X the Unknown

1956

Action / Horror / Sci-Fi

5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 67% · 6 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 44% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.1/10 10 3249 3.2K

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Plot summary

Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.


Uploaded by: OTTO
May 29, 2014 at 08:35 PM

Director

Top cast

Anthony Newley as LCpl. 'Spider' Webb
Dean Jagger as Dr. Adam Royston
Leo McKern as Insp. 'Mac' McGill
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
692.19 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
25.000 fps
1 hr 21 min
Seeds 2
1.23 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
25.000 fps
1 hr 21 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by rmax304823 5 / 10

It's A Blob!

Dean Jagger is a scientist working at a lab in Scotland, trying to find a way to render radioactive materials (like a bomb) harmless. The earth splits open nearby and a rude lump of glowing stuff comes pouring out, lethal, crackling like bacon in a frying pan, and conveniently built of the kinds of radioactive stuff that Jagger is working on.

The blob -- for the most part unseen -- manages to kill several locals by radioactive poisoning before Jagger and the authorities are able to deploy a full-scale replica of their laboratory model. It may not work because "the fans are out of synch." Or it may explode, like the tiny lab model does.

Will it work? Is Jagger's fantastic theory of blobby organisms having been forced underground as the earth's crust thickened correct? Is the short, squat dilatory figure who runs the lab correct when he calls the whole thing balderdash? Will the whole mess blow up? Why does hail always have to be the size of something else? Did the Masons really design the first dollar bills?

It starts off slowly and mysteriously. That's the best part. Then it gets fast, complicated, scientifically inaccurate, and very loud. Sometimes the suspenseful musical score, on top of all that crackling, as of cellophane being wrinkled, literally drowns out the speech so you can't hear what the characters are saying.

It's not terrible. It's just a routine example of those 50s Briish SF movies that used an imported Yank as the main figure -- here Dean Jagger, there an improbable Gene Evans -- and sometimes they worked quite well -- Brian Donlevy as Quatermass.

In this one, the performances aren't bad but the script has a tendency to lose itself once in a while. In the very last scene, there is a blinding explosion from the creature's fissure. Knocks everyone flat. What was that, asks a soldier. Jagger is staring thoughtfully at the smoke wreathing out of the fissure. "I don't know," he replies, "but it shouldn't have happened." Camera draws away. The End. It should have happened if you'd decided at the last minute to end the movie with a big bang in order to use up the left-over special effects explosive.

Reviewed by MartinHafer 7 / 10

A better than average 50s sci-fi monster film.

What's with Leo McKern's voice?! I've seen Leo McKern in many movies and TV shows over the years and his deep resonant voice is one of his trademarks. However, in this film with a younger McKern, his voice is nothing like it was in films made just a few years later. He must have had a lot of voice lessons, as I've never heard an actor's voice change THAT much.

And, speaking of voices, you'll notice that Hammer Films put an American, Dean Jagger, in the leading role. They never even mentioned why everyone in the film but Jagger had British accents. He wasn't bad in the film--just a bit out of place.

The film is about some sort of monster from below the Earth's surface. Whenever it comes out, it emits enormous amounts of radiation and turns many people into something resembling KFC! Overall, it's better than most monster films of the 1950s. While you might laugh when you finally see the atomically charged creature, for the time it wasn't bad--plus the rest of the film was played quite convincingly. Plus, it's worth seeing just so you can see cameos with Ian McShane and Anthony Newley--but watch close, as the both snuff it soon after they are introduced!

Reviewed by Leofwine_draca 9 / 10

Hammer's version of The Blob is classic stuff indeed

Britain's answer to THE BLOB is an equally entertaining film that goes for highbrow seriousness rather than camp escapism. Actually made two years before the Steve McQueen flick came out, this is Hammer at its finest, closely recalling the Quatermass films and serials of the day despite the non-involvement of Nigel Kneale. Story and screenwriter Jimmy Sangster deserves commendation for his entirely literate script, which uses scientific jargon to give the monster an almost plausible reason for existing.

The film is shot very well in crisp black and white and James Bernard's trademark stirring music – all screeching strings and the like – is present and correct, making things more exciting whenever it gets into high gear. The eerie Scottish rural locations – ruined buildings in woodlands and vast fields of churned-up earth – contrast nicely with the prim and pristine scientific and medical bases where the action takes place. Dean Jagger is the imported American star this time around, and he does a great job, proving to be far more sympathetic than Brian Donlevy's Quatermass. He's bolstered by a cast that includes a string of familiar British faces; the main supporting actors all give strong, bluff, turns as stiff-upper-lip officials and Leo McKern shows what a good actor he was even in his middle age. Plenty of other familiar character actors also appear in minor roles, from pop sensation Anthony Newley to Doctor Who assistant Frazer Hines and Kenneth Cope. Hammer fans will be delighted in Michael Ripper's minor appearance as a gruff Sergeant.

The movie plays out at a fair old pace and even the exposition scenes are genuinely interesting. Director Leslie Norman (dad of movie critic Barry) handles the pacing well and throws plenty of ingredients into the cauldron – from comic relief to all-out monster invasion. The only thing missing is a romance, and for that I'm grateful, as these characters just don't have time for that sort of thing. In the last act, the huge blob appears to wreak havoc in some well-handled special effects moments that make fine use of miniatures and back projection. The film ends things on a high with a minor twist hinting at a sequel that was never to arise. The film was mildly infamous for including two 'melting body' special effects shots that are remarkably effective – even shocking - to this day, reminding me of THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN. For an intelligent monster flick you can certainly do a lot worse than X THE UNKNOWN, a Hammer classic.

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