Attack The Block Review

A gang of inner-city teens ('Chavs ' or 'Hoodies' depending on which paper you read) find themselves stuck in the middle of an alien invasion of their South London council estate on bonfire night. Their initial glee at the chance to cause some mayhem turns to fear as the full force of the ferocious monsters becomes clear. Retreating to their local housing block they have to unite with other residents to save themselves and the world.

Director Joe Cornish will be well known to some for his work on genius cult TV series The Adam and Joe Show. The infamous comedy show featured puppet based movie parodies and darkly hilarious satirical skits. He brings much of the same wit and visual panache to this memorable feature length debut. In particular a fantastic soundtrack and moody cinematography helps give the film an edgy ambiance, despite being more polished than the average B-Movie.

With Edgar Wright as executive producer and Nick Frost starring , it's no surprise that the film has much in common with Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. Attack The Block follows a similar pattern of juxtaposing the fantastica spectacle of Hollywood genre films with a mundane and distinctly British reality. The film also draws clear inspiration from classic 80s films like The Goonies or Gremlins. It's an enjoyable throwback to a time before films with young heroes were entirely sanitised and sterile.

With the exception of Nick Frost and Jodie Whittaker, all of the young faces in Attack The Block are unfamiliar newcomers. In a brave directorial choice they're also unashamedly obnoxious. The first time we encounter our young 'heroes' they're actually mugging a startled young woman at knifepoint. It's hard to imagine a less appealing introduction, but as we learn more about the troubled teens they become more likeable, or at least more comedic. Pitting them against an even worse breed of vicious alien nasties also makes them the good guys by default.

Attack The Block will no doubt attract a flurry of criticism, either because it is accused of glamorizing the thuggish activates of its young band of hoodlums or alternatively because it unfairly stereotypes inner city youth as loathsome knife wielding druggies. However it's important not to mistake the film's dark sense of humour for something more serious.

Without debating how accurate the film's council estate caricatures may be, it's fair to say that the film never shies away from their ugly side. If the film does rely on stereotypes, it's because the entire purpose of satire is to play on peoples pre-conceptions for comedic effect. However it should be pretty obvious from the alien invasion that this isn't meant to be a documentary. The film also makes sure that our 'heroes' get their comeuppance and manage to mostly redeem themselves along the way.

It's immediately clear that Attack the Block will be adored by many but disliked by a minority who fail to get the joke. Anything this unique and original will always divide opinion a little, but that won't stop it becoming an inevitable cult classic.