Attack the Block (2011)

A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.

Director:

Joe Cornish

Writer:

Joe Cornish

Stars:

John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 19 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Whittaker	...	Sam
John Boyega	...	Moses
Alex Esmail	...	Pest
Leeon Jones	...	Jerome
Franz Drameh	...	Dennis
Simon Howard	...	Biggz
Maggie McCarthy	...	Margaret
Danielle Vitalis	...	Tia
Paige Meade	...	Dimples
Gina Antwi	...	Dionne
Natasha Jonas	...	Gloria
Sammy Williams	...	Probs
Michael Ajao	...	Mayhem
Luke Treadaway	...	Brewis
Flaminia Cinque	...	Italian Woman

Storyline

Attack the Block follows an unlucky young woman and a gang of tough inner city kids who make an unlikely alliance to try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures, turning a South London apartment complex into an intergalactic war-zone.

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Plot Keywords:

pheromones | tower block | teeth | glowing | gang | 

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Taglines:

Inner City vs. Outer Space

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for creature violence, drug content and pervasive language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The areas and surrounding roads are named after well-known British science fiction authors: Wyndham Tower (John Wyndham); Moore Court (Alan Moore); Huxley Court (Aldous Huxley); Wells Court (H.G. Wells); Clarke Court (Arthur C. Clarke); Ballard Street (J.G. Ballard); Adams Street (Douglas Adams); Clayton Street and Clayton Estate (Jo Clayton); and Herbert Way (Frank Herbert). James Street may allude to horror writer M.R. James.

Frank Herbert was, in fact, American; if the reference is supposed to be to a British writer, it may be another reference to H(erbert) G(eorge) Wells.

Herbert Way is more likely a reference to James Herbert, the horror author who based most of his books in London.

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Goofs

Pest appears to have a magical backpack. As the gang pulls out and uses all of his fireworks, more magically appear a minute afterwards.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sam: [on phone] Hi mum!

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Connections

References Ghostbusters (1984)

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Soundtracks

Ire Feelings (Skanga)
Written by Rupie Edwards
Performed by Rupie Edwards
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.

User Reviews

Entertaining

I thought this movie was quite entertaining, and actually funny in some parts. It's not a normal horror movie or alien invasion movie. It ends very satisfactorily, unlike most horror movies, and the plot is quite original played with talented actors in a setting that many of us are not so familiar with. If you like rap, you'll like the music throughout too. All the actors and main actress did very well. Thankfully I saw this with subtitles since I can't follow language from "the hood" very well. The only thing that didn't seem so real to me were the space creatures, but that gave for a good laugh. If you don't take this movie too seriously, it's a lot of fun. And there was "the moral of the story is..." thrown in, like lessons learned, rectifying mistakes, etc. All in all, it makes for a good Thursday or Friday night at the movies.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Attack the Block

Filming Locations:

Three Mills Studios, Three Mill Lane, Bow, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$139,506, 31 July 2011

Gross USA:

$1,024,175

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,206,022

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Gems, StudioCanal, Film4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (DTS Digital Surround) SDDS (uncredited) Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1