Quatermass and the Pit + Lifeforce (18) + intro

It’s life – and death – but not as you know it.

Have a close encounter with two science fiction horror transmissions that sound a stark warning over humanity’s extra-terrestrial meddlings. The future is bleak. 

Quatermass and the Pit 
Dir Roy Ward Baker | GB 1967 | 98 mins 
James Donald, Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley

An alien spaceship is unearthed during construction work in a London subway. At first, it's thought to be an un-detonated bomb from World War II, but then the scientists realise it's a Martian vessel that is protected by powerful unearthly energies. 
Screenwriter Nigel Kneale’s all-action scientist Bernard Quatermass received his third big screen outing in Quatermass and the Pit, and Andrew Keir’s interpretation of the character appeared to meet its creator’s exacting standards. The film itself was similarly successful, with veteran British genre director Roy Ward Baker bringing his impactful, economical style to bear on Kneale’s screenplay. 

Lifeforce 
Dir Tobe Hooper | US 1985 | 116 mins 
Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay

During a space expedition to explore Halley’s Comet, a crew of astronauts discover a strange spacecraft housing the remains of three humanoid creatures. After bringing the bodies back to Earth for further investigation, the scientists learn that their new test subjects pose a disastrous threat to humanity. 
An adaptation of Colin Wilson’s novel The Space Vampires – though clearly also indebted to Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass output – Lifeforce is a singular work of science fiction horror. Genre filmmaking legends Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) and Dan O’Bannon (Alien, The Return of the Living Dead) were backed to the hilt by cult movie specialists Cannon Films in the hopes of creating a genuine box office contender.  
Contemporary reviews were unconvinced by the results, suggesting that the film was excessive and overblown – but genre aficionados were quick to recognise Lifeforce as an unapologetically unique take on the vampire movie. 

Runtime of 229 mins includes a short intermission between films.

This event is excluded from the HOME Film Pass.