Attack of The Block a Fresh And Fun Exercise In An Ordinarily Bland Genre

At this point, alien invasion films are almost as big of a cultural zeitgeist as vampire films. Thus, with such a high output of mediocrity in a tried genre, putting out an original—and more importantly—good alien invasion film is nothing short of a grand feat. Fortunately, Attack the Block manages to do so with captivating gusto.

Attack the Block, the feature film debut from writer/director Joe Cornish (writing partner of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright) centers on a South London gang of young misfits led by the ruthless teen Moses (John Boyega).

The film opens with Moses orchestrating a mugging of humble nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker). Immediately, a snarly ape-like alien crashes out of orbit, right in the midst of Moses and his crew, to which they gleefully slaughter the beast. Soon after, they find themselves facing a plethora of big, snarling, dog-like beasts with neon fangs terrorizing their block; and Moses and his crew must put aside class and racial differences to team up with Sam to battle the extraterrestrial beasts.

Sporting a clever script, modest budget, and relatively unknown actors, Cornish turns what would ordinarily be another run-of-the-mill invasion flick into a smart and stylish exercise in genre filmmaking that at its best, recalls the early work of iconic cult filmmaker John Carpenter.

Though the film was made with a relatively minuscule budget of $13 million, Cornish manages to pull off effective action and impressive creature design that, at times, rival overblown CGI-heavy films like the Transformers series and its contemporaries.

Boyega and his cronies work together like a multicultural band of merry prankster punks as they battle their way through the invasion with some hilarious South London slang.

Also featured in the cast is Nick Frost, whose inept pothead character provides much of the film’s perfectly timed comic relief.

However, the real breakout star of the film is Boyega, whose transformation from ruthless thug to the unlikely selfless hero is one of the more central elements to the success of this film.

Though its U.S. release is serendipitously timed with the recent youth riots plaguing London, Attack the Block has subtle social and racial undertones associated with those riots, and its overarching message challenges audiences to break such stereotypes.

Attack the Block is a fresh and fun exercise in an ordinarily bland genre.

Overall Grade: B

Attack the Block opens today in select cities, click here for theaters and showtimes.