Say what you will about how poorly managed Blockbuster was - I’m going to miss video rental places.  Redbox just isn’t the same. Hell, the fact that there isn’t even a decent mom and pop to stand in as a replacement is a shame.

Why? Because in the golden area of VHS renting, you could take risks.  You’d see a movie on the shelf, maybe only one copy, maybe it was an employee recommendation, but it’d intrigue you. Maybe the cover art wasn’t the best, but the description had you hooked.  You paid your money, you took the video home, popped it in.  Sometimes? Abject failure. Poor decision. You’ll do better next time. But other times, you’d have a genuine find. A movie that reminds you why you have this hobby in the first place. A movie that you have to share with everyone you know. A hidden treasure, discovered and cherished by you.

Attack the Block is going to be one of those movies.

Tonight I went into a preview screening of this SXSW midnight wonder knowing very little.  In fact, all I really knew was the synopsis.  Sure, the movie blogs had been going apeshit over the trailers, but I hadn’t had the chance to sit down and watch them myself.  Then the fine folks at Screen Gems (who have the US rights) decided to put a call to action out on all the big movie blogs. 25 screenings in 25 cities on May 25th. All to build word of mouth.  They believed so much in their product that they had to get it to as many people as possible - for free.  How can I say no to that?

So the lights dimmed down, and that synopsis played back in my head. What was I getting into?

An attractive young woman walks home through dark, dangerous streets in south London. She falls into an ambush. Five ghoulish, hooded youths surround her— they take her mobile, her purse, her engagement ring, but they want more. Just then, a fireball explodes out of the sky and destroys a nearby parked car.

From the wreckage emerges a vicious little alien that the youths hunt down, kill and triumphantly parade back to their block. But their adventure is not over. The night is still young and the attack on the block has only just begun…

Dubbed by some reviews as “Super 8 Mile”, it’s an original mixing for sure. Combining British chav street culture with one part Goonies and one part Critters, it grabs you early, and pulls you through an absolute blast of a roller coaster ride.  And the fact that it’s so damn enjoyable really shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, after all, it comes from one of us.

Joe Cornish is the first time director behind this film, and if you’ve ever given The Adam and Joe Show, a very popular British nerd culture sketch comedy program, which if bittorrent is any indication, has it’s fandom here in the states. He’s also been working on the scripts for Tintin and Ant Man, if he needs more cred. It’s clear from frame one that Cornish embraces cult filmmaking at it’s best, and by the end of it’s lean 88 minute runtime, you’re going to be sold on literally every single project he will do from this point forward.  It’s no wonder Edgar Wright signed on to produce - Cornish will be for me, much like Wright going forward. I hear he’s directing, I’m there day one.

Much of what makes the film work is it’s very tight pace. No scene is irrelevant, no character unimportant. Everything happens for a reason and pays off perfectly.  Now, I will say, if you’re not up on your British teenager street lingo, parts of the movie might be hard to follow, but don’t worry, those moments of breath catching are followed immediately with audience pleasing action or visceral scares.  And while the movie isn’t the most visually pleasing of films (competently shot, but the film takes place mostly in a run down apartment complex), the score is an aural joy, a funky, dirty electronic mix provided by the fine folks at Basement Jaxx.  I immediately had to find a copy of it for myself. Unfortunately, so far, it’s only on UK iTunes (and some tracks have made it onto YouTube).  But! As soon as I can get it, the sucker is mine. SO good, SO memorable, SO unique, SO catchy.

I can’t say or underline this enough - see this movie. Pure genre joy pieced together by a director who is going to be one to watch.  THESE are the types of films that Hollywood needs to be making. Risk taking, awe inspring, joy giving, exciting films.  If it’s playing in a theatre near you, go, and take all your friends. Hell, maybe they’ll do the VOD thing that seems to be so popular now. Or maybe you’ll need to wait for the DVD. Any way you slice it, see Attack the Block. And be ready to share it with everyone you know.