“Attack the Block” is a clever parable about the English class system. It also happens to be a badass alien invasion comedy.
A movie like this gives you the sense that most people in horror movies simply aren’t having enough fun. The teenage kids that run the show in “Attack the Block” chase down these “wolf gorilla motherf***ers” not with fear but with enthusiasm and casual pleasures, and it’s a thrill to be a part of.
The punk heroes of “Attack the Block” are egotistical, territorial little buggers from a project in East London. A gang of five kids led by Moses (John Boyega) mug a young nurse (Jodie Whitaker) and are then interrupted by the crash landing arrival of what looks like an alien creature. They brutally kill it because they can and hoist it around as a trophy.
Then the fun begins. The real monsters, pitch-black bear-like creatures with gaping neon blue teeth, start terrorizing the block and Moses’s gang. Their isolated presence in their neighborhood signifies the unbalanced class divide in London. For as cool as these set pieces are, there’s a terrifying sense that even if it weren’t an alien invasion harming the projects, no one who “matters” would believe, notice or care.
They even start to wonder if this is a government conspiracy to help the black people kill each other faster. You don’t often see this kind of societal and racial depth in mainstream horror movies.
The difference is that “Attack the Block” is a British indie by the comedian and first time filmmaker Joe Cornish. He not only gives us tightly directed action sequences that squeeze every penny (pence?) of the film’s smallish budget of $13 million but also gives us some laughs in some unexpected places.
It’s hardly a full-blown comedy, but with a strong character actor performance by Nick Frost, it’s easy to see how the film has drawn inspiration from “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” What’s more fitting is that Edgar Wright, the director of both films, is a producer here.
What remains in “Attack the Block” is still a wholly original experience brimming with excitement and a few laughs, finding an interesting way to tell a parable about street crime and culture along the way.
3 ½ stars