Wednesday 19 October 2011

Lifeforce

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Year:1985
Country of origin:UK
Director:Tobe Hooper
Genre:Space vampires
Starring:Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Mathilda May, Patrick Stewart
Rating:4/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089489/
Tagline:In outer space they unleashed a force more evil than the world had ever imagined!
Favourite line:"Colonel, take it from the beginning. Assume we know nothing... which is understating the matter."

Tobe 'Chainsaw Massacre' Hooper veers slightly from straight horror, delivering a sci-fi horror vampire zombie-a-thon that is both headache inducing and highly entertaining.

The plot:
The space shuttle pitches up on Halley's Comet, ostensibly to do some sample research and the like. The crew enter a cave on the comets surface, and discover three lifepods, each containing a human being, apparentrly in perfect condition. Upon return to earth, the crew of the shuttle are dead, and the only thing that survived are the pods. Shortly afterwards, the female occupant of the pods wakes up, killing the unfortunate guard by sucking out his very lifeforce, and starting a contamination of Earth that must be stopped, else humanities reign is well and truly over.

It's all very dated looking now, certainly effects wise, but is never less than entertaining.
The added bonus of Mathilda May as the original vampire girl wandering naked for the first half an hour or so doesn't hurt, either, nor does a cameo from Patrick 'Captain Picard' Stewart.
The direction is adrenaline fuelled, lending an air of the chaotic, and the climax is nothing short of breathless.
Not a classic, by any stretch, but a worthy addition to any horror or sci-fi enthusiasts collection.

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