Rating: 
Summary: Nigel Kneale strikes back!
Review: After the success of the filmed adaptation of THE QUATERMASSS EXPERIMENT(a 1953 teleserial), writer Nigel Kneale attracted more audiences to the small screen with a sequel to the original miniseries. Entitled QUATERMASS 2, it was a hit, and Hammer Films realized an opportunity to translate this juicy treatment for silver screen audiences. Sure enough, the movie version(keeping the original title in the UK and christianed ENEMY FROM SPACE in the US)was released in 1957, with Kneale rewriting the TV script with director Val Guest. Although it was a critical and commercial blockbuster, it has been bombarded with complaints from purists who consider it inferior to the TV version because it lacked the excellent, suspenseful cliffhangers and quiet, intelligent endings that made the miniseries superb.
On the surface though, it is a classic, pure and simple. Brian Donlevy is flawless as professor Bernard Quatermass, who discovers that a decimated town in the hilly, isolated area of northern England, called Wynerton Flats, has made way for an invasion of microorganisms coming from an obscure asteroid in space. They arrive in plastic containers, which enter our atmosphere as meteorites, and burst out of their shells when people come into close contact with them. When they infect the person, they put him or her under their control. Soon, they are building a complex in the area, nuturing more newcoming 'germs' with supplies of methane, ammonia, and hydrogen gases(They cannot breathe our atmosphere) in huge pressure domes. What's worse, several Parliament officials are infected by the wave and are keeping it confidential, marking it as a project to make synthetic food.
Quatermass enlists the help of several 'normal' people to stop the invasion. They include police inspector Lomax (JOHN LONGDEN), his assistant Marsh (BRYAN FORBES, director of THE STEPFORD WIVES) and Scotland Yard reporter Jimmy (SYDNEY JAMES).
With time running out and the list of victims growing, they set off to find and destroy the complex.
Excellently written and directed, with good acting, striking cinematography by Gerald Gibbs, and a bellowing score by James Bernard.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD suffers by comparison with VHS Tape edition
Review: As others have pointed out, this is a fantastic movie. It's one of my all-time favorites, so when the DVD edition came out I had to have it. Unfortunately, it is rather disappointing. To begin with, the video quality of the opening 2 minutes and a few other dimly lit scenes come off very badly on the DVD; this is even acknowledged in a little notice included with the disc. Too bad, they should have just dubbed it from the VHS edition, which looks fine!The added attractions of the DVD edition are a 25 minute documentary on Hammer Films Sci-Fi films and a running commentary by Nigel Kneale and Val Guest. There's also a theatrical trailer, but that's on the VHS tape too. Well, it's too bad they waited so long to interview Guest and Kneale, because they have very few recollections of the film. Oh there's a fact or two here and there, but it's basically rather dull. Kneale still harps on how much he dislikes Brian Donlevy as Quatermass, even though it's been 45 years since the movie was made! Guest is a little more interesting, when he speaks. Overall I think they'd have done better to have a fan of the film or a movie historian do the voice over. The Hammer Film documentary is just 25 minutes of film clips with some narration. Again, not impressive. Overall, I'd have to say this DVD is below average. I guess I'll be keeping my VHS tape.
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Summary: Professor Quartermass deals with gas from outer space
Review: Brian Donlevy again plays Professor Bernard Quartermass, who this time around notices signs of a rain of meteorites on his radar. But when Quartermass visits the landing site he finds a destroyed village and suddenly erected factory that sure looks like the one he designed for the Moon colony. But what is really distressing is that whatever has been falling to earth, they contain an ammonia-based gas that does bad things to people. Could this be the opening salvo in an invasion from outer space? Donlevy and his character dominate the proceedings, but it seems Quartermass asks a lot more questions than he gets answers to in this one. Fortunately the Profesor has always been skeptical of the government. "Quartermass 2" a.k.a. "Enemy from Space" is the second in the trio of film versions of Nigel Kneale's 1950s BBC serial. This 1957 sequel is better than "The Quartermass Experiment" (known as "The Creeping Unknown" in the U.S.") but not as good as the classic "Quartermass and the Pit" (known as "Five Million Years to Earth" on this side of the pond). The DVD is a treat since it includes audio commentary from both director Val Guest and Nigel Kneale, the theatrical trailer, and the segment on science fiction films from the "World of Hammer" documentary.
Rating:
Summary: Invasion on the Sly
Review: British government rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass is busy at work on his second major space project, when a micrometeorite swarm in the country catches his attention. The objects recovered don't appear to be meterorites, but rather something small, metallic and hollow. When handled, they explode, emitting an unknown gas and leaving a distinctive mark on whoever disturbs them. Afterward, those exposed behave differently than before. They're still the person they were, but they engage in projects with others who have been similarly affected, chief of which is an isolated government high-security series of domes whose purpose is unknown. Quatermass is more surprised than most, because the domes are a replica of his own project - which is barely off the drawing boards, and not known by anyone. Attempts to discover what the government is about are fruitless, and Quatermass is blocked from further inquiry - by ministers bearing the mark of the non-meteorites. He gathers a few people he can trust to investigate the mysterious goings-on, and discovers a most unusual form of alien invasion in progress... This is great sci-fi, scripted by Nigel Kneale, one of the best names in the business. Val Guest's direction is atmospheric and suspenseful, transforming an otherwise somewhat hackneyed plot (though elevated by Kneale's distinctive hand) into a top-notch action-melodrama. The dramatic revelations, when they finally come, are genuinely scary and very effective. There are some truly frightening moments, such as one in which a government minister stumbles onto something sinister in the mysterious plant, and returns nearly burned to a crisp, clothes and skin still smoking. What's actually in the domes is very, very creepy. The film isn't perfect, but it's quite good. Brian Donlevy never was a good casting choice for Professor Quatermass, though he handles the role ably enough. Britain was at the mercy of American film companies for a good while after WWII, and the only way the UK could get many of its films released was with the inclusion of American actors. It's no insult to Donlevy, it's just that the character is very British, and he is not. Well worth watching. Preceded by The Creeping Unknown (a.k.a. The Quatermass Experiment), and followed by the excellent Five Million Years to Earth (a.k.a. Quatermass and the Pit) - and many years later by the more disappointing The Quatermass Conclusion.
