LifeForce (1985)

From the director (Tobe Hooper) of The Texas Chainsaw Massacare and the writer (Dan O'Bannon) of Alien comes this crazy sci-fi horror thriller about a potential alien invasion which occurs around London after a race of space vampires (yes you read that right) come calling via Haley's Comet and an Earth-bound spaceship.  This ambitious Cannon Pictures release was a notable flop when it was first released in June of 1985 but has since garned a cult following due to several crazy setpieces, ample female nudity (from one alien in particular played by Matilda May), and.....some very inventive visual effects thanks to contributions from the same F/X wizard (John Dykstra) who had worked on the original Star Wars just eight years prior.  Starring alongside May (in her on-screen debut) are Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, and Patrick Stewart! 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

LIFEFORCE - 1985

Directed by Tobe Hooper

Starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, Patrick Stewart, Michael Gothard, Nicholas Ball, Aubrey Morris, Nancy Paul, John Hallam, John Keegan, Bill Malin, and Derek Benfield

Genre: Sci-Fi Horror Thriller (Audio clip)

Ever since watching this for the first time just a few years ago, I always thought this to be one of THE shoulda-been big genre hits of its time. Sadly it got demolished by the overrated Cocoon (🥴) on its opening weekend and never recovered. But it still remains an all-around fun genre hybrid with a strong pedigree: Tobe Hooper directing, Dan O'Bannon writing the first screenplay (itself adapted from a novel called "Space Vampires" - might have been a better title).

If you’re not sold within the first 15 minutes, then I don’t know what to tell you….we see the crew of the "Churchill" spacecraft approach Haley's Comet (on its latest 75 year fly-by for Earth) and find a long umbrella-like spaceship flying in its tail which contains long-dead bat-like alien creatures and.....pods of perfectly preserved naked humans. This crew is lead by Carlson played by Steve Railsback co-leading a cast of mostly British character actors ALL dialing it up to 11. 🙄 But none moreso than Railsback who is literally gnawing off his own fingers for much of his runtime as dude is SO intense - you see, Carlson has formed an hyper-sexual bond with one of these humans who have were brought back to the Churchill. She is played by the gorgeous Mathilda May and is perpetually naked throughout the movie.....

And this brings us back to that Cannon brand where the B-movie pedigree of this shin-dig really shines through....there is AMPLE female nudity in this film, almost to a distracting degree. 🤫 It kinda serves a purpose in the first half showing just how seductive this space vampiress can be to all men around her as we see strutting naked back on Earth....even heavily armed soldiers don't know what to do as they're taken in by her....and she starts to wreak havoc around the UK, seducing strangers and sucking their life forces. :o

But yeah you can see how some critics were derisively referring to this movie as "Boobs In SPACE!" since its release....because as game and as sinister a performance May is delivering (in her first on-screen role), there are two DISTINCT objects which seem to be the focus of every shot featuring her! 😁 It certainly doesn't derail the movie - well at least from a straight male perspective - but it does remind us how silly this overall story is just when it should be ramping up.

And BOY does it ramp up as the third act presents an escalation of this alien invasion in London which could seem jarring in comparison to the rest of the movie but still works for me thanks to a lot of effective makeup effects and an effective score from the late, great Henry Mancini. It's just pure fun as we watch our other main protagonist British secret service Cain (played by Peter Firth who I THINK is related to Colin) determinedly traversing through a zombie/vampire-filled (they DO blur the lines here) armed only with a lead-based sword and a gorgeous blonde perm!

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now about that score, it comes to us from a true Hollywood LEGEND, Cleveland’s own Henry Mancini….towards the end of a sterling career comprising over 200 credits composing and producing music for movies from the early ‘50’s all the way until the early ‘90’s.  He was also a FOUR-time Oscar winner and for several genuine classics ALSO featuring classic music including Victor/Victoria, Days of Wines and Roses, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.  For Tiffany’s….remember little ditty called, “Moon River.” Yup that’s him! (Audio clip)  

Now during most of the ‘80’s, he was doing mostly comedies for Blake Edwards including the aforementioned Victor/Victoria….really a lot of low-key, jazzy fun stuff including The Pink Panther theme for continued sequels for that franchise….I’m at a loss as to how he ended up conducting a very pulpy score for a hard-R rated sci-fi horror film from the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  Well no matter because his score for LifeForce…..damn effective, full orchestra just going for it with trumpets blaring and violins scraping whenever things get hairy.  And it even gets full-on ROUSING at points though mainly at the beginning and ending, over the credits….truly catchy stuff, one of the more underrated genre theme’s of the ‘80’s, the MAIN THEME for Lifeforce. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

