Rating: 
Summary: Suspenseful
Review: Most science fiction movies depend on gimmicks and gadgets to keep the audience's attention. This one depends on suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: Burning Terror
Review: Something nasty comes out of a recent rent in the earth's crust, devastating isolated parts of England. It appears to be at least semi-intelligent. It moves around a bit, getting here and there and leaving some very unpleasant human wreckage in its wake. Whatever the thing is, it burns - horribly. It's intensely radioactive, literally able to melt a man down to the bone in seconds upon close contact.American scientist Professor Royston (Dean Jagger) has a theory about it that no one is willing to endorse. He thinks the thing is an animate pile of radioactive sludge from deep toward the centre of the Earth, come up to feed on more energy - and grow. The only flaw with this otherwise stellar horror film is the premise of intelligent mud as a menacing monster, which is frankly pretty ridiculous. But it's to the movie's credit that you cheerfully suspend your disbelief, to wallow in the sheer nasty thrill of it all. This is one of Hammer Studio's best low-budget black-and-white shockers, which works more due to the remarkable conviction of its cast - including small roles played by Anthony Newley and Leo McKern - than anything else. Anything else but the effects, that is, which are...gruesome. Really, really gruesome. Not as slick, smooth, or intelligently scripted as Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series, which it seeks to imitate (and for the most part does, quite well), but damned close. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster is another old hand in the business, and it shows.
Rating:
Summary: Burning Terror
Review: Something nasty comes out of a recent rent in the earth's crust, devastating isolated parts of England. It appears to be at least semi-intelligent. It moves around a bit, getting here and there and leaving some very unpleasant human wreckage in its wake. Whatever the thing is, it burns - horribly. It's intensely radioactive, literally able to melt a man down to the bone in seconds upon close contact. American scientist Professor Royston (Dean Jagger) has a theory about it that no one is willing to endorse. He thinks the thing is an animate pile of radioactive sludge from deep toward the centre of the Earth, come up to feed on more energy - and grow. The only flaw with this otherwise stellar horror film is the premise of intelligent mud as a menacing monster, which is frankly pretty ridiculous. But it's to the movie's credit that you cheerfully suspend your disbelief, to wallow in the sheer nasty thrill of it all. This is one of Hammer Studio's best low-budget black-and-white shockers, which works more due to the remarkable conviction of its cast - including small roles played by Anthony Newley and Leo McKern - than anything else. Anything else but the effects, that is, which are...gruesome. Really, really gruesome. Not as slick, smooth, or intelligently scripted as Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series, which it seeks to imitate (and for the most part does, quite well), but damned close. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster is another old hand in the business, and it shows.
Rating:
Summary: Mud Monster
Review: This is a movie that I really like. It starts with a military training exercise where a source of radiation is discovered. Later in the movie, it is discovered that the source of the radiation is some creature, basically made of mud, which has been living inside the earth since it's beginning. Dean Jagger is the scientist that believes that something is seriously wrong and it is interesting how quickly he comes up with a "mud" monster. There are some good horror scenes (e.g., melting people), and suspenseful areas (e.g., when the little girl is outside the church). This is a movie worth getting.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic blob movie
Review: Truelly a great and entertaining piece of 50s Hammer Sci-Fi,and what a treat to own on DVD. Dean Jagger is excellent in his (Quatermass like) role as Dr Adam Royston and Leo Mckern is great as the scientists back-up man,a truelly tense little shocker, and what must contain one of the earliest melting-man scenes in a movie,if not the first. A CLASSIC go and BUY IT!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Another hit from Hammer Productions!
Review: While Nigel Kneale was thrilling the world- UK included - with his immensely successful QUATERMASS movies in the 50's, another name was added to Hammer Productions' list of writers- Jimmy Sangster, who wrote this genuinely suspenseful, frightening, and equally intelligent B-movie for his debut. An 'intelligent' element (a larger - than - life glob of sludge) from below the surface of the earth arises from a fissure in a Scottish bogland and wipes out anything in its path- including humans, who are either horribly burned or completely melted away from coming into close contact with it - on its way to locate and consume nearby sources of radiation to fuel its growth. To stop the titular entity, Quatermass-like scientist Dr. Alan Royston (Academy Award winner Dean Jagger, TWELVE O" CLOCK HIGH) must race against time to find its' weakness before it moves southward- towards London! He gets good acting support from Edward Chapman as his disbelieving boss and Leo McKern as a willingly-helpful police inspector named "McGuill". Although it is rather weak in direction (by Leslie Norman), the film makes a scene with production by Anthony Hinds, its dark locations are chilling, and cringing music by James Bernard. X-THE UNKNOWN certainly made an impresion for writer Sangster- he was later the recreator of Univeral's Monster Films, and the remakes had Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as excellent predecessors to Bela Legosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney JR.!
