Memorable, crazy movie

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

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.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A construction crew at a London subway dig discovers strange skeletons. Later, a suspected bomb is found but it's unlike anything seen before. Professor Bernard Quatermass joins Colonel Breen to investigate. Soon, it's obvious that there is nothing earthly about the finds. Quatermass has a theory on the origins of the spacecraft and humanity itself.Hammer Film is more known for its B-horrors. They stretched out to make B-sci-fi. The first half is relatively pedestrian until they dig up the slightly-comical creepy insects. They are some creepy rubber insectoids. When the movie finally gets to the action, it's obviously missing an insect invasion. It becomes a convoluted sci-fi theory of an insect invasion of another kind. This is good drive-in fodder.

I rate Andrew Keir as the best Professor Quatermass by far. However, this film has some very poor production values - as this movie is set in then modern day London, why not film there rather than relying on some rather obvious studio sets? The latter only made the film look decidedly amateurish. The direction is hampered as well.A few effective moments and Andrew Keir's performance can only compensate for so much.

Like all the best science fiction Quatermass and the Pit begins with a meaningful idea, not just an excuse for special effects and spectacle. This third big screen outing for the iconic Doctor Quatermass has tube tunnel diggers in London uncover a mysterious ship which has been buried under the city for 10 Million Years. The officials begin to panic, fearing a dormant Nazi aircraft but Quatermass has a hunch that the origins of the craft are something far, far more sinister.I did enjoy the theories and questions posed by this movie, and the production design, for the most part, is quite impressive. However I was disappointed by the design of the Martians and the dream sequence set on Mars. The cheapness of these effects really dismantles the film and lessens the overall effect of the premise. There are some great moments though, and the final effect of the giant Martian face over London is quite a striking image.According to Joe Dante, the effects of the TV version (made 9 years earlier and on a lesser budget) are superior, and I would like to see this version to compare. As it is Quatermass and the Pit is a notable sci-fi flick and never once boring. If only they invested more time and effort in those effects...

Engrossing Nigel Kneale screenplay, adapted from his original story (which had already been a popular serial for BBC television entitled "Quatermass and the Pit"), concerns modern-day London beset with an alien spacecraft, unearthed in excavation, which exerts destructive supernatural powers once assorted scientists and military personnel attempt to crack it open. Excellent production and direction, solid cast (including bearded Andrew Keir as the amusingly humorless Prof. Quatermass), though the final showdown with the Martian intelligence is visually disappointing. Otherwise, an interesting and entertaining genre effort. Keir reprised his role for the BBC Radio 3 series, "The Quatermass Memoirs" in 1996. **1/2 from ****