In Lochmouth Scotland, soldiers are learning how to use a Geiger counter by finding small radioactive items hidden in a large pit area. One soldier finds a radioactive source that was not planted. Ground water in the area starts to boil. Then there is an explosion. A crack opens up in the ground. A bottomless fissure. Dr. Royston (Dean Jagger) is called in to investigate.
Energy from under the Earth’s crust comes out of the crack. Radioactive energy and it’s intelligent. It’s also hungry. It needs more energy to live. It goes where ever it can find it. Killing people on the way. It melts them. Dr. Royston concludes that the monster is a radioactive mud. OK. A mud monster. I’m OK with that. The problem is whenever the mud monster eats any kind of radioactive energy it grows. And now it’s heading for the Atomic Energy Laboratory.
“X the Unknown” was released in 1956 and was directed by Leslie Norman and Joseph Losey. It is another British Horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. The film stars Dean Jagger and Edward Chapman. Hammer had intended for the film to be a sequel to the Quatermass films, however, the writer, Nigel Kneale, refused to allow the use of the character name of Bernard Quatermass. This makes “X” a “Q” wanna be.
It was an interesting movie. The premise was a little bizarre but sometimes you just need to go with it. It was also quite intense at times and the victim melting scene was actually gross. Very reminiscent of the ending of “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. For those keeping track, no, it’s not Quatermass but it’s not bad.
I do have one complaint. There were times when the music was so loud I couldn’t hear the dialogue. But that could just be my version.