Attack the Block (2011)

Editor's Note A group of London teens find themselves in the middle of an alien invasion and fight to defend their tower block from some evil extraterrestrials in this stylish sci-fi romp from the producers of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD. Beset by a gang of young thugs as she passes through a South London housing estate, Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is in the midst of being robbed when a ball of light falls out of the sky, and destroys a nearby car. Frightened, she flees from the scene just before an unearthly beast emerges from the wreckage and attacks Moses (John Boyega), the leader of the youthful gang. In retaliation, Moses and his crew slay the creature, and take it to a local drug den owned by ruthless gangster Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter) for safe keeping. Later, as the police assist Sam in pursuing her assailants, strange lights start to rain down on the streets, heralding the arrival of a second, more ferocious, wave of creatures. With the city under siege, there's no place left to run. Quickly realizing she's going to have to fight if she wants to survive, Sam once again crosses paths with the street-tough teens, but instead of running away vows to battle alongside them to the bitter end. Meanwhile, Moses becomes the primary target of the aliens, and the group arms themselves with everything from baseball bats to high-powered fireworks in the fight to save the human race.

	Franz Drameh
	John Boyega
	Alex Esmail
	Leeon Jones
	Jodie Whittaker
	Luke Treadaway - Co-Star
	Jumayn Hunter - Co-Star
	Simon Howard - Co-Star
	Paul Herbert - Stunt Coordinator
	Michael Solinger - Post-Production Supervisor
	Nick Angel - Music Director
	Jane Walker - Hairstylist
	Jane Walker - Makeup
	Double Negative Limited - Visual Effects Designer
	Joe Cornish - Screenwriter
	Thomas Townend - Director of Photography
	Steve F. Price - Composer
	Felix Buxton - Additional Music/Songs
	Nick Frost - Co-Star
	Joe Cornish - Director

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The film] offers a deliciously simple premise and sticks to it like glue, as hoodies become heroes in the midst of one almighty alien invasion." 06/01/2011

Sight and Sound
"Cornish draws superb performances out of his inexperienced central quintet, especially John Boyega and Alex Esmail....Films this cine-literate are rarely this unpretentiously enjoyable..." 06/01/2011

Box Office
4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Cornish's idiomatic dialogue is hilarious and the longtime comic's sense of timing is perfect....This small movie is hugely entertaining..." 06/17/2011

Los Angeles Times
"Pulsing with a rowdy energy, the film works as both a sci-fi horror flick and a teen adventure film..." 07/29/2011

Chicago Sun-Times
3 stars out of 4 -- "[A]n entertaining thriller in the tradition of 1970s B-action films, with an unknown cast, energetic special effect and great energy." 07/27/2011

USA Today
"[A] clever blend of sc-fi and comedy, which its toothy furball space invaders against young South London thugs." 07/29/2011

Movieline
"The special effects are restrained and fairly effective; Cornish, to his credit, has done a lot with a little." 07/28/2011

New York Times
"[T]his fabulously inventive debut feature, written and directed by the British comedian Joe Cornish, never flags." 07/29/2011

A.V. Club
"ATTACK THE BLOCK has a clever script and winning underdog spirit..." 07/28/2011

Rolling Stone
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "It's hot, fierce, funny, vicious and ready to bite, baby. ATTACK gets its teeth from writer-director Joe Cornish, in a smashing debut." 08/18/2011

Entertainment Weekly
"[I]t's a blast to be drawn into this urban ecosystem that is, to us Yanks, itself a bit alien." -- Grade: B 08/05/2011

Washington Post
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "ATTACK THE BLOCK demands to be seen simply because it is a thrill -- a pulse-raiser whose perfect construction and pointed wit make it one of the year's most exciting films." 08/19/2011