Lifeforce (Tobe Hooper, 1985)

What's possible to write about a movie, Lifeforce, who's already been dissected and debated since it first was released in 1985? One thing is true though, now everyone who's intelligent can drop their crappy VHS copies in the trashbin, use their shitty DVD's as frisbees and just enjoy the new blu-ray from Arrow to the max. I mean, this is how the movie should have looked after it's cinema run, it's one gorgeous movies in every way possible. 

I've always felt that Lifeforce could have been a Hammer movie. It's an interesting choice that Tobe Hooper, this Texas filmmaker, made a movie so british in every way that it's hard to imagine it's made by an American. Sure, it is a co-production with the UK, but this is the first and last time I've seen Hooper work this way. It's a truly ambitious project. The story is well-known by now, Steve Railsback and his fellow astronauts finds a strange 150 mile long spaceship in the tail of Halley's comet. Inside they find thousands of dead bat-like creatures, giants, and deep inside - in the vomb of the ship, three naked bodies are found - two men and one woman. They move these bodies to their ship...but somewhere along the way to earth, something goes terrible wrong... and the doomsday might be knocking on the door.

My boyfriend G watched the movie with me and haven't talked to me about it since the credits rolled, so I guess it wasn't his cup of tea. And I can understand that. Lifeforce is an oddity, a big, bold oddity - deliberatly slow and focusing more on the drama than the action. It's very british. You can smell the tea in the air, and around every corner theres's a new Shakespearian actor. I love this of course, it's like watching an old Hammer Dracula movie but with nudity, more gore and with an insane sci-fi twist! 

What strikes me the most is the acting. It's great, but it's also very theatrical. And I feel this is planned, this is something Hooper obviously wanted from his actors. Except maybe the great late Michael Gothard (who committed suicide in 1992, while treated for a deep depression), who's more down-to-earth than both Steve Railsback and Peter Firth (who plays the tough SAS commander). Patrick Stewart, always great, shows up and more or less screams his light in a strange wax-esque performance, hard to describe. This is not bad by any means, but it's an odd thing. I wonder why? 

If you're a fan and sits through all the twists and turns (and awesome special effects sprinkled over the first half of the movie) you will witness the sensational final, where London is attacked by the space-infection. This is big stuff, and it looks fantastic. Could be my favorite piece of big scale destruction/carnage ever, especially in eighties cinema. There's lots of extras, some minor gore, miniatures exploding and burning, real life sets overrun by space vampires and mayhem. Every penny of the 25 million dollar budget is on the screen in Lifeforce. Tobe Hooper sure knew what he was doing.

Even if Lifeforce have some flaws I don't consider them flaws. They're beauty marks. Lifeforce is an insane masterpiece, one of those movies that never will be made again and is totally unique (well maybe, it's very inspired by Quatermass and the Pit and other British genre movies...), but still is able to stand on it's own two shaky pale space-vampire legs. 

Go get that blu-ray. Now. You will thank me later!

Comments

[Denis Klotz]

This is one of my absolute favourites, too. I agree about the wonderful Hammer influence in the movie.

I always thought that some of the film's idea also come directly from Stoker's "Dracula".
Particularly Railsback's mental connection to May's vampire, and the use of hypnotism to find her are parts of the novel actual Dracula adaptations never seem to want to include. Fits the mood of Hooper's film perfectly, I think.

Though this part might actually come via Colin Wilson's novel. It's been a decade or so since I read that one, so I'm not sure.

[Megatron]

"One thing is true though, now everyone who's intelligent can drop their crappy VHS copies in the trashbin, use their shitty DVD's as frisbees and just enjoy the new blu-ray from Arrow to the max. I mean, this is how the movie should have looked after it's cinema run, it's one gorgeous movies in every way possible."

I always wanted to see Mathilda Mays pussy in the sharpest image possible....hahhahahhahahhahah....kidding.....I see what you mean.

"I've always felt that Lifeforce could have been a Hammer movie. It's an interesting choice that Tobe Hooper, this Texas filmmaker, made a movie so british in every way that it's hard to imagine it's made by an American."

You are right about that, it´s a very british movie.

"My boyfriend G watched the movie with me and haven't talked to me about it since the credits rolled, so I guess it wasn't his cup of tea. And I can understand that. Lifeforce is an oddity, a big, bold oddity - deliberatly slow and focusing more on the drama than the action. It's very british."

Yeah, it has surprisingly many drama scenes.....and a slow pace as well, but I wasn´t bored by it.

"If you're a fan and sits through all the twists and turns (and awesome special effects sprinkled over the first half of the movie) you will witness the sensational final, where London is attacked by the space-infection. This is big stuff, and it looks fantastic. Could be my favorite piece of big scale destruction/carnage ever, especially in eighties cinema. There's lots of extras, some minor gore, miniatures exploding and burning, real life sets overrun by space vampires and mayhem."

Cannon films really went for it.......I was surprised by that grand finale.

Whole of london infected like that.

"Even if Lifeforce have some flaws I don't consider them flaws. They're beauty marks."

Well, you are bigger fan of this film than me......that´s for sure.

For me it´s more of a low budget verson(according to the Numbers Species had a 35 million budget)of Species (1995).

"Go get that blu-ray. Now. You will thank me later!"

Who knows....I might, great review, didn´t know you were such a fan of this film.