Lifeforce at 40: A Film Only Cannon Could Have Made
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Lifeforce at 40: Cannon’s Glorious Train-Wreck
Cannon Films, masters of low-budget sleaze turned surprise high-rollers, poured serious cash into Tobe Hooper’s space-horror epic Lifeforce. With a Bond/Jedi cinematographer, Henry Mancini’s lush score and VFX crews fresh from Star Wars and horror classics, it looks way more expensive than anything else in their catalogue—yet still oozes that cheeky Cannon exploitation vibe.
The plot’s a deliciously bonkers mash-up: astronauts nab three seemingly dead humanoids (two guys and one very naked Mathilda May) from an alien ship masked by a comet, only for them to unleash life-draining “space vampires” on Earth. Peter Firth’s level-headed hero (and a briefly possessed Patrick Stewart) combat absurd logic twists, unapologetic nudity and hilarious one-liners. It’s equal parts stylish eye-candy, sleazy cult fun and so-bad-it’s-good “shitsome” brilliance.
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