Tobe Hooper, best known for directing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), was fresh off his blockbuster success with the Spielberg produced Poltergeist when he made Lifeforce, a weird sci-fi movie adapted from Colin Wilson’s novel The Space Vampires. This was Hooper’s first of three films for The Cannon Group, Inc. and Golan/Globus Productions - the others being Invaders from Mars (1986) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). He once said: “Cannon was really a good company to work for. Both Yoram (Globus) and Menahem (Golan) loved movies and filmmakers, and really treated them well. It seemed more, when I was there, like maybe what the old system was like. I miss that kind of showmanship and risktaking.” The movie was a box office disappointment, however, and the reviews at the time were downright evil.
But in the years since its release, thanks to VHS and DVD, Lifeforce gained a cult following. Not Hooper’s best work, but the film is extremely entertaining, it looks great on Blu-ray (from Arrow Video) so check that out. And you just have to admire the high-concept ambition and loopy plot: A space shuttle, led by Steve Railsback (Turkey Shoot), is on a mission to study a comet and discover an alien spaceship full of dead bodies floating around. They also find a naked woman/female alien asleep in a crystalline container (played by the insanely sexy Mathilda May, who spends most of her screen time completely naked). They head back to earth with “Space Girl”, and right before an autopsy is to be performed in London, she suddenly awakens and is revealed to be a space VAMPIRE when she suddenly drains the energy (or life force!) from a guard before escaping, completely naked of course. And each victim also becomes energy vampire-aliens set to destroy the world. A fantastic and fascinating film. A trippy mess? Sure, that too. Still, it is one of my favorite sci-fi films and it has impressive effects. And ooh that Mathilda!
Lifeforce Release year: 1985 Country: UK / USA Director: Tobe Hooper Stars: Steve Railsback, Mathilda May, Peter Firth
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In outer space they unleashed a force more evil than the world had ever imagined!
The Cinematic Sci-Fi event of the Eighties
With an insatiable hunger, they are coming… Mankind is their prey!
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