It's a shame that this movie moved so quickly through the opening space sequence because it was the most interesting aspect this film had to offer. In fact, I would even go as far as to say if they had made the entire film about the astronauts finding and exploring the alien vessel, then bringing the lifeforms onboard to study and examine, the concluding results would have been ten fold more effective and a hundred fold more intriguing.
However, the film is actually about space vampires wreaking havoc on London. After the disappointingly brief opening space sequence, in which space vampires are brought back to Earth, the film centers on the efforts of British military and scientific intelligence trying to track and contain the vampires. The film reminded me of John Carpenter's masterpiece "The Thing" because the soul of the Vampires can transfer into different bodies and assume the identity of the host body, so there is an element of paranoia (though not nearly as effective as "The Thing") about who exactly is who.
The film's merits include the very attractive lead vampriess (Matilda May), who is effectively spooky (despite having has practically no lines) as she struts around nude sucking the life out of those who may attempt to stand in her way. Special effects are decent and interesting throughout. Patrick Stewart also turns in a gruesome performance.
The movie's downfall comes from its poor pacing and incorrect focus. It should have been focusing more on the adventures of the space vampires and their connection to mythological vampires. This would be fresh and exciting. Instead the film focuses on the investigation of officials, which is drab and pretty standard. Also, the rules are annoyingly never made clear as to exactly how a vampire can possess someone, what happens to the vampire's body, and what happens to the victim exactly...seems they turn to dust sometimes and others times not...
This film just didn't know what to do with itself or its premise.
Not the worst sci-fi movie I've ever seen, but definitely nowhere near the best. The story could have been much, much better. I expected more from a screenplay written by Dan 'O Bannon (Alien, Total Recall). My imdb rating - 5/10 For hardcore fans of the genre only.
Noob Aalox
However, the film is actually about space vampires wreaking havoc on London. After the disappointingly brief opening space sequence, in which space vampires are brought back to Earth, the film centers on the efforts of British military and scientific intelligence trying to track and contain the vampires. The film reminded me of John Carpenter's masterpiece "The Thing" because the soul of the Vampires can transfer into different bodies and assume the identity of the host body, so there is an element of paranoia (though not nearly as effective as "The Thing") about who exactly is who.
The film's merits include the very attractive lead vampriess (Matilda May), who is effectively spooky (despite having has practically no lines) as she struts around nude sucking the life out of those who may attempt to stand in her way. Special effects are decent and interesting throughout. Patrick Stewart also turns in a gruesome performance.
The movie's downfall comes from its poor pacing and incorrect focus. It should have been focusing more on the adventures of the space vampires and their connection to mythological vampires. This would be fresh and exciting. Instead the film focuses on the investigation of officials, which is drab and pretty standard. Also, the rules are annoyingly never made clear as to exactly how a vampire can possess someone, what happens to the vampire's body, and what happens to the victim exactly...seems they turn to dust sometimes and others times not...
This film just didn't know what to do with itself or its premise.
Not the worst sci-fi movie I've ever seen, but definitely nowhere near the best. The story could have been much, much better. I expected more from a screenplay written by Dan 'O Bannon (Alien, Total Recall). My imdb rating - 5/10 For hardcore fans of the genre only.
Noob Aalox