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Shadow's Title: "The Murderous Mudbath"

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The film opens in the Scottish countryside where a small group of British Army soldiers are learning how to use Geiger counters. A small metal jar containing some harmless radioactive material is buried in some mud and each soldier has a go at trying to locate it with a Geiger counter. As a young man named Lansing stumbles around the big muddy field trying to locate it, two other soldiers sitting atop a nearby hill discuss the proceedings. Though the film won’t reveal their names for some time, they go by Haggis and Spider.

Long about now Major Cartwright shows up in a jeep and trudges out to talk with the Bannerman, asking him why he hasn’t got his men moving. Bannerman explains about the odd readings Lansing has detected. Soon the earth begins to split at Lansing’s feet. The order is given for the men to evacuate the area and everyone gets their asses into gear…except Lansing. He just stands there looking at the ground and then falls over as the shaking increases in intensity. The ground splits wide open and a wall of flame shoots up and blocks the idiot’s escape.

We cut to the Atomic Energy Establishment in Lochmouth. Within, scientists are walking about amongst all the high tech (for the 50’s) gear. One such man is Peter Elliot, whose father is the director of the facility. A woman’s voice sounds over the loudspeaker, calling for Dr. Royston. All too soon Peter’s father, John Elliot, shows up and grills his son on the whereabouts of this Royston fellow. Peter offers up some excuse and his father chews him out for not doing his own work before walking off to track down Royston. A brief exchange between Peter and another scientist reveals that Royston is engaged in some private project in his lab.

Now we cut to said lab where Dr. Royston has turned on a radio and jacked the volume to near deafening levels. He checks a few more instruments nearby then takes cover in a shielded room nearby. Manipulating some controls, he opens a container in the other chamber and using a magnet, lifts out a small metal jar very similar to that being used by the military out in that muddy field. As soon as the jar clears the container, which no doubt must be made of lead, the music on the radio is filled with static. Royston then passes the jar back and forth between two objects that for all the world look like miniature radar dishes. He consults some notes, but nothing seems to have changed in the other chamber.

A worker appears to fetch Royston for Director Elliot. After grilling Royston on his behavior, Elliot sends him to investigate something the army has called about. This takes Royston to that same muddy field where the army was playing with their Geiger counters. He examines the men who have been burned by radiation and then plans for further equipment to be brought in. Haggis and Spider gossip a bit about Lansing’s sad state and the likelihood that they will not be getting back before breakfast now.

Night has now fallen and the equipment that Royston wanted is being assembled at the site, complete with floodlights to illuminate the muddy field. As we see Cartwright pass Haggis and Spider, the camera lingers on them long enough to hear them bitch and moan some more about the lack of food and how hungry they are getting. So far, we are sixteen minutes into the film and every single time these guys have been shown, they do nothing but whine and cry. It’s like being at a Democrat rally the day George W. Bush was re-elected.

Royston and his men, including scientist wannabe Peter, are examining the fissure in the earth when Major Cartwright approaches. Royston explains to him that there is nothing more he can do this night and suggests posting a couple men (gee I wonder what two clowns might pull that duty…) over night to ensure that no fool inadvertently steps into the fissure. The Major thinks it might be better to just rope the area off and post some warning signs so that no one has to spend the night out there. In the car on the way home, Peter talks to Royston about the fissure. The Doctor is puzzled by it, as the forces that usually cause the earth to split open do not burn people to death with radiation.

The car continues on its way and as it passes some bushes, two small boys emerge. These two are Willie and Ian, and in the grand tradition of young boys throughout all of history, they are up to no good. It seems that have concocted a plan where Willie will sneak through the darkened woods to some nearby tower and see if “Old Tom” really sleeps there. So Willie crosses the road and slowly makes his way through the trees. A sound very much like the one a Geiger counter emits when registering the presence of radioactive crap can be heard and a point-of-view shot shows us that something is closing in on Willie through the woods. The boy quite naturally freaks out and commences to skedaddle quite furiously. He exits the woods doing about Mach 5 and Ian is puzzled by his behavior. Willie flies by him without a word. Ian decides that Willie has a really good idea when it comes to that “running like hell” thing and launches himself after his friend, calling for him to wait for him. Fade out.

At the hospital, Royston and a local medical doctor are examining young Willie, who is laid up in bed and looking like hell with first degree radiation burns. Royston is trying to figure out what exactly burned him and asks where he might have been the night before but they don’t know – though they do know that Willie was out with Ian. So Royston goes to see Ian at church. The boy tells him what he and Willie had been doing, which now points Royston in the direction of the tower in the marshes and old Tom.

