If only the aliens roared with a British accent.
Released: 2011
Genre(s): Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy
Every now and then, some writer or director manages to effectively mix two of my favorite genres together to create the potent (and incredibly enjoyable) cocktail of horror-comedy - when a movie can find that delicate balance of providing wild thrills, while managing to not take itself too seriously, the end product is pure entertainment. "Attack the Block" is one such film, effortlessly transitioning between amusing, quip-heavy dialogue to scenes of intense action and then back again. While the frights are a little underwhelming, with most being provided in the form of predictable jump-scares, the mere wit of this movie, acted out flawlessly by its cast of talented British youths, is enough alone to check this entry out. Whenever a horror-style movie can inject a healthy helping of genuine heart into itself, it makes watching it all the more interesting: feeling for the main character and his pack of teenage ruffians is not hard once the strife they're placed in gets heavy enough to bring out their inner vulnerabilities. This isn't done in any cheesy or forced way, but rather subtly through the group's interactions with one another and individual mannerisms. As the characters begin to unfold a bit, the human element of this movie strikes hard. This causes obvious parallels between this film and "Shaun of the Dead" - coincidentally produced by members of the same team responsible for "Attack the Block" - which managed to splice in some rather somber moments between all the zombie-bashing and goofy dialogue. While "Attack the Block" proves to be a wickedly gratifying watch, I'd be overselling it if I were to call it "genius" or even try to argue that it holds some importance in the history of movies. Regardless, it's a film that can appeal to a large spectrum of movie-lovers, who may find their time spent in the British slums to be far more fun than expected.
Rating (out of 5): 4
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