LIFEFORCE (1985)

Director: Tobe Hooper

Writers: Dan O’Bannon, Don Jakoby, Michael Armstrong (uncredited), Olaf Pooley (uncredited), based on the novel The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson

Producers: Yoram Globus, Manahem Golan

Cast: Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Mathilda May, Frank Finlay, Michael Gothard, Patrick Stewart, Aubrey Morris, Nicholas Ball, Chris Jagger, Bill Malin, John Hallam, Nancy Paul, John Keegan, Jerome Willis, John Woodnutt, Derek Benfield, Peter Porteous, Katherine Schofield, Russell Summers, Jamie Roberts, Owen Holder, Haydn Wood, Paul Cooper, Sidney Kean, Patrick Connor, Milton Cadman, Rupert Baker, Chris Sullivan, Edward Evans, Nicholas Donnelly, Gary Hildreth, Julian Firth, Carl Rigg, Peter Lovstrom, Elizabeth Heery, John Golightly 

Britain’s space shuttle Churchill discovers an enormous alien vessel in the coma of Halley’s Comet. Inside the derelict ship, shuttle commander Colonel Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback) and his crew find three transparent cases containing three perfectly preserved humanoid bodies, one female and two males. They bring the lifeless aliens back aboard the Churchill to return to Earth. When Earth loses contact with the Churchill, a rescue mission is sent. The Churchill is found gutted by fire and with all of its crew dead. The undamaged bodies of the three aliens in their cases are brought to the European Space Research Centre in London. Soon, the female alien (Mathilda May) comes to life and begins draining energy from humans she comes in contact with. This space vampire escapes and her victims also become vampires draining energy from their own victims and threatening to spread the deadly contagion throughout the world. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

Lifeforce has a strange dynamic going for it that makes it quite distinct from the many big-budget, special effects laden, sci-fi and fantasy extravaganzas that were becoming more frequent during the '80s and are as common as cold sores today. This film has no contrived daredevil heroics, no snarky humor, no personal relationships, and no character back stories or conflicts. There is only the strange phenomenon causing death and chaos that must be stopped by the authorities in the government, science, and military establishments. That is probably why no big name movie star of the day appears in the film. They can’t flaunt their celebrity persona if they are just supposed to play someone doing their job.

What the film seems to be striving for is to immerse its audience in its science fiction concept and its horrific consequences that threaten the entire world. Lifeforce certainly manages quite a bit of awe and dread, particularly in its opening scenes in outer space when the eerie and immense alien spaceship is discovered and explored. I also appreciate the sci-fi link to an old-world horror in this story. That is a tried-and-true angle used in many other British productions such as the film Quatermass and the Pit (1967), aka Five Million Years to Earth, and some great episodes of the Doctor Who television series. 

I usually get impatient with entirely concept-driven sci-fi. I feel such stuff is often the vanity project of someone showing off their supposed intellectual ingenuity by waving around all the scientific claptrap they can to distract from the fact that they can’t create characters of any interest and any situations to engage the emotions. That is not to say that I want the latest movie hunk or babe of the moment slinging their catchphrases and affecting phony attitudes; I want something sincere. Most genre films can’t do that anymore. They need to appease the attention-span-challenged masses by convincing them they are getting something fast, sophisticated, and state-of-the-art. Once you get past today’s CGI effects, shaky-cam shots, and quick-cut editing, you often find nothing more than insincere rip-offs. 

The makers of Lifeforce are dangerously close to making exactly the kind of film I have absolutely no use for: the special effects orgy. Effects alone are never enough to keep me involved and entertained. Although it is certainly trying to impress us with its many special effects, Lifeforce stays focused on its cataclysmic menace and the efforts of humans to stop it. It is not also trying to be an action film with ridiculous stunts, snarky leads, and feel-good setups and resolutions for its characters. Since all of the characters in this film are not revealed in any depth, we in the audience might engage with the situations on a more personal level. 

I suppose that the total lack of knowledge we have about any of the characters in Lifeforce can make for an uninvolving experience for many. Again, it is the situation that is meant to involve us. We only see what these people do in response to the menace they encounter as they try to do their jobs to deal with it. The one person going through constant emotional turmoil is Steve Railsback’s Colonel Carlsen. He is the only astronaut to survive from the Churchill space shuttle that discovered the alien craft. He is haunted by his memories of the Churchill disaster before he returned to Earth in an escape pod. He also shares a telepathic connection with the Space Girl that he doesn’t fully understand, but he can use it to help the authorities track her down. 

That’s all the drama you get in Lifeforce. Otherwise, it’s some eerie atmosphere, the intrigue of trying to understand and locate the alien menace, ever-escalating chaos, and a bunch of wild special effects. 

As anyone who has seen this film can attest to, Lifeforce is unforgettable due to the spectacle of the often nude Mathilda May as the Space Girl. Despite being an ideal example of human female beauty, she convinces you that she is truly alien. She has a great presence that is simultaneously serene, sexy, superior, and sinister. No one confronted by this siren stands a chance. 

It must also be noted that the great Henry Mancini composed the musical score. He opens and closes the film with a rousing theme that evokes the awe that the best sci-fi horror films should achieve. 

Due to its epic scale, large cast, and sci-fi razzle-dazzle, Lifeforce may seem like an anomaly in director Tobe Hooper’s filmography. However, this movie still pulses with Hooper’s typical horror and hysteria. This was the most expensive film that Tobe Hooper ever directed and it sure seems like he put all of those bucks up there on the screen. This was part of a three-picture deal that Hooper had with Cannon Films. Unfortunately, it seems that all three of those productions underperformed at the box office. Nevertheless, Lifeforce seems to have developed more respect and a devoted cult following over the years. Mathilda May cannot be denied.