Lifeforce

Right now you can watch Lifeforce in Australia on MGM Amazon Channel, and in the US on fuboTV and MGM+ Amazon Channel — and it goes further with its ideas than most genre entertainment bothers to. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it for Steve Railsback — the performance elevates material that could easily tip into self-seriousness. Available now on MGM Amazon Channel — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Lifeforce is worth clearing space for. The world-building is meticulous, but it is the characters who carry Lifeforce through its more ambitious moments. A race of space vampires arrives in London and infects the populace, commencing an apocalyptic descent into chaos. Steve Railsback and Peter Firth lead a cast that keeps the bigger ideas grounded in something human. It was released in 1985. The world-building is meticulous enough to sustain multiple rewatches, with details early on that only make sense later. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find Lifeforce genuinely rewarding. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Steve Railsback's performance is the anchor the more ambitious moments need. The world-building pays off in ways you will not anticipate on a first watch.