Quatermass and the Pit | Blu-ray

Hammer built their reputation as the home of British horror cinema. But, that doesn't mean they didn't stretch out and try to capture other genres as well. Sherlock Holmes adaptations like The Hound of the Baskervilles, historical dramas like Rasputin the Mad Monk, and swashbucklers like The Pirates of Blood River.

Quatermass and the Pit isn't without its horror elements. The story of an alien spacecraft discovered buried deep beneath the streets of London, setting off a psychokinetic reign of terror. But it is very much first and foremost a film about scientific investigation.

Based on a classic 50s television serial, Hammer regular Roy Ward Baker does a fantastic job tightening the production into a 90-ish minute thriller. Some surprisingly effective practical effects work and set design, a bit of pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo. Everything you need for a traditional dime-store fiction narrative.