Inspired by 'The Space Vampires,' a novel by Colin Wilson, this was the Cannon Group's make-or-break attempt to overcome its status as a leading independent film company and join the elite ranks of Paramount, MGM, and Columbia Pictures. As it turned out, Cannon's $22 million investment was not money well spent, the firm subsequently releasing one low-budget bomb after another until on the verge of collapse by 1990.
It is unfortunate that 'Lifeforce' had such limited success, because its themes are so far-out, its acting so over-the-top, its effects so well-done for 1985 that it could have gone down as a classic if more professionally handled on the editing floor. Nowadays, the 'Lifeforce' viewing public has cult status and breaks into two opposing groups: those who find it a campy, shod attempt at major sci-fi and those who take it for what it probably is, an over-funded 'B' picture that is still endlessly entertaining.
Even with their differences, both sides always remember one thing about this film: Mathilda May as a lady alien, walking around buck naked for most of the time she is on-screen. But in truth, May is not on screen for very long and there is much more to this film than just eye candy. This is perhaps the last notable film directed by Tobe Hooper, who teamed with 'Star Wars' effects coordinator John Dykstra in making Lifeforce's expensive spectacle. It is one of the first films to employ laser light in movie visuals and even today, 'Lifeforce' has some impressive moments.
'Lifeforce' opens with a joint US-British crew aboard the HMS Churchill, a satellite that is the first to employ simulated gravity. The Churchill staff is planning an intense look at Halley's Comet, which is passing Earth for the first time in decades. A foreign body 150 miles long is spotted in its coma, however, and Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback), commander of the mission, decides to inspect it.
The crew members find remains of bat-like creatures and three intact, human-like aliens, two men and one woman, held motionless in crystal tombs. Carlsen and his staff take these quasi-humans onto the Churchill for later analysis. Soon afterward, the Space Research Center in London loses contact with the Churchill and it drifts into Earth's orbit off-course. NASA sends the space shuttle Columbia on an emergency flight to recover the satellite, which had caught fire, killing its crew and wiping out everything but the three entombed bodies.
The female alien (Mathilda May) is readied for an autopsy, awakens, and busts (no pun intended) out of the SRC's labs. She has the ability to suck life out of humans, leaving her victims in a zombie-like state. This starts a chain reaction of lost energy amongst those in London, which is transported through Mathilda to the alien ship, reinvigorating her otherwise dead alien colony. Carlsen, who survived the Churchill fire, has meanwhile been recovered from an escape pod and joins with Colonel Caine (Peter Firth) of the Special Aerial Forces and Doctor Fallada (Frank Finlay) of the SRC, a vampire expert, to end the madness. Having fallen in love with the alien girl, Carlsen's mind is actually linked to hers, which allows him to communicate telepathically.
What I find charming about 'Lifeforce' is that it is so overblown, yet never takes itself very seriously. Steve Railsback and Peter Firth ('Equus,' 'Mighty Joe Young') really ham up their parts, but it is reminiscent of those sci-fi movies from the 1950s and 60s, all of that laughable pomp. Considering that Tobe Hooper used such an approach in 'Invaders From Mars' one year later, I don't think it was unintentional. Also check out Patrick Stewart's short but weird appearance as Dr. Armstrong, an insane asylum director who becomes infected.
Of course, we return to Mathilda May. The Paris-born actress, who was 20 when this film came out, doesn't speak very much but has an exotic look that fits her role perfectly. Points should also be given to her on courage. The original score was written for full orchestra and conducted by Henry Mancini, one of his last efforts before dying in 1994. John Dykstra's effects, after twenty years, look sharp as a tack, but there seems to be corner-cutting in the wardrobe department. There is one episode where a nurse (Nancy Paul) is shown walking through an open field in vampire-style vestment. On first sight, it looks as if she's wearing a trash bag. When Carlsen is driving through London in the movie's climax, he is gripped by a hand that is supposed to be losing skin but clearly sliding off a white rubber glove. It's a Cannon film, so we'll let it go.
'Lifeforce' is available on DVD through MGM Home Entertainment in letterbox format only with three-language subtitles. Beware of the movie's differing versions: Cannon Films panicked when 'Lifeforce' was in the editing phase, making substantial cuts, overdoing sound effects, and replacing Mancini's score with synthesized music. A version for American and Canadian release, with much of the nudity and zombie gore taken out, has been distributed on VHS tape and is sometimes aired on cable TV stateside. The DVD version, which includes a special booklet on the film's production, restores 15 minutes of footage not seen anywhere in cinemas and uses the Mancini score that was unceremoniously dropped. 'Lifeforce' could have been the greatest B movie of all time, but it's getting some respect twenty years too late.