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Summary: British sci-fi: Brainy and Low-Budget
Review: First of all, if you've never seen a Quatermass film before, the name is pronounced KWAY-ter-mass. The three Quatermass films by Hammer are all adapted from British television serials in the 1950s; a fourth Quatermass series was televised in 1979. The general consensus is that of the Hammer films, _Quatermass 2_ is the best, and I have to agree. (As the British television versions go, I've heard several different opinions as to which Quatermass is the best, from the 1958 _Quatermass and the Pit_ to 1979's _Quatermass_. The stories of these television serials are much too complicated for an average 90-minute B picture.) The screenplay for _Quatermass 2_ is a marvel of efficiency, setting up characters and situations with remarkable ease and confidence. Unlike other films in the series, this one doesn't seem burdened with too much exposition. Perhaps this is because most of us have already seen this story in a different form, as _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_. (The televised version of _Quatermass 2_ actually preceded _Invasion_ by a year or two.) But _Q2_ has a very different focus, articulating Britain's paranoia over a military-industrial complex that seems out of control. Sound familiar? Although the script is quite good, it's the superb direction of Val Guest that really makes the film work. He makes it easy for viewers to keep track of a complex chains of events, often pulling suspenseful moments seemingly from thin air. Brian Donleavy's square-jawed, straight-arrow performance as Professor Quatermass is perhaps a little too much like Joe Friday for my taste. Still, I frequently enjoyed Donleavy's overbearing manner, even though it's the only aspect of the film that feels dated now. One of the best and brainiest sci-fi films from the '50s ... well worth owning if you're a sci-fi fan, and well worth viewing if you're not. (By the way, the central ideas of John Carpenter's recent _Ghosts of Mars_ seem somewhat indebted to _Q2_, although _Q2_ is by far the better film.)
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Summary: A Groundbreaking Genre Film!
Review: Hammer's big screen version of the BBC serial! A stunning film that has clearly influenced science fiction film makers ever since. Direct influences can bee seen in films like "Aliens" and the television series "X Files". A stark B&W film that never lets up in pace. Masterful direction of Nigel Kneale's classic story of alien invasion easily stands the test of time. A classic of the genre that every science fiction fan should view. Leaps and bounds ahead of the UFO and Giant Insect movies that were coming out of the USA at the same time. One of the most important films of this genre. You won't regret this one...
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Summary: Quatermass 2
Review: Having been a fan of this movie for 20 something years it came as a nice suprise to see this movie Re-mastered and released on VHS and DVD.The Transfer is beautiful and the folks at Anchor Bay deserve a pat on the back for releasing such a Gem.I don't need to re-tell the story just buy this movie and be suprised at the X Files similarity,not a coinsidence? More a conspiracy of true Genius (Nigel Kneale)being pilfered from again.Happy viewing!
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Summary: The very best of the Quatermass stories!
Review: Having now bought both versions of this 50s classic of paranoia and sheer tension on DVD and VCR, I can tell tou that both versions were worth every penny spent, apart from the shoddy trailer on the VCR version. The atmosphere of suspence in this film is beyond belief, as aliens from an orbiting asteroid orbit the dark side of the earth, sending projectiles to the earth, which on contact with human life infect an individual, and possess thier minds, so that the aliens can manifest themselves in a replica of Professor Quatermass' Moon Project, which basically looks like an oil refinery with an addage of huge pressure domes, which harbour the alien organisms as they are collected by armed guards who protect the base. 'Quatermass 2' location actually was an oil refinery, SHELL to be precise at Coryton in Essex, sometimes refered to as SHELLHAVEN. The film does have it's share of shock moments such as the rebellious worker's bodies being pulped along the pipes from the domes, to stop oxygen from being pumped into it. Vincent Broadhead's death is quite horrible too, as he staggers from an alien food sphere covered in disgusting, black and corrosive food, which is what the plant is reportedly supposed to be producing. Anchor Bay produce a nice crisp and clear print of this film, also the feature has a trailer (US), and an episode of the series 'World of Hammer', a delight to own, and the ultimate in Quatermass stories (MY FAVE MOVIE) to be produced so far, let's hope it gets a remake in the future, because ever a stor deserved it, it's this one.
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Summary: What happened to the original?
Review: I am 57 years old...I saw the Quartermass movies growing up..I can barely remember this sequel that was called ENEMY FROM SPACE, but I do know it was well produced for its time. My question is..why not release Quartermass Experiment AKA THE CREEPING UNKNOWN with the other 2 in a triple scare package...
they were all ahead of there time in sci fi ideas and the FX weren't all that bad.
Rating: 
Summary: This is Hammer?
Review: I couldn't even get past the first half hour of this movie before turning it off ... deeply disapponted. It looks like bad 50's American sci-fi, it's hard to believe that this is a Hammer film. Buy this film if you like "The day the Earth Stood Still" or other cheese like that.
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