Welcome to the first post in our all new Foes of Reality Island of Misfit Films review series. It is no secret that science fiction has a rich story-telling history in film, ranging from the ripping adventures of Star Wars through the visionary futurism of Blade Runner to the mind-bending paranoia and psychedelia of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The genre is equally well known for its cult classics, oddities, and clunkers. These misfits of sci-fi were celebrated earlier in February 2013 at the Chicago-area science fiction convention Capricon 33, in a panel titled So Awful, It’s Awesome: Guilty Pleasures. The Saturday-night gathering was such a hit that there is already talk of dedicated “So Awful, They’re Awesome” film programing at Capricon 34.
If So Awful, It’s Awesome made one thing clear, it is that there are many, many, many must-see science fiction movies, good and bad, that disappear with their box office misfortunes. The Island of Misfit Films series attempts to rescue these poor unfortunates from oblivion for your viewing pleasure.
As our inaugural review in the series, Lifeforce presents something of an unusual case. Fellow Foe Steven Long and I saw this gem in theaters during its original theatrical run back in the mid 1980s. It is difficult to remember details, but our motivation for buying tickets probably hinged on an adolescent compulsion to stare in wonderment at Mathilda May’s boobs. What we ultimately gained from the movie was so much more.
Lifeforce begins with a joint British and American space mission aboard the ESA shuttle Churchill to study Haley’s Comet. The flight team is thrown for a loop when they discover a massive artificial object concealed at the very edge of the comet’s coma. Further investigation reveals a ginormous alien spacecraft filled with thousands of desiccated humanoid bat creatures and three perfectly preserved naked humans; two male (boo hiss) and one female (score!).
Look into my eyes… hey! I said my eyes, damn it!
It turns out that what the Churchill crew discovers is nothing less than a roving band of naked space vampires. I cannot overemphasize the magnitude of bat-shit crazy epicness packed into that concept: Naked. Space. Vampires. Suck it, Twilight.
The middle part of the film is essentially a race against time to figure out what the hell is going on and stop it before something bad happens. Sadly our heroes are confounded by a subplot involving Sir Patrick Stewart, who plays the director of an asylum for the criminally insane. The distraction allows the naked space vampires time enough to unleash a pyric zombie apocalypse on London Town and bring the film to its toe-curling climax.
Was it good for you, too?
No, I am not making this up. And yes, it is that awesome.
Lifeforce is undeniably one of the most ridiculous films you will ever see, as well as one of the most entertaining. It is also well crafted and amazingly well budgeted for its premise; boasting top-notch visual effects by Academy Award winner John Dykstra, solid performances by Peter Firth, Patrick Stewart, and Frank Finlay, and a script that stubbornly refuses to fall apart around the actors. It was scored by legendary film composer Henry Mancini (Blake Edwards’ Pink Panther films, The Glenn Miller Story), and directed by Tobe Hooper, still riding the wave of Poltergeist’s success from 1982 and the legend of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974.
This brings us to a critical question: Is Lifeforce a movie so bad that it’s good or a good movie that was a bad idea to make? Considering that the film made only 11.6 of its 25 million dollar budget back at the box office, that answer is likely in the eye of the beholder. It is worth watching to decide for yourself, especially if you don’t mind a certain amount of gratuitous nudity and cartoon violence. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. Lifeforce is scheduled for release as a collector’s edition Blu-ray on April 30th. At the price of a Netflix rental, you won’t be disappointed.
Fellow U.S.S. Alaric member here. I actually like this movie and have had it for a while, on VHS of coarse. Does anyone else recall that there was a NES title named after the movie? The game has nothing to do with the movie other that there are aliens and space ships involved. It’s actually a port of the game Salamander, which is a game in the Gradius series.
I like that you guys are digging up some of these buried sci-fi gems.I eagerly await future reviews.
Hey Ken, welcome aboard! Always room for another Star Trek fan around here.
Holy crap, there was a Nintendo game even loosely based on Lifeforce? I totally missed that, and I owned an NES console back in the 90s. I feel a little cheated by fate now.
I love Lifeforce, enough that I picked it up on DVD years ago (not the world’s best transfer, unfortunately) and might very well pick up the Blu-ray in April since it will include some extra features MGM was too cheap to put on the initial DVD release. I love films that take chances, even if they don’t always work out in the end (well, sometimes especially if they don’t work out in the end). Tobe Hooper took a huge chance adapting a book like Colin Wilson’s “The Space Vampires” to film. That level of determination and chutzpah will win me over every time.
You’re in luck! I have another vintage 1980′s film lined up for this week. It is perhaps the most successful little-remembered film of all time.
Bahaha, I think I remember this one! Definitely have to revisit it. We just watched the fourth “Planet of the Apes” movie last night–Roland couldn’t make it to the end, gave up and went to bed. Can’t wait to see the fifth and final installment! It was so bad, but I just loved watching Roddy McDowell (and Kim Hunter in the earlier ones)–he just made them worth the agony of such a bad plot! (BTW, Roland’s never seen “Soylent Green” and doesn’t have a clue as to what it’s about–it just came in from Netflix. Can’t wait to see what he thinks).
Our Star Trek club has been watching shows from the 70′s the last few movie nights. That’s another arena altogether.
Surely Roland knows by now that, “Soylent Green is people!” He must!
Oh boy…”Shows from the 70′s” is a topic unto itself. For now, see if you can screen Lifeforce to your Star Trek club on the merit of Patrick Stewart’s role in the film. Take it all in good fun and you won’t be disappointed!
He doesn’t–really!! He had such a sheltered life growing up as a kid in Switzerland-! Good suggestion!
I love those rayguns!
I think… so bad that it’s good? I remember leaving the theater thinking that I enjoyed it, but knowing that it was weird and kind of a mess, and not what I was expecting. I remember being mystified by the “romance” plot between the space dude and the charming, oft-times naked female vampire who seemed to have very little actual personality.
If that’s as close as I get to someone commenting, “Hey! Nice guns!” then my work here is done.
I think you need to go back and see the movie again, Steve. You saw it in a theater almost 30 years ago. I just re-watched the DVD last night. It holds up remarkably well for all that, and the story is more silly than messy. There’s no way in hell the movie should have been green-lit, but the film that came out of that bad decision is remarkably good even as it is totally bonkers. Rent it and see!
I will! I think Sci-fi type movies sometimes stand up better because they’re by their nature otherworldly. As an adult, of course, I’m only interested in the artistic quality of boobs.
I think I saw this with you (and probably Jon: we were always together then). I also remember a lot of argument about the ending with the sword.
Re-watching this recently, it has the feel of a expensive (and adult) 80′s Doctor Who episode.
I think you did see it with us (Jon, too), and you’re right; this was very much in the mold of vintage 80′s Doctor Who with more nudity and really good VFX. It would be nice to see films taking chances again like they did in the 80′s. Fun stuff.
I remember the sword! The sword, and the cool zombies that though they might be cheesy by today’s standards, I could also watch (today) without being grossed out.