Lifeforce (Widescreen)

 

 

Create your own review

More times than I would like, I've found myself forced to express my disappointment over a Tobe Hooper film. Not this time, though, as Tobe Hooper has finally impressed me with this incredible science fiction/horror/apocalyptic motion picture. I freakin' loved this movie. Heck, even if you took away the hot naked alien chick, I would still love Lifeforce. What's not to like? You start out exploring a most unexpected alien vehicle found in the coma of Halley's comet, arrive back on Earth with a trio of space vampires who soon unleash havoc all over London, enjoy some pretty impressive and certainly entertaining special effects of creatures having all of their juices sucked right out of them and then reanimating to do the same to someone else, then work your way to a London burning to the ground as zombie-like humans run amuck in the streets. Throw in a not-yet-totally-bald Patrick Stewart in a performance that would prepare him well for his later assimilation into the Borg collective, a score written by Henry Mancini and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, and what I consider (though some might call them cheesy) some fantastic special effects (with one embarrassing exception) - and all of it with a 1985 budget of only twenty-five million dollars. How can you not have a good time watching this movie?

The film opens with an ESA spaceship called the HMS Churchill arriving for a scientific rendezvous with Halley's Comet, but the mission changes when a huge artificial structure is detected within the coma of the interstellar attraction. Exploring the mysterious craft, the space explorers find a huge number of desiccated, bat-like aliens - and three perfectly preserved humanoid specimens, one of which is the gloriously naked Mathilda May. Unable to communicate with Earth, the ship heads back home, meeting with some kind of disaster along the way. The ESA has to ask NASA to explore the seemingly derelict ship, but all they find are the three undisturbed alien bodies amidst a scene of burned-out destruction. The mystery of these alien creatures increases exponentially when the hot, naked alien chick suddenly wakes up, turns a security guard into a stunt double for the Crypt Keeper with one hell of a kiss, and escapes. She may be gone, but she's certainly not forgotten, as scientists, SAS agent Caine (Peter Firth) and a government minister (Aubrey Morris) observe her victim wake up on the autopsy table and suck the life force out of a doctor. Apparently, the lifeforce-sucking takes place at two-hour intervals, which makes it ultra-important that they find the missing alien they now consider a space vampire.

A few answers become available when an escape pod comes to earth carrying the only survivor from the Churchill, Carlsen (Steve Railsback). Railsback tends to overact quite a bit in a scream-happy kind of way, but he does have a mysterious connection to the hot naked space vampire (who, regrettably, not only dons clothes but completely different bodies as she seeks to escape detection). Things really heat up from this point on, especially when the not-so-derelict alien spacecraft leaves Halley's Comet and starts heading toward Earth. With our heroes unable to contain the space vampire outbreak, London literally begins collapsing from within, and Earth's only hope for survival seems to depend solely on Carlsen's mysterious connection to the alien space vampire.

If you like screaming, you'll enjoy the efforts of Steve Railsback and Patrick Stewart in this department, but I think most viewers (especially male viewers) will agree with me that Mathilda May pretty much makes the movie. And I for one think the special effects are pretty impressive with the one exception (maybe all of the special effects guys were sick that day and Tobe Hooper did that one himself). Hats off to Tobe Hooper for this cinematic effort, as it is the kind of film you can enjoy over and over again.

very good movie but i'd like to see it come out in widescreen anamorphic or full screen

Though director Tobe Hoooper has had more downs than ups in his career, his film Lifeforce comes out being one of his best, following only Texas Chainsaw Massacre adn Poltergeist. Though initially a box-office failure, I found Lifeforce to be a refreshing story in the otherwise repetitive Science Fiction genre. That's whats sad about the genre; when filmmakers come out with somehting new and different, it flops, but if it's another ALien rip-off, box-office hit. This "vampire" story takes a new turn on the vampire myth, with aliens arriving on Earth that drain people of "lifeforce," the essence of life. I found most of the performances to be great, espiceally Peter Firth as British Agaent Kane. He makes this film totally believable. Steve Railsback is actually the weakest in the cast, but I have to hand it to him, he had a difficult role to play and he did a credible job at it. The effects are also very good for the time and the filmmakers use their fairly high budget to their addvantage. The one thing I hate about this film is that all people seem to recognize is the nudity. They forget about the story and focus on Mathilda May's body (though she I will say she does have a great body). This film goes far beyond the nudity. It drives me nuts when I ask someone if they've seen Lifeforce and they respond "is that the film with that hot naked chick?" So look beyond the nudity and find and marvel at the very creative story aided by the mesmerizing score by Henry Mancini and the London Symphony Orchestra. I found the film very good all the way through . Some seem to think the film fizzles out towards the end when London is in anarchy with zombies running around but I myself found it very exciting and the zombie scenes rivel those of even George Romero. One downfall is that the film fails to explain the relationship between the female space vampire and Steve Railsback very well, but overall this is the most refreshing sci/fi film that I have seen in years.

TRIVIA: The original U.S. theatrical and VHS release portrays a different opening title sequence. Also the mission statement of the Churchill spaceshuttle is written out for the audience to read whereas this newer release from MGM has it read aloud.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 74 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

1.0 out of 5 stars SLEEPING BOOBIES ......
EXCEPT for the still unsurpassed utter seediness of AUDREY MORRIS [Mr. Deltoid from 'Clockwork Orange'] as Sir Percy - this one's quite a hoot in acting class ..... Read more

Published on May 18 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars How to explain this film to your girlfriend . . . .
The story is bad, the acting is terrible, and the special effects are lame. So, is there anything worthy of mentioning about this film? Read more

Published on Mar 17 2004

2.0 out of 5 stars Sort of liked it.
The problem with this film was it had the wrong title. It should have been called: "Attack of the Soul-Sucking Vampire Zombies from Haley's Comet. Read more

Published on Feb 20 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars Ewwwww!
Oh Lord, is this movie ever foul! Everyone emotes like they're doing an amateur road company version of Hamlet, the dialogue is stilted and the special effects are only special in... Read more

Published on Feb 1 2004 by Randall Barnhart

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be a cult classic
When Tobe Hooper released "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in 1974, people went wild over this up and coming horror film director. Read more

Published on Dec 24 2003 by Jeffrey Leach

4.0 out of 5 stars imaginative vampire twist
This movie has a very original twist on the old standard vampire tale, with the horror Cult King director - Tobe Hooper at the helm. Read more

Published on Dec 23 2003 by Deborah MacGillivray

3.0 out of 5 stars This Could Have Been a Great Sci-Fi Movie
"Lifeforce" (1985) follows "Poltergeist" (1982) in the Tobe Hooper canon, but it is a largely forgetable film of space vampires coming to Earth and, like space invaders... Read more

Published on Dec 13 2003 by MD Cordonnier

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspend Your Disbelief and Enjoy  Campy Sci-fi Cult Classic
Movie Overview:
Space vampires wipe out shuttle crews and invade Earth to steal human kind's "life force. Read more

Published on Sep 27 2003 by Maximillian Ben Hanan

4.0 out of 5 stars This is unforgettable...A sensual work art !
Mann, Mathida May was perfect for this movie no mistakes in that decision. If you were going to make it believable that she was perfect and men couldn't help their desire she was... Read more

Published on Jan 22 2003 by Arish

3.0 out of 5 stars PAJ from LA
I don't know what's gotten into the lady from the "Lonley Hearts Club," but Mathilda May is as beautiful in the 1997 film "The Jackal" as she was in the 1985... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2002

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 74 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!