Review: Lifeforce (1985)

I recently rewatched a horror movie from my childhood, Lifeforce. From Director Tobe Hooper and screen play written by Dan O'bannon and Don Jakoby from the novel The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson. In researching this film a little bit I looked into what else Tobe Hooper had directed, and the list was fairly notable. Aside from his obvious Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame, he directed: Salem's Lot, Poltergeist, and the 1980's remake of Invaders from Mars. Then there are countless TV shows he's worked on episodes of over the years, or particular note is a show that failed but I loved called The Others about psychics banding together to help stem the rising tide of dark spiritual activity occurring. So this guy is impressing me a lot.

This movie, Lifeforce, is one of a few horror movies from my childhood that have made very lasting impressions of me. Its one of the horror films that scenes and concepts from have always influenced my horror tastes and will always bubble up to the surface of my mind. So I was a little worried about re-watching it after 20 some odd years of not having seen it. But I was still blown away at how engaging this movie is. Now let me say from the beginning that this story has some flaws, and I'll go over them later, but I feel its strengths and unique vision far out way any narrative flaws.

This movie is essentially Dracula in space. OK, the head vampire is female, and OK, there are 3 vamps rather than 1; but the broad strokes are the same. Instead of people dying on a sea going vessel as Dracula's coffin is transported to London, its people dying on a space shuttle as space coffins (all clear and glass-like) are transported back to London. Then the vamp escapes, and manages to turn some other people into vamps, and they turn to friends, and they turn to friends, and soon its like a vamp pyramid scheme! Until finally one lone S.A.S. hero and one lone scientist find that thing that will stop the vamps, and its used. Of course it seems like the vamps are stopped, but maybe they aren't. This film could have been sequalled easily, but thankfully was not. I like narratives that live the after story to my imagination.

So, strong points. If you follow the basic broad strokes of the Dracula narrative, just up dating image and making certain things more contemporary (while still keeping the pre-destined love thing, but reversing genders) its hard to go wrong. The creature and physical effects are great! Those drained of life by these "Nosferatu from another planet" are dessicated mummies, that in 2 hours get up and try and suck someone else's lifeforce out. And these victims are cool and creepy looking. For the time this film was made (1985) these were top notch physical effects. Not to mention it has cool light effects for the energy form of the vamps and the visual of life force being taken. Think of a mix between ball lightning floating around, drawing smaller ball lightning out of people and you'll come close. Again, for 1985 this was cutting edge stuff, and still holds up well today as it was used effectively. Third, the acting is so very awesomely British, its hard not to love it (even if it is over the top at times).

Now, to the weak points. It is a rehashing of plot points from Dracula, so some would hit it for that. The acting is a bit over the top. The biggest weak point I found was certain problems with the plot. I'm fine with astronauts bringing back alien life forms, that makes complete sense. What doesn't make a lot of sense to me is the veritable lack of security where they are kept. This is set in the U.K. so I don't know what their military is like, I can only think of how the military is in the USA. I can't see alien lifeforms being brought onto U.S. soil and not being kept under strict lock and key by the military. Add to this that fact that the compound these vamps are kept on has "zero" panic alarms (maybe I've just watched too much SG-1, but I feel compounds housing potentially dangerous shite should have a panic button in each room) so when the vamps are scene by an administrator over CCTV, he has to run down several levels of stairs to go and see the girl vamp finish her midnight feeding and then escape. I'm not saying she couldn't have escaped from higher security (since that's kind of crucial to the plot) but it would have seemed less like a joke in the long run. That's my only really major weak point for the movie, that the military wasn't in on guarding these aliens from the beginning.

So to wrap it up. I loved this movie, even after 20+ years since my last viewing (and that I was a child when I last saw it). Its a cool 1980's space rehashing of Dracula, with a hot chick naked through out most of the movie and great F/X too. If you call yourself a fan of Tobe Hooper because of his first movie (I think it was set in Texas), then you owe it to yourself to watch another (very different) film from him. And I nominate this one!

Jesse "Baron Ironfury" Stevens