Attack The Block
Attack the Block concerns itself with a group of South London street-kids who bring the wrath of an alien swarm on themselves when they kill the first one they meet.
It’s a fun, short, punchy movie, permeated throughout with South London lingo, scared but brave kids born and bred in the London ghetto, trying to survive.
It starts with the gang who become our main characters mugging a lone woman (who becomes part of the group trying to escape/fight off the aliens), and they seem like a gang of scumbags. As it develops, we see a more human side to them, and get a sense of a tough life (though not as much of a sense as could have been explored – but hey, this is pure B-Movie, so that’s fine). As one of the characters says after someone says they don’t like going through corridors waiting to be picked off, “sounds like another day to me.” It’s fresh, and lively, and keeps up a good pace, showing both the courage and the fear of the protagonists, and it does a reasonable job using the young cast (who I think are non-actors in the main) to best effect. It was also very well directed by the debut director, Joe Cornish.
A lot of fun.
Overall: 7/10
Rewatchability: Yearly, suitable for older teens up (lots of strong language)