Lifeforce (1985)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

Colin Wilson (novel)
Dan O'Bannon (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 June 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

In outer space they unleashed a force more evil than the world had ever imagined!.. [UK Theatrical]

Plot:

A space shuttle mission investigating Halley's Comet brings back a malevolent race of space vampires...

Plot Keywords:

Comet | Alien | Halleys Comet | Vampire | Space Shuttle

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Steve Railsback	...	Col. Tom Carlsen
Peter Firth	...	Col. Colin Caine
Frank Finlay	...	Dr. Hans Fallada
Mathilda May	...	Space Girl
Patrick Stewart	...	Dr. Armstrong
Michael Gothard	...	Dr. Bukovsky
Nicholas Ball	...	Roger Derebridge
Aubrey Morris	...	Sir Percy Heseltine
Nancy Paul	...	Ellen Donaldson
John Hallam	...	Lamson
John Keegan	...	Guard
Chris Jagger	...	First Vampire (as Christopher Jagger)
Bill Malin	...	Second Vampire
Jerome Willis	...	Pathologist
Derek Benfield	...	Physician

Also Known As:

Space Vampires (UK) (USA) (working title)
Vampires from Outer Space (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min | USA:101 min (edited version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Norway:18 (video rating) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (cut US version) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (cut US version) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (uncut version) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (cut US version) (also uncut version) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) (uncut version) | Canada:R (Manitoba) (cut US version) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1986-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Hendon, London, England, UK

Company:

Golan-Globus Productions

Trivia:

Tobe Hooper came up with the idea of using Halley's Comet in the screenplay.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Halley's comet is repeatedly referred to as "Haley's comet". While Halley's comet (named after the astronomer Edmund Halley, and pronounced to rhyme with the word "rally") is in reality often mistakenly referred to in this way (due, presumably, to confusion caused by the rock and roll band "Bill Haley and the Comets"), it is inconceivable that scientists and astronauts would make the mistake, as they do throughout the movie.

Quotes:

Sir Percy Heseltine, Home Secretary: Um... how do you know she's still inside Armstrong? What's to prevent her from moving to someone else?
Colonel Tom Carlsen: She's trapped. I can feel that.
Colonel Colin Caine: Are you sure?
Colonel Tom Carlsen: No.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000) (V)

***an underrated gem

Like several other reviewers here, I'm surprised to see many negative reviews on this film. Dan O'Bannon's previous effort was the groundbreaking 'Alien' of 1979. Because it and 'Star Wars' introduced the stylistic approach of 'Used' or 'Dirty Space' in art-direction for these kinds of features doesn't mean that this was the only way to produce them.

Rather than dismiss 'Lifeforce' out-of-hand as a sort of schlock and primitive exploitation feature, it's important to recognize that the film draws upon the 'esteemed' traditions of British horror and science-fiction - specifically Hammer and American International features like Quatermass (specifically 'Quatermass and the Pit', 1967), Doctor Who and 'The Day of the Triffids' (1963), if not the works of Gerry Anderson ('UFO', 'Space:1999' and 'Thunderbirds'). But none of these influences would be a surprise if other reviewers recognized writer O'Bannon's genre-scholarly appreciation for 'Queen of Blood'(1966) and 'It! The Terror from Beyond Space'(1958) - the immediate sources for 'Alien' (1979).

Granted this film has some 'legacy' elements, but perhaps it's worth comparing this film to its more immediate peers - 1981's 'An American Werewolf in London' and 'The Company of Wolves' (1984) - other 80's films that share a 'looking-back' while they adapt those stories to the 80's zeitgeist. All three films drew on earlier incarnations of the same, but substantially sexed-up their themes (because they could), and, at the same time they recognized the tongue-in-cheek, humorous aspects of their projects.

Neil Jordan's 'Wolves' played to many of the psychoanalytic memes floating around at the during the '80's, while 'American Werewolf' curdled its theme as a 'coming-of-age' film. It's called artistic license, and the adaptations of these three films are no less valid than the latter-day dramedy inherent in the 'Scream' franchise, 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' and 'Final Destination'. But these teen-targeted, films seem to be part of a box-office trend, whereas the 80's films like 'Lifeforce' belong a canon of British sci-fi - even if this one was written by an American.

In many ways this film holds up much better than latter-day disaster and alien-invasion flicks ('Independence Day', 'Armageddon', 'Deep Impact') in that the 'solutions' don't reside in gun-battles, weaponized payloads and testosterone. At the opposite end of the pole, it is unfortunate that Steven Soderbergh and James Cameron didn't examine Tarkowski and Lem more closely before they remade 'Solaris'...

The goal of this film was fun, not ponderousness or stupidity.

7/10