Written by Jamie Riordan, New Media, DFI

Film: Attack the Block
Director: Joe Cornish,
Stars: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker
Year: 2011
Running Time: 88 mins

From the producers of “Shaun of the Dead” comes “Attack the Block”, a science fiction comedy that pits savage alien monsters against the Earth’s best line of defense, a group of hoody wearing, knife wielding, teenaged youths from the mean streets of South London.

The story for this dark British comedy unfolds in the unlikely setting of a deprived and foreboding council estate, where we meet the anti-hero Moses (John Boyega) and his gang as they rob an innocent woman, Sam (Jodie Whittaker) at knife point. There is no hiding the fact that these teenagers are the stuff of nightmares as they prey upon fragile victims, but it is they who soon become the prey when aliens start dropping out of the sky in the form of dark, vicious dog-like monsters. As one of the teenagers exclaims, the aliens are “blacker than my cousin Femi!”

Joe Cornish, the writer/director, took inspiration from his own personal experience of a mugging in Brixton, London. Having an understanding of the nature of disenfranchised youth gave weight to the character development of these teenagers, who, if they were to meet the kids from the 1985 film, “The Goonies”, would most likely beat them up, steal their bikes, and eat all of Chunk’s chocolate bars. The use of street slang and popular culture is a means to win the audience over – “I just want to go home, lock my door and play Fifa” has a universal appeal to PlayStation addicted urbanites across the globe. You soon forget that Moses and his gang would sell their own grandmother for loose change if they weren’t being pursued by the devilish monsters from outer space.

There is no doubt that Cornish has attempted to create a film with a social conscious, setting it in a deprived area of broken Britain which remarks on a society not giving the disenfranchised a chance at life. Interestingly, the film was released in the UK a few months before riots broke out in London – almost telegraphing a message of discontent felt by the young. Although not standing behind a banner of justice, the riots were a sharp reminder to politicians and community groups that there exist deep rooted problems in certain sections of British society.

By no means an essay for social reform, “Attack the Block” keeps the laughs coming. There are plenty of nods to teenage sci-fi films, with clear references to “Gremlins” and “Critters”. But where in those American films, we saw well behaved kids rallying together, here we see young terrors yelling, “killing ‘em, killing ‘em straight”.

The cast of mainly inexperienced actors give real authenticity to the group. Mainly discovered through their schools and online auditions, we are given a raw performances of real street kids – all of whom would be expelled from Hogwarts if they even bothered to turn up. Jodie Whittaker is a convincing underpaid overworked nurse who the gang first robs, before reuniting with her to take on the aliens. Nick Frost adds hilarity as a lazy drug dealer who never leaves his flat.

The CGI aliens are probably the most aspect of “Attack the Block”. They look like black blobs with glowing teeth, which is meant for a minimal effect. I couldn’t but help think it may have been a budget constraint. Still this film is about delivering comedic set pieces over its brisk 88 minutes. “Attack the Block” is a film teenagers will adore, as well as adults with misspent youths. You may wish to be warned that some of the comedy may fly over the heads of a non-British audience, but “Shaun of the Dead” worked as an export and if that’s the kind of film you like then you are sure to enjoy Attack the Block – just as long as you can decode the street jargon.