In the tower, Tom is passed out on a cot. Royston shakes him awake and the first thing the old geezer does, after getting the obligatory wet cough out of the way, is to sip from his homemade brew. He offers some to Royston, who politely and sensibly refuses. Old Tom reaches for a cup on a nearby shelf and is at this moment that Royston sees a small jar among the assorted stuff occupying the small space. It is nearly identical to the small jar of radioactive crap that he was playing with the day before – you know, the one he was passing between miniature radar dishes via remote control? Royston recognizes the jar as having come from his workshop and asks old Tom where he got it. The old guy drunkenly mutters something unintelligible and reaches for it, but knowing how radioactive it is Royston uses his cane to knock it away from Tom’s grasp. He hauls out his Geiger counter but there is no discernable reading.

Back in his lab, Royston finds it has been vandalized. The lead box, which originally held the small jar, has been melted to near slag and is coated with an odd residue. What is even more odd is that the material contained within the jar would normally take twenty-eight years before the radioactivity died away, but it is now quite inert. The energy from that material has been drained away, and given that the windows were barred and the door locked when Royston returned, then whoever broke in must be most unusual.

Over in Director Elliot’s office, Inspector McGill has arrived to investigate the entire stolen jar affair. He represents the internal security division of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Commission. Elliot dismisses Royston’s claims about the material in the jar losing its radioactivity overnight, but McGill is adamant in wanting to speak with the American.

McGill finds Royston and asks him if he knows how young Willie Harding was burned. Royston says it is possible he handled the stolen container. McGill admits that he has already spoken to old Tom in the tower and discovered that Willie was never anywhere near that container, so something else is responsible for burning him.

Over at the hospital, young Willie has died. His father blames Royston and his radioactive toys for his son’s death before leaving with his wife. Doctor Kelly follows them while Royston and McGill head down the hall in the opposite direction.

They pass a door marked Radiation Room where just a few minutes later, a technician and a nurse have rendezvoused for a romantic tryst. As they are smooching up a storm, some of the nearby instrumentation flares to life. The Technician goes into the next room, which contains a bed and is used for the radiation treatments, in order to investigate. As he walks around the room, he spots something in the floor and near the corner. We again here that scratching sound like a Geiger counter registering something and as the doctor draws closer the room begins to pulsate with illumination that is originating from whatever has caught his attention. He begins to slowly back away from what he is looking at until his back is to a wall. He gets one of those horrified and painful expressions on his face – the same face most men make when told their mother-in-law is due any minute for an extended stay – and lets out an agonized scream. In the other room the nurse lets out her own hideous wail at what she is seeing and when we return to the doctor his face and hands are noticeably disfigured. He falls to the floor where we see the flesh melt away from his skull as the nurse continues to wail like a banshee.

Later the hospital director, Royston and McGill are looking the room over. Royston points to the vault where the radium is stored. The door has large hole melted through it and the radium is gone. Royston notes that it was obviously the target. The hospital director asks Royston how anyone could get in with so many people out in the hall. Royston points to a metal grill cemented into the wall and says that this is where the intruder entered. The others seem taken aback and one reminds him that whatever it was that burned through the vault and took the radium was too big to fit through a grill. Royston comments that ten thousand gallons of oil can take up a large amount of space yet still fit through the grill. Then he realizes that this is the same method the intruder used to break into his lab – it came in under the door. Now this is the point where most rational people would look at him, point their index finger towards their temples, make a circular motion and go “coo-coo…coo-coo,” but McGill does not do this. He simply asks where “it” may be now. Royston theorizes that it is “somewhere out on the ridges” and is glad that Major Cartwright did not take his advice and station a couple of men out there. “But he did,” McGill intones ominously.

Uh oh! And I’ll give you one guess as to who the two unlucky bastards are that drew that assignment! That is right – Haggis and Spider! Just about to have some soup, they spot a strange glow and decide to investigate. Needless to say, they exit the film screaming. Major Cartwright, Royston and McGill arrive at the fissure sometime later. The Major calls for his men but there is no answer. They look around a bit and the Major finds the burned beret that belongs to one of the missing men.