As I mentioned earlier forty years ago, this was a pretty sizeable flop for what was then one of THE bigger budgets for a Cannon release – it cost $25 million and made less than half of that worldwide.  Now part of that LIKELY did come from more feel-good sci-fi competition on its opening weekend from Cocoon which by comparison had a VERY well-known cast including luminaries like Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton, Wilford Brimley, and Oscar-winner Don Ameche but also one of the more steady box office draws of this era….the GUTT’S, Steve Guttenberg.  Hey dude had several hits around this time….he was just coming off the first (of several) Police Academy movies from the year before and was just a couple of years away from the breakout smash of Three Men & a Baby.  Hey it was the ‘80’s….

But regardless, you look at the cast here and not only are we TRULY lacking one main, central protagonist but virtually no big names.  And for the record, Patrick Stewart was still a few years away from becoming Captain Picard.  I mean it’s mostly set in the UK but I don’t know….maybe Cannon could have tossed out a few mill to maybe land a Michael Caine OR John Gielgud, SOMEBODY who audiences might at least recognize from this era.  Because this was the mid ‘80’s and this WAS Cannon….I GOTTA think that some one from their stable like a Chuck Norris or Charlie Bronson might have been in the conversation for the INTENSE American role…but alas it ended up being Steve Railsback.   I just have to think that even some B-grade starpower might have helped in this case….but oh well….from a performance standpoint, he still does the job. (Audio clip)  

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

As we get into its second half, this movie just gets crazier and crazier including a positively loopy detour at a British psych hospital as Caine and Carlson are tracking down the latest host body of May's space vampire - yeah her character is never actually given a name. 😒 Leading this hospital is a sorta-young Patrick Strewart (but still handsomely bald as he always been) who gives a positively batshit performance in what I consider to be this film’s NUTTIEST sequence….but in the best way. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person most responsible for the success of this film):

Now considering that was a Cannon film, that USUALLY that brand would mean cheap-looking shlock...not the case here as they spent $25 mill on this deal back in '85 which isn't chump change.  And they hired one of the best…..the LEGENDARY straight out of Long Beach, CA….two-time Oscar-winner John Dykstra.  Now he won his two Oscars for the original Star Wars back in ’77 AND the far-and-away BEST Spider-Man movie….Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 from 2002.  Yes the same wizard who orchestrated the Death Star battle ALSO was a creative force behind the inventive elevated train brawl featuring Spiderman and Doc Ock…..AND he also worked on pretty groundbreaking stuff for Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Silent Running back in the ‘70’s….not to mention some more recent triumphs including Godzila ‘2014 and the underrated Kong Skull Island from a few years ago.  He’s one of the TRUE visionaries to bridge that gap between practical effects and CGI.  

And his work here?  Very impressive….even as the overall story gets a bit messy and convoluted at points, the effects never disappoint whether via models or make-up.   Most of the effects showcasing the victims of these off-world vampires are VERY effective, they look exactly as you would think: pruny, dried out humanoids which can sometimes still move... it's startling and unnerving for sure as these creatures dominate the first third of the movie.  And towards the end, you want something even freakier?  How about a TRULY grisly scene late in the movie when Patrick Stewart’s Dr. Armstrong is being transported via helicopter….when suddenly a steady flow of blood starts floating out of his body?  Now the puppetry portraying Armstrong looks genuinely fake but no matter….because the actual MONEY SHOT of this sequence is seeing this floating globule of blood form into…..the Space Girl.  I don’t know HOW they pulled this off back in ’84 but it’s next level stuff and just one of several crazy, memorable moments in this film – for truly delivering on the freak-show element of this saga, John Dykstra is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 3.8 stars out of 5 

Does all of this gel together seamlessly? Not in the slightest but it's still a gloriously nutty ride in spite of AND because of its utter Cannon-ness. :)Top of Form

 Happy 40th Anniversary to one of the more shamelessly entertaining genre hybrids of the 1980’s!

Streaming on Prime Video

And that ends another BLOODY DEAD review!