X the Unknown

When investigating a radiation source on a desolate Scottish moor, a group of soldiers disturb a subterraneous radioactive entity.

When investigating a radiation source on a desolate Scottish moor, a group of soldiers witness a mysterious explosion that causes a seemingly bottomless fissure in the ground. Dr. Adam Royston, an expert in atomic research, is brought in to help stop the seemingly incessant thing.

One of a series of sci-fi films produced by Hammer in the 1950s, X the Unknown was initially set to be directed by blacklisted Hollywood émigré Joseph Losey before illness struck, leading to his replacement Leslie Norman. The script was provided by one of the studio’s better known writers, Jimmy Sangster, who went on to write some of Hammer’s classic horrors.