Attack The Block: Review

If we are led to believe, the places that are most dangerous are the inner city council areas of London, so it would seem an almost appropriate place to set Attack The Block, an alien invasion movie where the creatures from another world aren't up against the might of military power but a gang of teenage hoodies.

Samantha is walking home late one night in South London when she is mugged by five teenagers, and is saved from a fate worst by an object falling from the sky. When the gang leader, Moses, investigates, he is attacked by some strange, hairless creature and not wanting to be outdone, follows it to kill it, which he does and drags its dead carcass into the tower block like some trophy, not realising that there are loads more creatures coming down to earth and are descending on the same block, leading the thugs to become reluctant heroes and defend their territory.

Comedy presenter Joe Cornish (he of The Adam and Joe Show) makes his directorial début with this inventive horror comedy that follows in the same footsteps as Shaun of the Dead, taking a well-worn horror genre and giving it a modern spin. Does it work? Like hell it does!

In the beginning you are not quite sure if you should like this nasty thugs who attack an innocent young woman in the street, but Cornish does a very clever thing and turns this around so by the end you kind of feel sympathy for them, especially Moses. While it's not as funny as Shaun, it has some very impressive moments and plenty of shocks to keep horror fans happy.

The performances from the kids are spot-on. For a change, heavy street slang doesn't feel forced or unnatural and even if you sometimes cannot understand an word they are saying (how the American audiences are going to cope will be very interesting), you can still follow the humour in the conversation and you never once feel like these are actors trying to be street thugs. John Boyega is especially good as Moses, a 15-year-old who has a sense of pure menace about him while at the same time you feel kind of feel sorry for him. Jodie Whittaker is good as Samantha and Nick Frost is amusing as the local dope head.

There are some dubious moments and some times when you feel a little uncomfortable but this is a full-on assault which never outstays its welcome and Cornish has the good sense to keep it short and direct. The decision to make the creatures all black apart from the fluorescent razor sharp teeth works well too, so they come at you from the shadows.

This is a fun, roller-coaster ride of a movie and one that uses the parable of the dangers of modern life in the inner cities with alien attacks brilliantly. I would say, Independence day, this is how you do an invasion film. Cracking entertainment, and a superb début from a man who could be a film maker to watch.