Attack the Block

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	2011
Country of origin:	UK
Director:	Joe Cornish
Genre:	Urban alien invasion
Starring:	Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Luke Treadaway, Jumayn Hunter, Leeon Jones
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478964/
Tagline:	Inner City vs. Outer Space
Favourite line:	"You'd be better off calling the Ghostbusters love."

Joe Cornish's breakaway from his alter ego as half of Adam & Joe is a real step in the right direction.

The plot:
Mysterious meteors rain down upon a council estate in Saarth Lahndan and, after killing an alien life-form midway through mugging a local nurse, a gang of yoofs must fight off what appears to be an invading extra terrestrial force hellbent on their personal destruction. And it's a great watch.

The trailer and poster campaign made a real play of the links between this movie and Shaun of the Dead, though this is a little wide of the mark as this does not attempt to be overtly humourous in the way that the Rom-Com-Zom classic did, instead going all out for sci-fi horror thrills and spills, and jolly successful it is, too.
The aliens themselves are fantastic, though clearly little more than men in suits (!), with glow in the dark blue teeth that are genuinely disturbing.
Special mention must be made of the cast of 'youths' who, according to the director at least, had no prior acting experience. Though a little lumpen occasionally, for the most part they come across as solid young jobbing actors, so hats off.
With a clear cine-literacy calling back on such creature feature classics as Critters, The Deadly Spawn, The Blob and Cronenberg's Shivers, this is a modern B-movie handled with conviction and a real love of the genre.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.