It may be the strangest vampire film ever. Lifeforce not only postulates the origins of vampires as beings from space who come to suck humans dry of their souls, it also plays off of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, any number of zombie films, and Alien, all with a score by Henry Mancini. Patrick Stewart is in it, but the plot makes very little sense. Although it didn’t perform at the box office, it has become a cult film, and some parts of it are actually pretty good. Directed by Tobe Hooper and partially written by Dan O’Bannon, there was some real talent involved. Too bad it just can’t seem to hang together. The main reason seems to be the story-line. It’s based on a novel, but not all novels translate to film so well.
What’s interesting is that it attempts to provide an origin story for vampires. When the crew of the Churchill initially discovers the alien ship, the creatures are bat-like. This intends to explain why vampires are associated with bats. Since these beings had come to earth long ago, their association with sucking people dry, and bats, led to the belief in vampires. Of course, following the logic of the story, vampires should’ve nearly taken over the earth before since victims revive after two hours and victimize those nearest them. Only one scientist in this future London can uncover a specific combination of metals that have to be used to stab a vampire in precisely the right location in order to kill it. Meanwhile the souls of thousands of residents of London are being sucked up to the alien ship.
The score for the movie also rings a bit oddly. Henry Mancini isn’t the first name to come to mind as a composer associated with horror movies. Or science fiction. Even G-rated 2001: A Space Odyssey knew that. Perhaps we’re lulled into thinking nothing of it by big studio productions that make the soundtrack sound natural to the movie. Like all of the elements of a film, however, they really have to work with all the other elements to make something spectacular. Lifeforce had a large budget and nevertheless struggles. Tobe Hooper had just come off of directing Poltergeist, which, although never one of my favorites, was a stronger and more lasting entry into the horror canon. Maybe it’s that vampires and space just don’t mix. Vampires are gothic monsters and that’s difficult to transfer to outer space with all its gadgetry. That, and a score that’s difficult to take seriously.
