Attack the block review - British Film

Attack the Block is a 2011 British monster movie. Written and directed by Joe Cornish in his directorial debut, it comes from the same writing and production stable as other horror/comedies such as Shaub of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. The world. It runs for 88 minutes and had a budget of £8 million, making £3 million in the box office.  Attack the Block is set on a council estate in South London on Guy Fawkes Night, and, with some coming of age themes, the plot centres on a teenage street gang who have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders. Moses (John Boyega), a 15-year-old thug, is being busted for mugging a trainee nurse (Jodie Whittaker) when the first monster one lands and dispatches his would-be captors. Moses kills the creature and plans to sell the corpse, but then more of the bloodthirsty creatures start landing. The film focuses on a group of teenage boys; Moses, Pest (Alex Esamail), Jerome (Leeon Jones), and Dennis (Franz Drameh) and Biggz (Simon Howard).

The kids react to an alien like most inner city thugs would with a mixture of hostility, panic and confusion. Their innocence is proven when they take it to the block’s older drug dealer (Nick Frost) because he watches “National Geographic”. It’s their reactions that are both funny and realistically grounded that provides the film with its own attitude that stays consistent throughout it. Attack the Block is full of witty humorous dialogue and exciting ideas. It’s got a great set of young actors taking charge and very effective aliens that don’t disappoint in the special effects department. 

The excellent pacing is a main reason why the film never begins to flutter or slow down, there’s always something happening. It’s a thrill ride that never stops. The kids keep managing to find trouble with the aliens as well as other members around the block, barely escaping at times. The action is fierce and handled very well for a director who has never had an opportunity to handle large scale action sequences like this before. The choreography makes every movement easy to watch, and the night setting extracts tension in every shadow or dark corridor.

The aliens are simple in design but their appearance is an understatement for their devilishly vicious taste for flesh. They look like balls of fur with rows of sharp teeth that glow. It’s rare for a film creature to stay entertaining without wearing out its welcome, but Cornish does a praiseworthy job of adding new elements into the mix that changes up the proceedings. It helps too that the pouncing aliens are never given a proper origin explanation and are purely focused on ripping people to shreds. This lets you focus on the narrative alone not some random explanation to why they are here.