Alien ‘turf’ wars!

I DO enjoy a good sci-fi flick, I’m not a Star Trek nerd or anything – I don’t go to conventions or wear homemade costumes – I just like the idea that humans may not be the only sentient beings in the universe.

British comedies are arguably more visceral and cutting than other films, perhaps because of the connotation, heavy dialogue and flippant disregard for convention.

Besides the tried and tested rom-com, it’s rare to mix movie genres to great effect; a good example is the Western/sci-fi disaster Cowboys and Aliens.

However, because comedy is so versatile it transcends genres and, when utilised properly in any other medium it can result in something brilliant.

Attack The Block is a sci-fi/ comedy that is as ridiculous as it is amusing and as gory as it is original.

Set in London on a council estate (the depressing and often dangerous block of flats where England’s poor live) a group of hoodie-clad kids with little to no education attempt to mug a fellow resident from the block as she walks home.

Moses (Boyega) and his gang of miscreants – Pest (Alex Esmail), Dennis, Jerome and Biggz – are right in the middle of mugging Sam (Whittaker), a nurse who has recently moved to London, when a meteor strikes a nearby car.
 
Inside the meteor is a bulking furry beast, with enough teeth to make Jaws quiver. The alien begins to prey on the young thugs who would otherwise be preying on more innocent people like Sam.

Since the boys are from a hard-as-nails estate in London, they don’t take too kindly to outer space monsters messing with their turf and set about hunting it down with planks of wood, bricks, knives and a number of other standard issue weapons lying around their homes.

As the film continues, the battle moves from public areas, where the young thugs are feared, to family homes in which they’re still seen as innocent children.

Since they’re around for the duration of the film, the audience is forced to view the gang as people rather than straight-forward criminals and question whether it’s the kids who let society down or vice versa. 

Meanwhile, more meteors fall to earth and pretty soon, the estate is teaming with monsters, forcing Sam to stick close to her would-be muggers for protection. She eventually begins to realise that the thugs she feared are not necessarily bad people, just products of their environment.

Along the way, the gang and Sam meet up with others living on the estate and an unlikely group of anti-heroes form to tackle the extraterrestrial threat.

Perhaps the strongest feature of the film is the cast. The majority of the actors are first time performers and that is exactly what makes the movie seem more genuine.

Having grown up myself on a pretty seedy council estate in West London, I was impressed with the authenticity of the set, the characters (not the aliens obviously) and the way in which kids are viewed.

The majority of youngsters who live on a council estate have seen and done it all. They all seem pretty streetwise and lack any fear ... that’s why they’re the perfect adversaries for the aliens and the estate is the perfect setting for the movie.

While delivering the laughs, and occasional scares, the film still manages to make some pretty poignant observations about segregation of the classes in Western society.

Showing in Cineco and Seef II