TriStar Pictures
Sir Patrick Stewart is best known for bringing Captain Jean-Luc Picard to life in the “Star Trek” franchise, but it’s far from his only notable role. Across his nearly 70-year-long career, Stewart has starred in numerous theatre productions, video games, TV series, and films, with some of his most recognizable roles including Professor Charles Xavier in the “X-Men” films, Avery Bullock in “American Dad!,” and King Claudius in the TV movie adaptation of “Hamlet” — for which he won a Tony Award and Olivier Award.
Stewart’s range is impressive — even if the roles he takes on can sometimes be a bit out there. One minute he’s making the audience belly laugh as the voice of Stan Smith’s muscled boss, the next he’s enthralling everyone with a dramatic Shakespearean monologue or striking terror into his audience as the Neo-Nazi leader in gory horror “Green Room.” Arguably one of the most bizarre productions the distinguished actor has appeared in is “Lifeforce,” an ’80s space vampire movie that’s now become a cult classic. It’s weird, sexually explicit, and gruesome — and a must-watch for fans of cheesy, underrated sci-fi horror.
What is Lifeforce?
Released in 1985, “Lifeforce” is a British sci-fi body horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, the director behind classic horror movies “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Poltergeist.” Based on Colin Wilson’s 1976 novel “The Space Vampires,” the film sees a crew of British and American astronauts encountering a hidden spaceship containing hundreds of preserved bat-like aliens and three humanoid bodies (two male and one female) in suspended animation. The crew recovers the humanoids, intending to take them back to Earth for examination, but on the return journey, something goes terribly wrong, and the crew is killed, though the recovered bodies remain intact.
When the bodies are finally returned to London, the extraterrestrials — led by a mostly nude woman (played by “The Jackal’s” Mathilda May) — awaken, escape the research facility, and begin sucking the life force out of Londoners who, in turn, resurrect to do the same to others. It’s up to surviving astronaut Tom Carlsen (played by “Cockfighter’s” Steve Railsback) to put a stop to the vampire aliens’ reign of terror.
Patrick Stewart appears in the film as Dr. Armstrong, the manager of a psychiatric hospital that Carlsen tracks the female space vampire to. While Stewart’s role is a small one, his scenes are some of the most memorable, most notably the one where a spirit of the female vampire possesses him and proceeds to try to seduce (suck the life from) Carlsen, leading to Stewart’s first-ever on-screen kiss.
Lifeforce was a flop, but it’s now a cult classic
TriStar Pictures
“Lifeforce” was neither a box office nor a critical success — unlike Hooper’s previous release, “Poltergeist.” Despite costing $25 million to make, it only grossed $11.6 million from the U.S. box office. Critics seriously panned the film, with the New York Times describing it as “hysterical vampire porn” and The Washington Post calling it an “expensive cheap exploitation movie.” Responding to the movie’s reception in an interview with the L.A. Times, Hooper admitted that while he had “expected mixed reviews,” even he was “a bit surprised” by the negative comments.
He went on to explain that he believes they were, in part, because the film’s name was changed for its U.S. release. Originally, it was called “Space Vampires,” which reflected that it was a campy B-movie, whereas the name “Lifeforce” implied it might be more serious. Over 40 years later, audiences look at “Lifeforce” a bit more fondly than they did back in 1985. While its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating is 58% (certified “Rotten”) and its Popcornmeter rating is even lower at 46%, it’s featured on the site’s list of the best space horror movies.
While this is something that may not be to everyone’s tastes, and reviews are still mixed to this day, fans praise “Lifeforce” for its campy ’80s, over-the-top horror, sheer entertainment value, silliness, and sexual themes. If you’re a fan of cheesy ’80s sci-fi body horror, it’s worth adding to your watchlist. “Lifeforce” is streaming now on Tubi.
