Review: Lifeforce (1985), a Film Built on Nudity & Creature FX

It’s difficult to argue that Tobe Hooper peaked early in his career. Though he’s had some mild successes over the years, nothing can top his magnum opus, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. After that success, Hooper still struggled to secure big budgets for his films. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre had a shoestring budget, as did most of his later works, like Eaten Alive and The Mangler. However, Hooper secured huge a budget for the most ambitious project of his career — Lifeforce (1985).

I mention the budget because it was remarkably high for the time and the genre. Cannon Films gave Hooper $25 million (approximately $60 million in 2020 dollars) to give Lifeforce the treatment it deserved. Even Hooper’s second most lauded work, Poltergeist (1982), only had a budget of about $10 million. Thus, Lifeforce promised to be something far beyond anything Hooper had ever attempted. Unfortunately, it was a huge swing and a miss. Neither audiences nor critics showed much interest, with box office sales coming to less than half of the production costs. Nonetheless, Lifeforce has since become a cult classic of 80s horror.

Lifeforce (1985), based on The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson, follows a group of astronauts on the space shuttle Churchill. While exploring Haley’s Comet, they discover an alien spacecraft that contains three humanoid beings trapped in some kind of stasis. They bring the humanoids onto their ship and head back home to conduct further studies. However, ground control loses contact with the ship, giving them no choice but to send out a rescue mission. They find that all but one of the crew has been killed. The interior of the spaceship has been destroyed by fire, with the only living crew member is shaken by the events that occurred.

Once they’ve returned to Earth and set up the three humanoids in a high-security lab, the trouble begins. However, as they begin to run tests, they discover that the alien humanoids are not as comatose as they seemed. Once awoken, these beings use their supernatural powers to literally suck the life out of anyone they encounter. Not only does this take the “lifeforce” from the victim’s body, but it also turns them into a vampiric monster. Security forces neutralize the two “male” Lifeforce aliens, the only female escapes the facility, spreading her vampiric disease throughout London. 

As you can imagine, Lifeforce (1985) required a lot of special effects. It stands to reason that most of the budget went into creating elaborate spacecraft and creature effects. This last element is one of the film’s main selling points. The victims, once drained of their lifeforce, look like mummified zombies. However, we only get a real glimpse of these creatures a few times throughout the film. Otherwise, the film just features hundreds of extras running around London with torn clothes a little makeup.

The film’s second selling point is its appeal to the “male gaze,” to quote Laura Mulvey. The main alien takes the form of a very beautiful and very naked woman (played by Mathilda May). She spends the entire film without any clothes on, drawing men to her with beauty and alien mind control powers. Unfortunately, once you strip away the nudity and creature effects, there’s not much left to offer.

While I can’t speak to the quality of the source material, the plot just feels like poorly-developed sci-fi tropes. The sole survivor of the Churchill space shuttle shares some kind of psychic connection with the alien vampire. This allows him to lead the search and (hopefully) bring the chaos to an end. The film never fully explains this connection. Instead, it just feels like something added to advance the plot. Unfortunately, it works to the detriment of narrative coherence.

Even in the context of the outlandish narrative, the fast spread of vampirism doesn’t make sense. When the female alien sucks the life out of a guard, he becomes a mummified version of a human. He literally has no lifeforce left. Soon after, he revives with just enough lifeforce to look around and make vague gestures. The guards keep him in a cell just in case, but he doesn’t appear to pose much of a threat. The female alien took his lifeforce to strengthen her own. Thus, he’s left on death’s door.

This plot point begs a few important questions. First, if the victims are reduced to (almost) lifeless shells, how are they able to spread the disease so quickly? In the latter half of the film, London becomes a chaotic hellscape. We see burning buildings and very energetic vampires chasing down the citizenry. The sudden shift from a few Lifeforce zombie vampires to thousands of blood-thirsty “humans” terrorizing London really makes no sense.

For those who love bad horror movies, Lifeforce (1985) does have its benefits. More than halfway through the film, Patrick Stewart appears out of nowhere in a relatively unimportant role. Much like the rest of the film, it makes no sense, but at least viewers have something to anticipate. Beyond Patrick Stewart, the Lifeforce cast is not exactly full of recognizable faces. This is pretty understandable, as the script would be a hard sell for almost any serious actor.

In any case, Lifeforce (1985) is not unwatchable. If for no other reason, the creature effects make it worthwhile but don’t expect an exciting or engaging viewing experience. You just have a few scenes with high-grade 80s creature effects and virtually nothing else. Oh, there’s also the Lifeforce space girl running around in the nude for two hours, if that’s your thing.

If you’d like to see the Lifeforce ending explained, you’d best look elsewhere or see the film for yourself. The average viewer will likely see the ending coming from a mile away. Moreover, the ending kind of leaves itself open to a sequel. Fortunately, as of this writing, no sequel has come to fruition.

Lifeforce (1985) Movie Rating: ★★ out of 5

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