Quatermass and the Pit

The third – and finest – chapter of the “Quatermass” tetralogy instantly rises to the status of masterpiece, demonstrating exceptional quality, both on a technical front as well as in its content.

Rich in provocative philosophical and metaphysical ideas, the film succeeds in its nearly impossible task of recasting the traditional Gothic horror in a sci-fi mold and even injecting a profound streak of sociopolitical critique. On this latter front, there’s even a prescient tirade against the typical postmodern deification of mass media (“people don’t believe nothing nowadays unless they’ve seen it on the telly“), but the film mainly and repeatedly targets mankind’s darkest, most irrational facets: violence, prejudice against those who are different (“because you are different… I could feel that you had to be destroyed“), and mob psychology.

Additionally, the divergent viewpoints expressed by the scientist and the representative of the highest military echelon allows the inspired Nigel Kneale to elaborate mature themes using uncommonly intelligent, effective dialogue.

Overall, there are plenty of irons in the fire here, a fact that might make the film a tough pill to swallow for the viewer not accustomed to adult sci-fi. Topics range from the possibility of ancient astronauts to the theory of directed panspermia, from the hunch that parapsychology is a collection of “dormant faculties” to the hypothesis that there’s some fundamental link between demonology and extraterrestrial life (to wit, mankind’s very depiction of evil is an unconscious and deep-seated phylogenetic reflection imprinted in our species during some remote past in which we were subjected to the horrors of colonization by an alien race).

Roy Ward Baker directs it all with extreme refinement and polish – the tension palpably rises, gradually gathering steam as the minutes pass, finally culminating in a devastating, unforgettable conclusion with catastrophic reverberations.

The saga continues with TV’s “The Quatermass Conclusion” (1980), directed by Piers Haggard.