Attack the Block - DVD review

Joe Cornish's directorial debut is released on DVD today, and is a credit to the talent in British filmmaking being given a chance to express themselves when given confidence by producers and other creative talent behind them.

Cornish, the taller one of Adam and Joe fame, was always the more technically proficient of the pair.  Whilst Adam Buxton concentrates on stand-up comedy and acting, Cornish was the one who would be more technical and more indebted to his influences.  The pair often parodied 'Star Wars' using replica action figures to mimic everyday situations or soap-style scenarios, years before 'Robot Chicken' did the same thing.

Cornish attempts to take on the horror genre - a genre that has proved fruitful in recent years for British filmmakers, most clearly by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead (and the role for Nick Frost in the film is a clear nod to this), and having the same producers on board meant that they clearly believed Cornish could deliver.

And he does, taking a fantastical scenario.  It is Bonfire Night in a South London council estate, a group of hoodies spot a meteor falling whilst attempting to mug a young nurse.  They kill the alien invader that pops out of the meteor, and carry on.  Then the alien's friends crash land seeking reckless bloody revenge on the youngsters.

Cornish has many reference points - the siege set up is akin to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13, the use of bikes as a mode of transport for the youngsters a la Elliott and friends in E.T. ; the meteor and alien laying siege to where it lands is like Predator and the monsters look more like mutated werewolf than alien, perhaps a nod to John Landis' An American Werewolf in London.

Critics will say what is so original or progressive about a film that is so open about its reference points, an argument to throw back is that with the proliferation of the internet and the openness or acceptance of parodies, this is the way forward.  And Shaun of the Dead did much the same thing when mimicking the work of George Romero and other zombie films.  The distinguishing characteristic of the film is the realistic portrayal of the hoodie culture and the young men playing them, whilst all unknown, do invest a level of authenticity in the performances.

Cornish, for so long, a person people have been waiting for has arrived and can feel vindicated in being able to have made the film he wanted to make.

Attack the Block is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray from Optimum Releasing and is certified 15.