Quatermass and the Pit

In this adventure a construction crew digging a new subway line discovers a skeleton. Then more bones. All together there appear to be 6 skeletons. Then what appears to be a WWII German missile. Looking closer it is determined that the missile is not from Earth. And perhaps it’s not a missile. Eventually they open the craft. There are decomposing creatures in it. Arthropods. Martians anyone?

Trying to get the Minister of anything to believe that a dying race of insect like creatures from Mars came to Earth 5 million years ago and implanted apes with their thought patterns and these apes evolved into humans thereby retaining vestiges of Martian influence buried in their subconscious is… shall we say difficult. They prefer to believe that the insect creatures are fakes and it is a propaganda ploy perpetrated by the Nazi’s to instill fear in people. Either way it’s a wild ride.

"Quatermass and the Pit" AKA "Five Million Miles to Earth" in the US was released in 1967 and was directed by Val Guest. Ten years after “Quatermass 2” Hammer studios produced “Quatermass and the Pit”. This time around Professor Bernard Quatermass is played by Andrew Keir. And it’s in color.

When you look a little closer at the “Martians” you can see some correlations between them and the Nazi’s. After all the aliens on Mars are performing a type of genocide. As Quatermass said. “Eliminating anyone that does not fit the norm so to speak. A ritual slaughter to preserve a fit society. To rid it of mutations. And it’s the way they intended their substitutes on earth to live.” That would leave one to believe that humans were preprogrammed by aliens for intolerance.

It’s an interesting storyline. One with a moral that is hidden in Science Fiction. When you’re young this movie could give you nightmares. When you’re an adult is should give you nightmares.

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