Watch Lifeforce For Free

Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Brilliant!

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The screenplay is very confusing all the way through. The backgrounds are quite unconvincing and hard to decipher what you are seeing inside the space ship and elsewhere. And frankly it was pretty darn boring. I forced myself to watch it to the end and wish I hadn't bothered. If I were Henry Mancini and/or Patrick Stewart, I would be embarrassed to have my name connected to this dog.The only good thing in this movie was the vampire girl, who was very pretty. She didn't make it worth watching though, and I give it 2 stars instead of one only because of her and her nude scenes.

By 1985, Hooper's career was in limbo. Sure, he'd tasted box office success with 1982's Poltergeist, but he'd also be dogged with rumors — or truths — that he'd not really directed the film. Toss in a bad experience on 1981's Venom, a film that he was replaced on ten days into shooting (Klaus Kinski claimed that the cast and crew ganged up on Hooper in an effort to have him replaced), as well as being replaced as the director of The Dark and a rumored nervous breakdown.A three picture deal with Cannon Films and the promise of no interference would be the panacea that would soothe Hooper's pain. Or so he thought.The first film in the three picture deal was Lifeforce. Based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel The Space Vampires and scripted by Dan O'Bannon (Alien, Return of the Living Dead) and Don Jakoby, the film was originally going to use the original title. After spending $25 million to make it, Cannon decided that they wanted a blockbuster instead of their normal exploitation films, hence the change to Lifeforce.Once Hooper had his money and freedom, he was beyond excited, seeing the film as his chance to remake Quatermass and the Pit. In fact, he said, "I thought I'd go back to my roots and make a 70 mm Hammer film."Hopper turned in an initial film that was 128 minutes long, starting with 12 minutes of near silence in space aboard a space shuttle. This is 12 minutes longer than the final version which had several scenes cut, most of them taking place on the space shuttle Churchill. Three actors — John Woodnutt, John Forbes-Robertson and Russell Sommers — ended up completely cut from the final film, as was some of Henry Mancini's score.Even worse — the film went way over schedule and cost so much that the film was shut down when the studio ran out of money, leaving some of the most important scenes unshot.Look — it could have been worse. Michael Winner was the original choice to direct.So what's it all about? Good question.The crew of the Churchill discovers a massive spaceship — nearly 150 miles long and shaped like an artichoke (no, really) — inside Halley's Comey. Hundreds of dead bat creatures surround the ship and inside, two perfect males and one perfect female sleep in suspended animation. They take the aliens and come back to Earth, because there are no protocols or rules about that kind of thing. I mean, I can't even fly back from Japan with fruit and these dudes take aliens directly to London.Tragedy strikes — a fire consumes the ship, destroying everything and everyone except for the aliens. The aliens turn out to be vampires that can shape shift and suck out the life force of everyone they meet.In Texas, a survivor is found — Colonel Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback, Manson from Helter Skelter!). He explains how the crew's life force was taken and why he set the shuttle on fire. He also has a psychic link to the female alien (the constantly naked Mathilda May). Patrick Stewart also shows up as Dr. Armstrong here — who has the female vampire inside him. They take her/him back to London, but the plan backfires when she/he escapes.Read more at www.bandsaboutmovies.com/2017/09/11/tobe-hooper-week- lifeforce-1985/

Ah 1985, as the song says "still preoccupied with 1985". That's got to be my favorite year. I was 19 turning 20 that year and surprisingly, I did not see this movie on the big screen, even though I caught just about every flick I could back in the day, I don't recall hearing about this one or any fervor or hoopla over it, at least not in my little circle. I saw this years later on cable and love it! I've not seen it in many years and once again caught it on cable and oh how wonderful it was/is. Before CGI, movie studios had to use more conventional special affects, molds, man made dolls, animation, animatronics, etc. For it's time this was a first rate effort. The special affects, while now a little dated, are still amazing to me when viewed in context. This movie is a horror scifi vampire movie. With all the English actors and accents it feels like an updated Hammer film and I've always loved hammer, although it's not. I highly recommend this as best in class for that error and Mathilda May, what more can be said there, nudity abounds, woohoo, still preoccupied with 1985.

Lifeforce is a refreshing surprise for Sci Fi fans. Truly this is my favorite Sci Fi, films with actors I respect and love, plus one beautiful babe, with some nice bouncing goodies. The story is great too. Three perfectly preserved bodies, where hiding within their forms are vampires, kept in glass coffins, are found in outer space by some astronauts, headed by the great Railsback, where admittedly this was the first film I saw this great, serious, and conscientious actor in. Suddenly their naked forms come to life and they all escape. What they do, is draw energy from an unwitting being, where that infected being instantly becomes a skeletal form, and within many hours, he or she it explodes where they just becomes one big pile of crumbling dirt. In this case, with her whopping features, the babe (Mathilda May) becomes great eye candy, and certainly has an affect on Railsback, in many ways. Things get better when enter the great Firth as an Agent trying to get to the bottom of problem ends up working with Railsback, totally smitten of course by that babe on the loose, as remember we've get this plague, which you'll never guess where it spreads from London. As though may'be, you're expecting more action and gore, though one shocking moment in a helicopter will paralyze and mesmerize you, that's what I felt too with this film, but for me, it's the story and those two great leads, that somehow made up for it. I'm talking too, especially Firth, such a friggin' versatile and underestimated acting talent, deserved of much more respect and notice. The effects are great and there's some humor too, where hey, there are bits that get bogged down with the business instead of the action, but here's a different sort of sci fi, which I must say, stands unique, to all it's others, and does have some style. And too, like I said, you've got two great leads, with performances that will, definitely hold your attention. Director Tobe 'chainsaw' Hooper has definitely pulled off something special and different here, in this '85 outing.