Lifeforce (1985)

Director: Tobe Hooper

Writer: Colin Wilson, Dan O'Bannon, Don Jakoby, Michael Armstrong, Olaf Pooley

Tagline: In the blink of an eye, the terror begins.

Actors: Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, Patrick Stewart, Michael Gothard, Nicholas Ball, Aubrey Morris, Nancy Paul, John Hallam, John Keegan, Chris Jagger, Bill Malin

Runtime: 1h 56m

Category: Alien, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Vampire

Synopsis: A space mission deployed to research Halley’s Comet has lost contact after the discovery of a massive alien spaceship. A second mission headed by Dr. Carlsen is deployed to find out why. They discover the missing shuttle and board, only to find the entire inside burnt to a crisp. The only things that were unscathed were three hyper-sleep chambers containing two men and one woman…one very beautiful woman. The occupants are brought back down to Earth for further investigation. Dr. Carlsen, the only survivor, seems to have some telepathic link to the alien woman, and becomes the military’s pseudo-Ouija board after she escapes. While tracking her, they discover a path of dead bodies that have been completely drained of life. These space people suck the lifeforce right out; like vampires! Now on the hunt, Dr. Carlsen and Dr. Caine are air-lifted to a military base after London has been quarantined after the vampire “plague” has spread beyond containment. Carlsen is the only one who can kill this beauty from the beyond…but can he?

Review: I was very surprised by this movie. Once I heard the words “space” and “vampires” used in a single descriptive sentence I was immediately turned off. But after watching it I retract my proclivities. Not only was I mistaken, I was down right wrong! This cult classic is one movie that will not go quietly into that good night. For 1985, this is a masterpiece!

The story was altogether wonderful. Apart from a few minor flaws, I thought that the story itself was fluid and effortless. I was amazed by how much story they were actually able to pack in, considering this could have easily been a two-and-a-half hour movie. But runtime aside, the cohesive mixture of two different creature staples was, needless to say, not bad. I wasn’t too thrilled to find out that there was gonna be alien vampires but I was very surprised by how they actually mixed the two. Sucking life, or lifeforce, instead of blood (considered the human lifeforce) was a nice wrench in the creature machine. I just love it when people come up with new and inventive creatures…especially when the make improvements on the old staples…it makes me tingly.

The acting was not as good as I had hoped. I was expecting quality 1980’s expertise but was handed an eye-full of emotionless boredom. The acting was not just horrible…it made me want…to stick my finger…through my eye…into my brain…and swirl it around. And as most of you know, I’m not a fan of nudity in horror movies, but that was the only good thing about the actors and their supposed talent…or lack thereof! Considering this was an 80’s flick, I was expecting a fugly chick with droobs. But…yeah, there’s a "but" there…I was wrong! This chick, Mathilda May, was gorgeous! And had a nice set of tubes! Nice face, nice body, nice tubes…nice work Hopper!

The gore and effects was another thing. I was very impressed by the control displayed over the possible overkill of effects used. They could have really ruined this movie if the effects were to have gotten out of hand. But they were closely knitted and made for an enjoyable Sci-Fi flick. The gore was not altogether impressive. But one scene did make me happy; the one were the space chick re-animates after pulling herself out of Patrick Stewart and that other guy by their blood. That scene was freakin’ tits! But other than that, the gore and make-up was just average and not at all deserving of any more of your time…or mine.

Rating: Taking into account the great story, the controlled effects, the bad acting, and the hottest chick to go nude in any horror movie I’ve ever seen…16. I want to rate it higher but that acting really scared me. I think I might need medical transportation (thanks Jeff Dunham). But, overall I would have to say that this was a really good movie. I would recommend this to almost everyone and would give fair warning to the worst acting in an A-Movie since The Hitcher (2007). (16of25).