Rent Lifeforce (1985)

Best Cannon Film ever made - Lifeforce review by JA

Directed by the late Tobe Hooper this science fiction horror film may well not be perfect and it is on the ridiculous side of things but it is highly enjoyable while not being boring for one moment. This is down to a solid cast giving it their all, good special and practical effects, believable production, action scenes that are typically 80s in all the best ways with explosions aplenty, an engrossing plot and a rousing score by Henry Mancini. It also is quite unique, weird and doesn't give up on its convictions while also being a film I can't imagine being filmed to the same high level with all its unique elements being done today.

Great British SciFi/Horror. - Lifeforce review by GI

This British scifi horror film was treated as low budget B movie on it's release and much derided by critics and the public alike but over the years it has gained a cult following and is now regarded as an interesting addition to the science fiction/horror genre hybrid. A space mission to study Halley's Comet as it passes close to Earth discovers a massive object hidden in the tail of the comet. The crew investigate and find the remains of an alien species and three human bodies which they return to their spaceship. But the ship is later found burnt out and the crew all dead although the strange bodies have survived the fire and are taken to Earth by a rescue ship where they awaken and unleash an ancient evil. The film is a great story and although the special effects may appear a little old fashioned by today's standards they are mostly shot in camera and are quite exciting. It's a violent film and occasionally gory and has a notoriety because French actress Mathilda May spends most of her screen time totally naked. The cast includes Steve Railsback as the Commander of the spacecraft, Peter Firth as an SAS Colonel and an early screen role for Patrick Stewart. This is one of my guilty secret films, a really entertaining piece of hokum from the Golan-Globus Productions (Cannon Films as it was to become) and well worth checking out as there's a restored BluRay version with two cuts of the film, the theatrical cut and a longer International version.

Excellent old sci-fi with more than one twist on the Vampire Genre - Lifeforce review by JD

I loved this film as a kid, is was a proper gritty sci-fi of the like id never seen at the time.

Watching it again as an adult a few things stand out. First is i didnt realise Dan Obannon was behind the writing - which explains some of the top drawer sci-fi.

On the negative its dated. Unlike say Alien or the Thing which are better today than the day they were released - this film is dated. An not just the special effects.

And another thing is the twist on the vampire tale. Typically, Vampires are a fantasy for young women. As seen in the twilight saga. This flips it on its head and makes no excuses for being more of a male fantasy. Its weird at times, but its different!

All in, great stuff.