In the aftermath of the massive success of the Alien and Star Wars films, it seemed every director in Hollywood - and elsewhere - wanted a go at the Sci-Fi-/Horror genre, with each film trying to put its own slightly different spin. The results varied from the very good to the downright abysmal, and more often than not efforts were much closer to the latter. But with Tobe Hooper's pedigree including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist, expectations for Lifeforce would have been generally optimistic. However, hopes would soon have been dashed.
The fairly standard plot takes elements from both the sci-fi and horror classic film staples - creature from outer space and vampires - to produce this latest entry into what would become the Sci-Fi channel's catalogue. A space shuttle investigates a ship that is discovered floating inside the core of Hailey's Comet, and discover 3 human-looking life forms in suspended animation, two male and one female - naked obviously! Ignoring every horror cliché in the book, the crew decide to bring them back to the ship. Inevitably, the ship returns to earth - but is now apparently abandoned - and the life forms are brought in for study. The female - played by Mathilda May - escapes and proceeds to wander around London -still naked of course - sucking the life force out of victims rather than blood (perhaps too cliché even for this work?) and chaos, death and zombies ensue. The story then plods along diligently, joining all the dots but seemingly devoid of any actual life force of its own.
The cast is a veritable who's who of B- and C-list actors, with the interesting exception of a pre-Star Trek Patrick Stewart in an extended cameo, which perhaps makes this film valuable as a historical curiosity if nothing else. Unfortunately, with the vast number of sci-fi, horror and combination films that filled cinemas in the late 70s and into the 80s, something special would be needed to make a film such as this stand out, and Lifeforce doesn't have it, and it merely comes across as a cheap exploitation flick - which is ironic considering it was at one point shut down for running out of money, and was nearly named 'Space Vampires'! The cast in general seem devoid of inspiration, and stage and small-screen stalwarts such as Frank Finlay and Peter Firth appear to be merely there for the pay cheque.
Next to films such as Star Wars and Alien, Lifeforce looks exactly what it was intended not to be - a cheap exploitation flick. The space scenes in particular (many of which were cut before release) look positively dated when placed next to the works of George Lucas and Ridley Scott, and Henry Mancini's score (which was partially re-edited and replaced with another composer's work upon US release) certainly doesn't measure up to his previous work, filled with toneless cues and un-atmospheric phrases that don't come close to his iconic work on films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther.
Wooden acting, lousy special effects, a dull story and atonal music combine to make this nothing more than just another sci-fi cash-in from the mid 1980s. Seeing a young French actress spend an entire film naked may be a novelty for a scene or two, but this crass exploitation gimmick is certainly not enough to save Lifeforce from, at best, mediocrity. Perhaps it could only be 'enjoyed' in the way films such as 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' and films of that ilk are enjoyed today - with a large dose of irony.
The fairly standard plot takes elements from both the sci-fi and horror classic film staples - creature from outer space and vampires - to produce this latest entry into what would become the Sci-Fi channel's catalogue. A space shuttle investigates a ship that is discovered floating inside the core of Hailey's Comet, and discover 3 human-looking life forms in suspended animation, two male and one female - naked obviously! Ignoring every horror cliché in the book, the crew decide to bring them back to the ship. Inevitably, the ship returns to earth - but is now apparently abandoned - and the life forms are brought in for study. The female - played by Mathilda May - escapes and proceeds to wander around London -still naked of course - sucking the life force out of victims rather than blood (perhaps too cliché even for this work?) and chaos, death and zombies ensue. The story then plods along diligently, joining all the dots but seemingly devoid of any actual life force of its own.
The cast is a veritable who's who of B- and C-list actors, with the interesting exception of a pre-Star Trek Patrick Stewart in an extended cameo, which perhaps makes this film valuable as a historical curiosity if nothing else. Unfortunately, with the vast number of sci-fi, horror and combination films that filled cinemas in the late 70s and into the 80s, something special would be needed to make a film such as this stand out, and Lifeforce doesn't have it, and it merely comes across as a cheap exploitation flick - which is ironic considering it was at one point shut down for running out of money, and was nearly named 'Space Vampires'! The cast in general seem devoid of inspiration, and stage and small-screen stalwarts such as Frank Finlay and Peter Firth appear to be merely there for the pay cheque.
Next to films such as Star Wars and Alien, Lifeforce looks exactly what it was intended not to be - a cheap exploitation flick. The space scenes in particular (many of which were cut before release) look positively dated when placed next to the works of George Lucas and Ridley Scott, and Henry Mancini's score (which was partially re-edited and replaced with another composer's work upon US release) certainly doesn't measure up to his previous work, filled with toneless cues and un-atmospheric phrases that don't come close to his iconic work on films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther.
Wooden acting, lousy special effects, a dull story and atonal music combine to make this nothing more than just another sci-fi cash-in from the mid 1980s. Seeing a young French actress spend an entire film naked may be a novelty for a scene or two, but this crass exploitation gimmick is certainly not enough to save Lifeforce from, at best, mediocrity. Perhaps it could only be 'enjoyed' in the way films such as 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' and films of that ilk are enjoyed today - with a large dose of irony.