Back at the Atomic Energy plant Royston convenes a meeting of the minds. He thinks he has an idea as to what they are dealing with. To make a long story short, he theorizes that the center of the earth is home to intelligences that may predate man. Being life forms made up of almost pure energy; they must seek out other forms of energy on which to subsist. Other forms of energy like radiation – radiation that did not exist in ages past, but with the onset of the nuclear age, is now in abundance upon the earth’s surface. He points out that killing it may be difficult – it is almost pure energy after all. Conventional weapons would be useless. Director Elliot pipes in now and condemns the entire theory. It seems he is the obligatory Doubting Thomas. When it is clear that he cannot sway the others, he stomps out. McGill suggests trying to get a look at the creature and Royston says that they will need to go back to the fissure, with someone actually going down into it.

Now they’ve assembled a bunch of equipment back out at the fissure. Scientist wannabe Peter has volunteered to be the canary to make the descent, so he is strapped into a harness and lowered down. He finds some Human remains before his Geiger counter begins picking up something. Peter aims his flashlight downward and sees something that makes him get that “I need new underwear BAD” look. He begins screaming for the others to lift him up and pretty much screams “faster” the entire way up.

At this point Major Cartwright informs them that his orders are to kill whatever is down there and concrete over the fissure. The army now engages in some truly futile efforts – though to be somewhat fair, they might not have known this. They shoot flames at the opening, thrown explosives into the fissure and detonate them, then wrap things up by pouring concrete over the opening.

In his wrecked lab, Royston is cleaning up when McGill arrives and gives him the low don on what the army did out at the fissure. Royston is critical of their methods and refers to “it” as an unknown quantity…an X. Royston then shows McGill a container that has a small sample of radioactive mud in it and asks the inspector how does one go about killing mud? McGill mentions that he has been recalled to London but asks Royston if X will get loose again. Royston admits that he does think it will and when McGill asks if there is anything that can stop it, he mentions the project he has been working on for a some time now – a method of disintegrating atomic structure obviating the resulting explosion. By passing radioactive crap between his two scanners – those miniature radar things – he hopes he can someday find the right frequency to render it useless. The repercussions of such a discovery on a global scale are obvious – nuclear missiles could be deactivated in flight before landing, thereby rendering them useless. However, McGill wonder if this approach can be used on X out in the fissure. Royston admits that maybe in a few months’ times with the proper research, but not at the present.

Out in that lonely field, where concrete has been used to cover the fissure, the earth begins to shake. The concrete covering is shattered as a mountain of radioactive mud bursts forth from underneath and slowly begins to roll across the land. Not good. Not good at all.

Back at the Atomic Energy facility, Royston and Peter are supervising the transfer of some cobalt. Elsewhere, at the local police headquarters, McGill is on the phone with his superiors relaying his belief that X will make another appearance and asking for one more night to investigate. While he is speaking, another phone rings and an officer takes the call. It seems someone is calling in to report an accident in which people have melted. McGill overhears this and rushes to the scene. The scene of the accident is a car sitting by itself in the middle of the road. The car is still smoldering and no doubt what is left of the people inside is not a pretty sight.

At the Atomic Energy facility, Director Elliot is chewing out Royston for moving the Cobalt without the proper authority. As he’s droning on and on, a call from McGill comes through. Royston writes down some notes and then asks to see a map of the area. He illustrates to Peter and his father the straight paths X has been taking in its quest for radioactive food and notes that the scene of the earlier accident shows X to be on a direct course for the Atomic Energy Facility.

Royston says that they must get the Cobalt out of there fast. The Director makes like he is going to apologize for being so harsh with Royston then excuses himself so he can go warn the security people. McGill arrives and tells Royston that the phone lines are muddled. McGill uses a phone to call the front gate. The guard is by the fence and as he walks back to the gatehouse to pick up the phone, he hears something around the corner. We hear the distinctive scratchy sound that X makes and a few seconds later the guard comes stumbling back around the corner. He manages to crawl to the gatehouse and hit a button that sets off a loud emergency klaxon, but then collapses and proceeds to melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.

It is now too late to move the cobalt and Royston begins hustling everyone out of the area. Peter climbs a ladder so he can see over a wall and look towards the main gate. He sees a huge mass of mud slowly but surely rolling up the driveway towards the reactor. He runs to warn the others and arrives just as X begins pouring over the roof of a nearby building. They take refuge and watch as X consumes the Cobalt and grows larger by the second. Royston says there is nothing they can do to combat it here, but since they know the exact route it will take back to the fissure, they should clear the way.

Evacuations are underway and many people are taking refuge in the church. While X may have come this way before, on its return journey it is now much bigger. Big enough in fact that it brushes against some power line towers and causes the lines to break and fall. Two guys overhead in a helicopter are monitoring its progress and one remarks that it has now changed direction.

