X the Unknown (1956)

Original title

X: The Unknown

Directed by

Leslie Norman, Joseph Losey

Genre

horror film, science fiction film, monster film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 20m

Rated

e 12

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 74 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In rural Scotland, scientists and military men try to figure out what is causing a string of deaths from radiation exposure. They trace it to a deadly subterranean creature that feeds on energy.

tenseominousbleakclinicalsuspensefulmethodicalcoldtroubling

What happens

X the Unknown is a 1956 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, directed by Leslie Norman and starring Dean Jagger, Leo McKern and Edward Chapman. The screenplay was written by Jimmy Sangster, his first for a feature film. In the film, a group of scientists and military personnel investigate a mysterious series of deaths by radiation exposure in rural Scotland. The film was originally conceived as a sequel to The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), but writer Nigel Kneale refused to let the character Bernard Quatermass be used, so the film was retooled into a standalone project. X the Unknown is significant in that "it firmly established Hammer's transition from B-movie thrillers to out-and-out horror/science fiction" and, with The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass 2 (1957), completes "an important trilogy containing relevant allegorical threads revealing Cold War anxieties and a diminishing national identity resulting from Britain's decrease in status as a world power". As with Quatermass, Hammer played up the film's X Certificate in their advertising. The film premiered at the London Pavilion on 21 September, 1956. In the UK, the film was released on a double bill with Les Diaboliques. It was released in the United States on 2 May, 1957, on a double feature with The Curse of Frankenstein. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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