★★½
You have to try pretty hard to make a movie about space vampires not even fun to watch. Which is how, even though, I found Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce to be dull at many times, it still isn’t a bad movie. Lifeforce is a movie fighting for its identity. Switching between a more serious film and something that is over-the-top.
So here’s the deal. A naked space vampire (played by Mathilda May), goes around seducing people as well as sucking the life out of them (with some awesome prosthetic effects) and then it turns out, the space vampires can also turn people into zombies. Patrick Stewart also shows up and he has hair blood shoots out of his eyes as his head explodes in one scene. That plot sounds like some cheesy 80s fun. But the issue is all the stuff in the middle of the plot I described. I think the film lacks focus and relied too much on the characters running around trying to stop the space vampires rather than showing the actual space vampires in action.
Lifeforce lacks the ability to be a serious or thought provoking horror film but also lacks the ability to fully embrace the extremely silly plot. But, the scenes where the film embraces the extravagance are easily the best parts of this uneven film.
Chris' Film Reviews 