X is now traveling down the center of town as the minister gets the last few people inside the church and closes the door, he fails to notice a small child left outside. She wanders over by a nearby retaining wall just as X pushes its way through, but her mother has no doubt made it clear that her child is missing as she and the minister come outside, the latter running over to retrieve the small girl.

Elsewhere McGill and Director Elliot are traveling in a car. The inspector is telling Elliot that the phones are now completely useless and there is no way to contact London. It is up to them to take care of the situation. Elliot thinks that once X is back in its fissure, it should be left alone until they can contact the defense ministry. However, McGill points out that after each meal X grows larger and subsequently its traveling range will increase. The next likely target is an experimental nuclear power station and in order to reach it, X will have to travel straight through the city of Inverness. It must be stopped at the fissure and it must be stopped for good.

In Royston’s lab, he and Peter are working on the doctor’s project to render radioactive crap inert. McGill and the Director arrive just as Royston is making another attempt. They all state blankly for a few minutes as the container of radioactive crap is passed between the mini radar dishes. After a while the Geiger counter falls silent and registers no radioactivity. SUCCESS! Its Miller time…er…Guinness time! Unfortunately as they are all celebrating, the small jar of radioactive crap begins to glow and then explodes! That is no good. They can’t use that on X and Royston says as much. Imagine the resulting BOOM! McGill says there is no time to try again. Peter suggests that the scanner may have just been slightly out of synchronization. This convinces Royston to try his method on X, and McGill informs him that all the necessary gear is waiting out at the fissure. Off they go!

Note - It is at this point that the movie enters its final segment, so if any of you really feel the need to watch this film and not know the ending ahead of time, skip the rest of this section.

At the fissure Major Cartwright is overseeing the final preparations when Royston and company arrive. It seems the plan is to load some radioactive crap on the back of a jeep, back the vehicle up to the fissure and hope X is lured out by the prospect of a night time snack. Once it has been coaxed out, the jeep will drive between large scanners that have been trucked in, hoping X continues to follow. Once X is between the scanners…poof, they work their scientific mojo and no more radioactive mud.

Royston makes sure that the large scanners are properly synchronized with one another and then orders the jeep brought in. There is some trouble getting it started and Peter has the driver get out so that he can get in and take it. Evidently he has the magic touch when starting stubborn jeeps as it jumps to life with no problem. Instead of wanting to be a scientist, maybe he should look into opening a Mr. Goodwrench franchise or something…he’d make a killing.

So Peter backs the jeep up to the fissure. The waiting game begins. After a while with no sign of X, Peter backs up the jeep all the way to the fissure. The others yell at him to get back and not be a fool, but he pays them no heed. Soon enough X can be heard making its way up out of the fissure and a glow can be seen in the depths of the opening. Peter guns the jeep, but OH CRAP…the wheels are stuck in the mud! He has no traction. Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.

Peter continues to gun it and finally gets the damn jeep moving just as X clears the top of the fissure. The huge mass of radioactive mud follows the jeep and Royston orders the scanners switched on. They make a loud humming sound as they go to work. After numerous tense seconds, the large glowing mass that is X bursts into flames. I know, I know…it is mud. How can mud burn you ask? I don’t know. The scanners are turned off and as everyone approaches with Geiger counters, one last explosion erupts from the fissure.

“What was that?” Asks Director Elliot.

“I don’t know,” says Royston. “But it shouldn’t have happened.”

“But the thing is gone.” McGill says. “You should be very proud, Adam. Your theories worked!”

“It has Adam,” chimes in the Director Elliot.

Then they all walk over to where the remains of X cover the ground. Yep, it’s dead.

Fade out. The End.

In essence, X the Unknown is a cheap, by-the-numbers monster film indicative of its era. Seemingly, all the stock components of a classic 50’s monster romp are present: a sparsely populated rural setting, a temperamental scientist, secret lovers and kids having deadly run-ins with the monster, the heavily used presence of radioactivity and a technobabble scientific weapon utilized to battle the threat. However, don’t let all of that fool you at all – the movie is also an efficient thriller with a couple moments of genuine creepiness.

