THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT

Wed., October 14th – 7:30 PM – SMALL THEATER

Presented with the Festival of Monsters 2026 – UC Santa Cruz

THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (1955, Park Circus, 78 min.).

A trio of British astronauts are launched into space by obsessed rocket scientist Professor Quatermass (Brian Donley) – but only one returns to Earth and he’s not the same, to put it mildly. One of the finest B&W sci-fi / horror films of the 1950s (a great decade for them in general), THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT also launched Hammer Films into the stratosphere as the UK’s premiere genre producers. Adapted from a BBC TV serial by the great writer Nigel Kneale and expertly directed by the legendary Val Guest (THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE), THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT was followed by three equally brilliant sequels and turned Professor Bernard Quatermass into one of Britain’s most iconic sci-fi heroes, next to Doctor Who!

Dr. Marshall Leicester will appear at the screening to discuss THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT.

Info on the Festival of Monsters 2026 – UC Santa Cruz:

The Festival of Monsters is an annual gathering of scholars and artists from across the globe who use monsters and monstrosity in their work. Sponsored by the UCSC Center for Monster Studies, the 2026 Festival will be the fifth such event, investigating how monsters and language intertwine with panels on monstrous communication, cursed texts, horror poetry, and more! Not just for academics, the festival features public events in beautiful downtown Santa Cruz for the whole community to enjoy. https://www.monsterstudies.ucsc.edu/2026public

H. Marshall Leicester is Professor Emeritus of literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of articles on medieval literature, opera, and film. His most recent book, What Ought To Scare You:Affect and Hollywood Horror Discourses, 1922-1968 (2024) is a deep dive into the history of horror films.Instead of treating movies as examples of the horror genre through how they evoke feelings from viewers, this book locates the meaning of horror within individual films and shows how movies make their own genealogies and complicate their own scares in an evolution of the genre.

Tickets: $10 advance / $15 at the door.

Doors open at 7 PM, film at 7:30 PM at The 418 Project, 155 South River Street, downtown Santa Cruz at the Dragons Gate. Safety protocols will be in compliance with local guidelines at the time of showing.