*** out of 4
It is unfortunate that 'Lifeforce' had such limited success, because its themes are so far-out, its acting so over-the-top, its effects so well-done for 1985 that it could have gone down as a classic if more professionally handled on the editing floor. Nowadays, the 'Lifeforce' viewing public has cult status and breaks into two opposing groups: those who find it a campy, shod attempt at major sci-fi and those who take it for what it probably is, an over-funded 'B' picture that is still endlessly entertaining.
Even with their differences, both sides always remember one thing about this film: Mathilda May as a lady alien, walking around buck naked for most of the time she is on-screen. But in truth, May is not on screen for very long and there is much more to this film than just eye candy. This is perhaps the last notable film directed by Tobe Hooper, who teamed with 'Star Wars' effects coordinator John Dykstra in making Lifeforce's expensive spectacle. It is one of the first films to employ laser light in movie visuals and even today, 'Lifeforce' has some impressive moments.
'Lifeforce' opens with a joint US-British crew aboard the HMS Churchill, a satellite that is the first to employ simulated gravity. The Churchill staff is planning an intense look at Halley's Comet, which is passing Earth for the first time in decades. A foreign body 150 miles long is spotted in its coma, however, and Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback), commander of the mission, decides to inspect it.
The crew members find remains of bat-like creatures and three intact, human-like aliens, two men and one woman, held motionless in crystal tombs. Carlsen and his staff take these quasi-humans onto the Churchill for later analysis. Soon afterward, the Space Research Center in London loses contact with the Churchill and it drifts into Earth's orbit off-course. NASA sends the space shuttle Columbia on an emergency flight to recover the satellite, which had caught fire, killing its crew and wiping out everything but the three entombed bodies.
The female alien (Mathilda May) is readied for an autopsy, awakens, and busts (no pun intended) out of the SRC's labs. She has the ability to suck life out of humans, leaving her victims in a zombie-like state. This starts a chain reaction of lost energy amongst those in London, which is transported through Mathilda to the alien ship, reinvigorating her otherwise dead alien colony. Carlsen, who survived the Churchill fire, has meanwhile been recovered from an escape pod and joins with Colonel Caine (Peter Firth) of the Special Aerial Forces and Doctor Fallada (Frank Finlay) of the SRC, a vampire expert, to end the madness. Having fallen in love with the alien girl, Carlsen's mind is actually linked to hers, which allows him to communicate telepathically.
What I find charming about 'Lifeforce' is that it is so overblown, yet never takes itself very seriously. Steve Railsback and Peter Firth ('Equus,' 'Mighty Joe Young') really ham up their parts, but it is reminiscent of those sci-fi movies from the 1950s and 60s, all of that laughable pomp. Considering that Tobe Hooper used such an approach in 'Invaders From Mars' one year later, I don't think it was unintentional. Also check out Patrick Stewart's short but weird appearance as Dr. Armstrong, an insane asylum director who becomes infected.
Of course, we return to Mathilda May. The Paris-born actress, who was 20 when this film came out, doesn't speak very much but has an exotic look that fits her role perfectly. Points should also be given to her on courage. The original score was written for full orchestra and conducted by Henry Mancini, one of his last efforts before dying in 1994. John Dykstra's effects, after twenty years, look sharp as a tack, but there seems to be corner-cutting in the wardrobe department. There is one episode where a nurse (Nancy Paul) is shown walking through an open field in vampire-style vestment. On first sight, it looks as if she's wearing a trash bag. When Carlsen is driving through London in the movie's climax, he is gripped by a hand that is supposed to be losing skin but clearly sliding off a white rubber glove. It's a Cannon film, so we'll let it go.
'Lifeforce' is available on DVD through MGM Home Entertainment in letterbox format only with three-language subtitles. Beware of the movie's differing versions: Cannon Films panicked when 'Lifeforce' was in the editing phase, making substantial cuts, overdoing sound effects, and replacing Mancini's score with synthesized music. A version for American and Canadian release, with much of the nudity and zombie gore taken out, has been distributed on VHS tape and is sometimes aired on cable TV stateside. The DVD version, which includes a special booklet on the film's production, restores 15 minutes of footage not seen anywhere in cinemas and uses the Mancini score that was unceremoniously dropped. 'Lifeforce' could have been the greatest B movie of all time, but it's getting some respect twenty years too late.
*** out of 4