'Attack the Block' pits ferocious furballs from outer space against teen gang members (review) on Astini News
Guy Fawkes Night in London is a time for fireworks, fooling around and an occasional surprise or two. But when vicious extraterrestrials decide to crash the hellraisers' holiday in "Attack the Block," a time for making merry quickly turns scary.
Writer-director Joe Cornish also ensures it's frequently humorous as well.
"Gotta catch 'em all!" whoops one of the South London teens who's trying to hunt down the aliens. "This ain't Pokemon!" snaps one of his friends.
No, Pikachu, Meowth and Jigglypuff have little in common with these eyeless masses of black fur that gallop through the streets and might easily blend into the shadows, were it not for their tendency to display their rows of luminous teal-colored teeth.
It's often said that nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and that's precisely what the monsters do for the residents of Wyndham Tower, one of those high-rise "council estates" that looks like a prettied-up prison, with its barren hallways, harsh fluorescent lights and often surly inhabitants.
While walking home from work, nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker, of "Venus" and "One Day") is mugged by five of her teenaged Wyndham Tower neighbors, led by the proudly thuggish Moses (John Boyega). The robbery is interrupted when everyone is nearly incinerated by a flaming projectile that's revealed to be a freak from outer space.
Moses succeeds in killing the creature, but what seems like a triumph has unexpected consequences, as he and his gang are pursued by more of the otherworldly invaders; in no time at all, Wyndham Tower (which the teens refer to as "the block") is literally crawling with the creatures.
A still-bitter Sam wants nothing to do with the kids, especially after they break into her apartment and urge her to help Pest (Alex Esmail), a member of their crew whose leg was gnawed by one of the ferocious predators. "I've only just graduated," Sam snarls, "and I missed the class on alien bite wounds!"
It's not startling to learn that Cornish acted in both "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," or to see "Shaun" and "Fuzz" director Edgar Wright credited as one of the executive producers of "Block."
This frisky, vigorous spoof (propelled by an insistent electronic score by Steven Price) shows a similar sensibility in its breezy blending of goofiness and gruesomeness. No wonder Nick Frost turns up in a plum supporting role as a marijuana dealer who seems to blissfully float above the chaos around him.
If "Block" is not as consistently witty or hilarious as "Shaun" or "Fuzz," it certainly scores as a rousing, affectionate throwback to the mid-1980s heyday of New World Pictures, the now-defunct studio that regularly released tongue-in-cheek thrillers like "C.H.U.D." (the acronym stood for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller"), "Humanoids From the Deep" ("They hunt human women," the ads declared. "Not for killing, For mating.") and "The Stuff" (which is about a toxic ice cream substitute — oh, yes, it is).
It's also a movie full of fresh, funny performances from Whittaker, Boyega, Esmail and Luke Treadaway, who is a glazy-eyed delight as a college student who puts his penchant for pot aside long enough to figure out how to save the day — or night.
It's sometimes challenging to understand the mash-up of patois, Cockney slang and hip-hop terms spoken by the younger characters. But a good scream (or a good laugh) sounds the same in any language.
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