I love to talk about movies with my buddies. If anyone new joins the group and asks if I have any recommendations for any new movies to watch, I immediately stop them. Before they spend time on any new movies, I always ask, "Have you seen Attack the Block yet?"

Because, it was not a very popular movie (it made less than $7 million world wide when it was released in 2011) most people look at me like an inquisitive dog cocking its head wondering why that human is throwing out that perfectly good fat that was left on its plate. People usually ask, "What's it about? Is it any good?"

This is where the fun starts.

I usually just tell them the tag line and then gauge their expression as to whether or not I should continue. Attack the Block's tagline is...

Inner City vs. Outer Space

If I haven't lost them, I then explain that the "inner city" isn't in America, it is in South London. If they were semi-interested by the tag, most are full in when I mention this interesting tidbit. The movie is all about a bike gang in a rough London neighborhood.

No that was not a typo. These guys are not a "biker gang"...
They are a gang of 15 year old kids on bicycles.

Without giving away too many spoilers, Attack the Block is about a gang of fifteen year olds (and a couple of 9 year olds) who have to do battle with aliens who fall from the sky into their neighborhood. It's kind of like The Goonies... if it were rated R and all the kids swore, smoked marijuana and robbed people.

In order to gauge whether or not they will like it, I ask if they have ever seen any of John Carpenter's action/horror movies of the early 80s. If they liked Assault on Precinct 13, The Fog, or Escape From New York (especially this one) I think it is safe to assume they will like Attack the Block. It is almost as if the writers sat down and said, "Man I miss dark 80s action/horror movies. Let's make one just like that!"

Everything about this movie reminds me of the style of Escape From New York (and I LOVED Escape From New York). The pacing, the use of music, the violence and the interesting characters are all there. There is also an awesome anti-hero. And I love a good anti-hero. Before I even knew what that phrase meant, Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell, was my absolute favorite. Attack the Block has an equally compelling anti-hero named Moses. Oh, this may interest you...

Moses is played by John Bodega.

Who?

Before he became Finn, John Bodega was Moses (I guess he has a thing for no last names).

Even though the cast is comprised of young "nobodies", they all did a very good job. The main female character, a nurse who the gang mugs and later befriends, is played very well by Jodie Whittaker. One of my favorite parts of the movie is trying figure out what the heck the kids are saying. They speak in a very thick South London accent filled with colorful slang. I have seen the movie a half dozen times and I still hear something new with each viewing. A primary source may need to correct me on this one, but to me, they all sound a lot like Alli G.

Respect!

There its one huge difference between this and the 80s movies it appears to be paying homage to: this movie has decent special effects. The up side of this is that the creatures actually look pretty cool and believable. The bad news is that the gore is a little too realistic for me. The movie is about predatory aliens with sharp teeth so when they attack, its a pretty gross. Personally I do not care for the gore, but I love everything else so much that I have watched this movie repeatedly.

Because the film only had a budget of $13 million dollars, the effects are far from perfect. But when you factor in the fact that they needed to do this as cheaply as possible, it makes me appreciate the effects even more. The creatures are a bit "hokey" but I think that may be as a result of the desire to pay homage to movies like "The Thing". To me, I felt the effects were imperfect on purpose. This actually increased my enjoyment of the movie.

If I still haven't convinced them to see the movie at this point, I dip into my reserves and point out that the movie was produced by Big Talk Pictures which also produced: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

If that doesn't work, I tell them that the movie is only 82 minutes long. What do they have to lose?

Have you seen Attack the Block? What did you think?

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