Lifeforce (1985)

A race of space vampires arrive in London and infect the populace.

Director:

Tobe Hooper

Writers:

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

Stars:

Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A space shuttle mission investigating Halley's Comet brings back a malevolent race of space vampires who transform most of London's population into zombies. The only survivor of the expedition and British authorities attempt to capture a mysterious but beautiful alien woman who appears responsible.

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Plot Keywords:

comet | space vampire | halleys comet | alien | vampire | 

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Taglines:

The Cinematic Sci-Fi event of the Eighties

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Space Intruders

Filming Locations:

Christchurch, Hampshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golan-Globus Productions, Easedram Limited, London-Cannon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 101 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Finlay replaced Klaus Kinski.

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Goofs

The vampire girl is hiding in St Paul's Cathedral, but the blue beam she's emitting appears to emanate from the dome of Greenwich Observatory.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Uncanny Suspects (2003)

User Reviews

***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