from beneath the Earth's crust, that has a lethal effect on anyone who gets near it.
Hammer Films delivers an entertaining science fiction film in the mold of its Quatermass thrillers, but coming from an original screenplay by Jimmy Sangster, his first for the studio. There's some fine actors on display, with Jagger, who won an Oscar over a decade before, still effective and kindly and thoughtful as Professor Royston, whose research ideas don't always jibe with his hard-line boss, played by Chapman. However, the crisis at hand eventually unites the two men, with good support from McKern as an energy commission investigator who quickly comes to trust in Royston. The monster of the film can lay claim to being the first oozing creature in a horror film, predating The Blob and Caltiki, and the special effects are still reasonably acceptable, and chilling when it comes to the creature's attacks on humanity. I've heard Norman became director after Joseph Losey was dismissed due to Jagger's protest over his link to HUAC investigations, but whoever was behind the camera designed some taut and suspenseful scenes, augmented by James Bernard's driving score, particularly during the film's climactic confrontation between men and monster.
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