Though I've always been a fan of alien invasion/visitation movies, I've usually had a soft spot for those with children as the protagonists rather than adults. While older characters would respond to extraterrestrial visitors (peaceful or otherwise) with hostility or outright violence, kids would usually approach the aliens with a sense of wonder, inquisitiveness, and even joy.
After all, the gentle friendship between boy and alien was one of the many elements that made E.T. such a timeless classic. Likewise, almost thirty years later, J.J. Abrams' Super 8 came out, and though it was nowhere near as sublimely beautiful as Spielberg's masterpiece, it was still a terrific story free of cynicism and a great example of how young characters can remind us of the importance of empathy and friendship.
But of course, not all youngsters are as squeaky-clean as we'd like to think. Some of them either try to grow up too fast, or become emotionally hardened by unfortunate circumstances such as a dysfunctional family life, poverty, or just plain poor decision-making. And then there are those kids who join street gangs, trying to prove their worth by stealing and being "hard" (is that what kids these days still say? Not entirely sure).
So if some critter from outer space came a-knockin', would a gangbanger try to make friends with it, or go to war with the varmint encroaching on their turf? This is the scenario that drives Joe Cornish's directorial debut Attack the Block, a fabulous sci-fi independent film that defies a tiny budget and delivers the goods in regards to terrific acting, solid action, and good old-fashioned tension.
One night in the Kennington district of London, nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is accosted and mugged by a young group of thugs-- leader Moses (John Boyega), Pest (Alex Esmail), Jerome (Leeon Jones), Dennis (Franz Drameh), and Biggz (Simon Howard)-- but she manages to escape when a small object plummets from the sky and crashes into a nearby car. It turns out that the object is actually a small alien creature. When the alien suddenly attacks, the gang manages to kill it. Hoping to gain fame with the creature's body, the boys bring the corpse to the flat of pot dealer Ron (Nick Frost).
Ron goes to his dealer boss Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter) to ask to store the alien in Hi-Hatz's vault-like "weed room". Amused but not believing it's an alien, Hi-Hatz allows it, but forcing Moses to continue selling his weed on the streets. Soon, more objects come crashing from the sky. Believing that an alien invasion is occurring, Moses' crew excitedly decides trek out to kill the creatures themselves, armed with only katanas, fireworks, and clubs.
But they soon realize they're way in over their heads when they discover that these new creatures are bigger, stronger, and much more dangerous. It seems as though the aliens are after Moses and his crew, and as such begin to besiege the crew's apartment complex (known as the "Block"). Forced to enlist the reluctant aid of both Ron's pot customer Brewis (Luke Treadaway) and the gang's female friend Tia (Danielle Vitalis), Moses and his crew must not only figure out a way to both survive and deter the nightstalkers on their tails, but also the wrath of Hi-Hatz and his lackies.
One of the more fascinating aspects of directorial debuts like Attack the Block is the fact that the filmmaker has only a tiny budget to work with, forcing him or her to use more creativity and imagination than one with a $200 million budget would have to. After all, Sam Raimi compensated for his $400,000 budget on the first Evil Dead by utilizing creative camera shots and practical special effects. Quentin Tarantino made up for Reservoir Dogs' $2 million funds by making dialogue the star of the show. And British director Edgar Wright's comedy/horror classic Shaun of the Dead relied on a combination of the previous two, despite only having $5 million to his name.
And it's that type of "backed-into-a-financial-corner" ingenuity that's adopted by Wright's buddy Joe Cornish. A comedian and writer from London, Cornish was best known for directing behind-the-scenes documentaries for both the BBC and Wright's Shaun and Hot Fuzz, before finally getting to helm this "E.T. meets The Outsiders"-style invasion picture, and it's a debut that works beautifully despite the £9,000,000 budget (or $13 million in American dollars). And while the snappy dialogue and visual aesthetic may lead one to initially believe that Block may be a Shaun of the Dead-style laughfest, it's actually quite the opposite.
While not a deeply depressing portrait of street life, this is no comedy, at least in the traditional sense. Much of the humor derives from the camaraderie of the wannabe street kings in Moses' gang, with their deadpan delivery giving the film an extra boost of energy. It helps that the cast is almost entirely made up of no-name actors (the most familiar being Nick Frost, of the aforementioned Wright comedies), making the playing field fresh and exciting, giving all of the young actors a chance to shine. The scene-stealer in this case is Boyega as the emotionally-withdrawn leader of this band of Lost Boys. Clearly frightened by the position life's put him in (thanks in part to a negligent family life), his Moses goes from thieving punk to reluctant hero in a seamless fashion.
As far as action goes, the paltry budget does indeed become obvious, but proves itself a benefit rather than a hindrance. The majority of the action is localized in the gang's apartment complex, allowing a highly claustrophobic atmosphere not unlike Ridley Scott's Alien, where the monster can strike from the shadows at any moment. Here, the scary aliens are pitch black in color (with luminescent green jaws the only visible aspect), and it's clear that the filmmakers relied more on practical effects than CGI. But in the end it works, and the creatures serve as formidable antagonists to the street thugs who take it upon themselves to fight back with their wits and less-than-conventional weaponry.
But what works the most about Attack the Block is how tightly edited and brisk the film feels. If there's any unnecessary fat on the meat of the movie, then it's almost non-existent, and the 88 minute runtime easily sustains itself with a simple premise and no unneeded subplots or extraneous sci-fi explanations (a problem that somewhat plagued Super 8's third act). What's presented is simply an exciting, well-crafted, and clever sci-fi/action yarn that defies the stupidity that bloats most of today's movies specific to such genres.
Letter Grade: "A-"
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