For the most part, the cast of characters is portrayed as somewhat dry and bland. This is no more apparent than in the lead, Dr. Royston. He comes off as nonchalant as events unfold, hardly ever seeming too invested in the fight against X. This may be explained by his scientific mindset: a dispassionate view of the facts before a cold and logical hypothesis on how to deal with the situation. While, this is not always the case with his character, and there are some instances where he shows a little emotional fire, for the most part he comes across as a precursor to Mr. Spock. On the opposite side of that coin is the character of Director Elliot. Now this guy seems a likely candidate for a Prozac prescription. His response to just about everything is laced with his emotions. From his resentment stemming from his son’s admiration of Royston to his flat out refusal to believe the Doctor’s explanation for all the strange occurrences, he just comes across as an emotional, knee-jerk reaction type of guy.

Adhering to the stereotypes so often seen in such films is the character of Major Cartwright. While being supportive of the scientific community, at heart he firmly believes in the might is right approach and gladly unleashes his stock of weapons against the threat. Not that it does much good. At least the viewer is spared the militarism vs. intellectualism arguments that often occur in such films. Despite their differing views, the soldiers and scientists get along with one another quite well here, which is a refreshing change of pace. The film’s use of the Haggis and Spider characters to help convey both a little humor and an “everyman’s” view of the proceedings helps somewhat in reducing the military’s role as blundering knuckleheads. Depending on one’s sense of humor, their actions will be seen as either slightly amusing or just fairly dull.

One stand out among the characters is that of Inspector McGill, played by the late Leo McKern, who turns in a subtle but amazingly distinctive performance here. While Royston is somewhat cold and reclusive, and Major Cartwright has an itchy trigger finger, it is McGill who comes across as the perfect balance of the two, and by far the most human. He is equally prepared to give either party the benefit of the doubt and willing to go to bat for them, yet the first to insist they take action when he perceives them to be lackadaisical in their approach. It’s a pity that he did not feature more prominently in the film. Centering the story on his investigation rather than Royston’s own efforts to uncover the truth may have made for a more grounded narrative.

The film’s production values are an excellent example of spending the budget wisely. As noted elsewhere, writer Jimmy Sangster was a production manager for Hammer films before being recruited to write this film. With that type of background, he knew what was and what was not capable of being captured effectively on film, and thus wrote the script accordingly. The end result is a film that looks remarkably polished for being a low budget affair. This is exemplified in the realization of the title monster on screen. For much of the film the creature is not seen and only represented by POV shots a couple times as well as flickering lights and odd sounds. While this approach is the most economically feasible, the filmmakers make excellent use of such constraints to make these moments quite creepy – instilling a healthy fear of the unknown into the film by leaving the nature of the monster unclear. When the beast is finally revealed, the scientists have already reviewed the evidence at hand and come to a conclusion as to what they must be facing. Thus, the audience is somewhat prepared for the initial sight of X.

It seems that hardly a science fiction or horror film was produced in the 1950’s without some variation of the word “radiation” being used. From giant slumbering behemoths awakened by atomic bombs, to normal sized insects mutated to gigantic proportions to its use by unscrupulous scientists in odd experiments, radiation was blamed for it all. This is understandable when looking back on the era. So soon after the second world war and the horrors made real by the use of two atomic weapons on the nation of Japan, the fear of radiation and what it represented – the advance of mankind’s knowledge beyond his ability to control – was all too real. X the Unknown plays upon these fears as unabashedly as other films from the same time period. In fact, if anything it plays upon those fears a little too much, misrepresenting the effects and dangers of radiation. In the end, the approach taken by Royston and the others to defeat X seems much more blatant than other films in its anti-militaristic stance. While another film would caution against mankind’s tampering with things it did not fully understand, laying the blame for the dire consequences on Humanity’s ignorance of how to use the tools at its disposal (radiation), but still exhorting the need for progress in the face of possible dangers (I.E. communism); X the Unknown seems to say that the very tools (radiation again) we may use should be abandoned or they may be our undoing. The fact that X was not created by radiation but was just a naturally occurring life form drawn to it, along with the idea that simply eliminating the radioactivity would solve the problem seems to support that idea. Who knows.

Despite the few brief moments of subtle humor provided by Haggis and Spider, the movie maintains a gloomy undertone. The mystery and inherent scariness of an unknown killer stalking the land is well crafted throughout the film. This is aided greatly by the scenery – mist shrouded woods, lonesome moors and old castles – who could not find that creepy? The film also does not shy away from the brutal moments. The hideous melting deaths of some people are shown on film and the death of a child from radiation burns are used to help fuel the atmosphere of dread and fear. James Bernard’s original music contributes as well in a couple of key scenes, helping to raise the heartbeat. In all, the film is quite effective in achieving its aims, despite the lack of a large budget.

