Attack The Block

ATTACK THE BLOCK

Written & Directed by Joe Cornish

Starring John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Nick Frost

BRAP BRAP BRAP.

Part and parcel to the grand cinematic experience is the sense of fun, something that a lot of recent blockbusters have overlooked. Everything's so serious in "entertainment" these days, even when giant alien robots are fighting each other whilst vapid teenage vampires watch on slack-jawed. Then you go and see something like Attack The Block, a low budget horror comedy from the producers of the classic Shaun of the Dead, and you remember why it is you go to the cinema in the first place.

Auteur wunderkind Joe Cornish writes & directs this genre cross-dresser about a gang of hooded teens ostensibly led by Moses (John Boyega), who mug the lovely Sam (Jodie Whittaker) on her way home to the South London housing commission apartment block they share with her. Moments after this attack, under the cover of New Year's Eve fireworks, a comet crashes to the earth nearby, bringing an alien lifeform with it. When it attacks, the 'yoofs' kill it - little do they know there's more on the way.

It's a simple premise, with predictable consequences, but it's carried off with a cinematic flair lacking from many mainstream action flicks. The course of the plot is outlandish but grounded enough to keep it pulsing along at breakneck speeds - there's almost no pause for breath whatsoever, which is made all the more clear by the dubstep soundtrack that is the film's heartbeat. The cinematography by Thomas Townend is gorgeous, imbuing the smoky urban setting with a great sense of tension and atmosphere. These filmmakers clearly know how to use their budget: the creatures are all essentially CGI outlines, with features hidden by dead-black fur, and rows of fangs that glow menacingly in the dark. You don't need every detail - they're more frightening the less you see of them.

There are two real strengths to this film, in the end - the cast and the dialogue they have to work with. The London dialect is captured with such remarkable and hilarious accuracy that it's impossible to imagine this film without it. That has to be down to the writing, but it's equally the strength of the young performers, who are all hugely enjoyable on screen. Even the two nine-year olds, who get lines that surely made their parents blanch, have excellent comic timing. Despite suggestions of him being underutilised, Nick Frost's support role as gentle drug lord Ron is delightful, and Whittaker (while not entirely convincing) grows on you as the story shifts. All of the young cast are great, but Boyega shines as the formidable lead - genuinely frightening in his capacity, as well as complex and intriguing. A huge career is ahead of this lad, innit.

Much like its predecessor, Attack The Block drifts gradually from comedic ground into serious horror territory. Be prepared for some brutal (but still often hilarious) gore, and more than one good scream-inducing scare. A later scene in the claustrophic apartment corridors involving firecracker smoke is particularly harrowing, and had the entire audience slowly sliding deeper and deeper into their seats. Cornish has even weaved a deeper moral message into the film about class clashes and otherness, which does occasionally strike as a little forced and didactic, but is a vital component nonetheless.

If you miss having fun in the cinema, you'd be crazy to miss Attack The Block. Put down FIFA, get your lads together, and buy your ticket right now. Fo' real, blud.