REVIEW: 'Attack the Block'

British sci-fi horror about a teen gang in South London defending their block from an alien invasion. Now playing nationwide, click for movie times.
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Fish Tank meets Skyline in this hilarious and arresting British sci-fi comedy. Whilst the Pitch Black/Alien hybrid creatures (described in the film as the result of a party at a zoo where a "monkey got with a fish") are nothing particularly new, the film's swagger and band of teen antiheros are a welcome change from the typical gung-ho marines, essential everymen and narcissistic yuppies who inhabit the likes of Battle Los Angeles, Falling Skies and The Darkest Hour in what is becoming an increasingly over-exposed and underwhelming genre.

Writer-director Cornish manages to meld the Ken Loachian with the Joe Dante as he plays with camera angles, changes in pace, black humour and growing tension to create a thrilling and engaging tale. Atmosphere is added by Stephen Price's spooky score, but it's the sense of realism which sets this apart.

The boys' actions have consequences and it becomes personal ("his best friend got ate and he's a bit vexed about it," is one simple summation). And while they are eventually prepared to "man up", Cornish's characters aren't afraid to confess their fears: "Right now I feel like going in and locking my door and playing Fifa".

Best described as a British version of South Korea's The Host, Block even answers the curly question of what to do when aliens invade and you've only got enough money for one text.