Deaths: 10
People shown melting: 2
Smokes: 6
Alcoholic drinks consumed: 1
Plates of Haggis consumed by characters: 0
People named Haggis consumed by monster: 1
Scientific speeches by Royston: 2
Times Director Elliot displays his disatisfaction with Royston: Too many

Shadow's Drinking Game: Every time Doctor Royston gestures with his walking cane, take a drink.

Royston puts two and two together to get ten.

Hospital director: “What is this? What are we dealing with? How can anyone get in here when there are people outside there in the corridor all the time?”
Royston: “Well apparently this is the only place it could come in.”
Hospital Director: “But…the grill doesn’t open. It’s cemented to the wall.”
Royston: “It came in through the grill.”
Doctor Kelly: “But, Adam that’s impossible. Whatever it was that did all this certainly wasn’t small enough to come through there.”
Royston: “Well, how small is ten thousand gallons of oil?”
McGill: “What do you mean?”
Royston: “Well, ten thousand gallons of oil would take up a pretty large area, wouldn’t it? And yet ten thousand gallons of oil could come through the holes in that grill, couldn’t it?”
McGill: “Yes, it could.”
Royston: “Then that’s the way it got into my workshop…it came in under the door. You know, obviously this thing can take up any shape it needs to."
McGill: “Where do you think it is now?”

Shadow’s comment: Attention all cars, attention all cars. Be on the look out for 10,000 gallons of oil. Suspect should be considered armed, dangerous and extremely slippery.

Major Cartwright advocates the easy way of doing things as his men proceed to bomb the fissure.

Cartwright: “You know this Royston chap. Brilliant of course, I’m sure. But the trouble with some of these scientific types is that they can’t see the easy way out of anything. It’s got to be complicated if its going to work.”

Shadow’s comment: Yeah, blowing someone up is the easiest way to make them see things your way.

• In the face of imminent danger, there will always be one fool who will insist on dragging his ass.
• Even scientists have groupies. OK…groupie.
• Glass is a suitable shield against lethal radioactive particles.
• Spying on old drunks is a favorite pastime of Scottish kids.
• EVERY old hermit operates his own still.
• Radiation treatment rooms are the perfect place for a secret romantic rendezvous.
• Engaging in pre-marital sex in Scotland can get you melted.
• Wandering the Scottish moors at night can get you melted.
• Driving your own car through Scotland can get you melted.
• Working as a gate guard in Scotland can get you melted.
• Churches are the logical place to hide when giant radioactive mud monsters roll into town.
• Sound waves can neutralize radioactivity.
• Did I mention how it easy it is to get melted in Scotland?

After spending most of the 1970’s growing up on a steady diet of old black and white horror films from the 1950’s that were rerun on TV, I had developed a sixth sense when it came to channel surfing. These were the days when there were no onscreen cable guides, so knowing what was on was not always possible. Hell, we didn’t always get TV Guide so knowing what was on ahead of time was only made possible by seeing a commercial for something. Thus I cultivated the ability to spot a genre film by just looking at it. I could channel surf and after seeing just a few seconds of a film, I knew it was an old monster flick…even if I had never seen it before. I just knew. Such was the case with X the Unknown. I was flicking through channels late one night in the mid 80’s and came across the scene where Willie Harding is stumbling through the woods in the dark, trying to sneak to the tower and see Old Tom. I saw this and instantly knew I had to stop flicking channels. Puns aside, there was an “X” factor to what I was seeing that instilled in me the knowledge that this film was a monster movie. Sure enough, a few seconds later the POV shot of X closing in on Willie confirmed my suspicions and I gladly settled in to watch the remainder of the movie. Looking at the clock I saw it was only twenty minutes past the hour, so I figured I had the bulk of the film to go. I watched the rest of the movie and was quite impressed. A few years later, during a time when we did subscribe to TV Guide and I went through the week’s movie listings in advance so as to find the date and times for movies I wanted to see, I saw this film listed. This time around I recorded it and over the intervening years I have watched that tape literally dozens of times. While the film is a favorite, I didn’t obtain the DVD until I decided what would be the first film to review under the letter X category for this site.

Shadow's rating: Eight Tombstones

The Good

• Great mood, look and pacing
• Inventive monster
• Doesn't shy away from gore and horrible deaths

The Bad

• Some obvious miniature work
• Overly clinical, emotionally detached leading man
• No hot chicks

The Ugly

• Misrepresents radiation on occasion
• Lack of hot chicks aside, film has no strong female characters
• Stereotypical military characters

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