Rating:
Summary: "How do you kill mud?"
Review: X - The Unknown (1957) is a superior science fiction/horror film from Hammer Studios. The film stars Dean Jagger, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film 12 O'Clock High, as Dr. Adam Royston, Leo Mckern as Inspector McGill, and Edward Chapman as John Elliot, director of the atomic plant where Royston works.
The movie takes place in Scotland, and starts off showing a group of army men in training on locating radioactive material using a Geiger counter. Soon a fissure cracks open in the Earth, and a couple of the men suffer radiation burns. Royston is called in to try and determine the source of the radiation, but he has no answers. Soon, others begin to suffer from such burns, and radioactive materials go missing from various locations like the local hospital and Royston's secluded lab. Royston develops a theory, one too fantastic to be believed, but one that's soon proved correct to everyone's horror. Seems a creature of energy has risen from deep within the Earth, one that can kill instantly, and needs radioactive materials to feed on to survive. Essentially, it's a giant ball of mud, one that continues to grow the more it feeds. How do you kill a ball of mud? Royston has an idea, but the cure may prove to be worse than the disease as destroying the creature may cause an explosion of atomic proportions.
Dean Jagger is the star, no doubt about that, as he shows it throughout. The rest of the actors, while very good, are pretty much along for the ride. One of the best elements about this film is the intelligent story line. The creature isn't even show until about an hour into the proceedings, but the viewer's attention is kept tightly focused as the suspense builds and the story unfolds. And I have to say, the effects were quite good and even a bit more graphic than I would have expected, especially the scenes where some poor unfortunate comes into contact with the creature. Think of what happened to Toht, the character played by Ron Lacey, at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and you'll understand what I mean.
The picture provided on this disc looks very good, with minimal signs of deterioration in a few scenes. Special features include an original trailer for the film, and a World of Hammer episode entitled Sci-Fi. Also included in the case is a reproduction of a promotional poster for the film. All in all, an excellent example of early British sci-fi that's intelligent, suspenseful, and extremely well made.
Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: "How do you kill mud?"
Review: X - The Unknown (1957) is a superior science fiction/horror film from Hammer Studios. The film stars Dean Jagger, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film 12 O'Clock High, as Dr. Adam Royston, Leo Mckern as Inspector McGill, and Edward Chapman as John Elliot, director of the atomic plant where Royston works. The movie takes place in Scotland, and starts off showing a group of army men in training on locating radioactive material using a Geiger counter. Soon a fissure cracks open in the Earth, and a couple of the men suffer radiation burns. Royston is called in to try and determine the source of the radiation, but he has no answers. Soon, others begin to suffer from such burns, and radioactive materials go missing from various locations like the local hospital and Royston's secluded lab. Royston develops a theory, one too fantastic to be believed, but one that's soon proved correct to everyone's horror. Seems a creature of energy has risen from deep within the Earth, one that can kill instantly, and needs radioactive materials to feed on to survive. Essentially, it's a giant ball of mud, one that continues to grow the more it feeds. How do you kill a ball of mud? Royston has an idea, but the cure may prove to be worse than the disease as destroying the creature may cause an explosion of atomic proportions. Dean Jagger is the star, no doubt about that, as he shows it throughout. The rest of the actors, while very good, are pretty much along for the ride. One of the best elements about this film is the intelligent story line. The creature isn't even show until about an hour into the proceedings, but the viewer's attention is kept tightly focused as the suspense builds and the story unfolds. And I have to say, the effects were quite good and even a bit more graphic than I would have expected, especially the scenes where some poor unfortunate comes into contact with the creature. Think of what happened to Toht, the character played by Ron Lacey, at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and you'll understand what I mean. The picture provided on this disc looks very good, with minimal signs of deterioration in a few scenes. Special features include an original trailer for the film, and a World of Hammer episode entitled Sci-Fi. Also included in the case is a reproduction of a promotional poster for the film. All in all, an excellent example of early British sci-fi that's intelligent, suspenseful, and extremely well made. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: Before the X-Files: there was X, The Unknown...
Review: X-THE UNKNOWN is low budget,soft-on-sfx, super creepy sci-fi sleeper of the ilk of THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE.The ensemble cast led by American Dean Jagger keep a British stiff-upper-lip approach to hidden terror cleverly BxW low-balled by the Hammer Consortium that usually assaulted senses with the bloodiest blood the screen ever bled. But X-ster's play it very cool so suspense builds until the radioactive "whatcha'macallit" rolls into town BLOB STYLE with style. If this sounds lame,it isn't. Very good acting; tremendously eerie lighting,art design, music;and determination to resist temptation to a glowing "melt-fest"climax make X-The Unknown "mud in your eye"classic sci-fi...
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