Oozing 80s sci-fi charm out of every corner, Lifeforce is a tremendous effort from Texas Chain Saw Massacre director, Tobe Hooper. Vampires, zombies, and horror galore, there’s a lot to digest with this film, primarily because of how out there it is. A loud, rambunctious film that throws logic and science out the window, replacing it with visuals and editing choices that look to riff on the technological advancements this decade saw. It does so with a real knack for the genre, we should expect no less than Hooper, a man who clearly understands his craft and has a clear intention in mind. His free reign and blessing from producers to make a loose adaptation of a book barely anyone has read is fascinating, and Lifeforce conflates the 80s aesthetic with the 60s pastiche.
A space shuttle investigating the seemingly mundane nature of Halley’s Comet soon realise that deep within the confines of this bit of rock, there are vampires idly waiting for a new host. They return to Earth, where they begin to, quite literally, suck the life out of people, turning them into skeletal zombie creatures with no hopes of ever returning to their normal way of life. Lifeforce ramps up the expectations rather rapidly, and it amazes me that it never becomes a film that wants its audience to mock it or laugh along at the expense of our protagonists. Ultimately, Lifeforce doubles down on the severity of the situation, and we follow Colonel Tom Carlson (Steve Railsback) as he races against the clock to save humanity.
It’d be the tried and tested formula if it weren’t for a plot that truly pushes the limit of what an audience can swallow. Saving the world, teamwork, an older member of the group who has seen it all before or, at the very least, is eerily clued into what’s going on, Lifeforce has it all. With that in mind, though, it’s what Hooper manages to achieve with his technical aspects and design choices that make it such a convincingly terrifying watch. Chilling designs for the zombies, a genuinely frightening sight to behold even after a long thirty-five years stifled in relative obscurity. What Hooper manages to achieve in the lighting and colour department is beyond expectation also, riffing on the classic space mission films of decades gone by, glazing over their prose and perfectionism in a surreal opening ten minutes.
The Hammer Horror inspirations are underlying throughout, if you look closely enough, you’ll spot Hooper’s love for that era of the genre. Lifeforce is a solid horror flick, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet has a superb narrative to it that follows the terrified people of London battling zombies and vampires. Performances that could use some work, but roles that are ultimately filled in well and serve their purpose, alongside strong direction from Hooper. Many might say that The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is the finest work Hooper ever offered us in his fascinatingly strange career. Those people have yet to see Lifeforce.
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