2 responses to “Episode 719: A Conversation about Tobe Hooper’s Lifeforce (1985) with Shawn McKee!”

1. 

   D J Rout

   July 11, 2026 at 10:22 pm

   It may be that because I wasn’t a teenager in the 80’s I didn’t see this movie then, but I did see The Return of the Living Dead (1985) and I was appalled. Mainly because it treated George Romero with such contempt. And I don’t remember any nudity in it, but that may be because of Australian censorship.

   I suppose we can thank it for the “Brains!” hunger zombies have, too.

   Anyway, is Lifeforce (1985) so all over the place because it was written at a time before screenplays themselves had to have some literary merit? Thus, you could write on and get it filmed fairly easily. (Of course I”m thinking of Robot Monster (1953) – I always do – but comparisons to the literary merit of Conan the Barbarian (1982) are right on point.)

   Damn good miscellaneous episode! It has moved me to buy the Blu-Ray, so the estate of Tobe Hooper may get a penny or two after Cannon’s debts are paid off.

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   1. 

      thedrunkenodyssey

      July 11, 2026 at 10:38 pm

      I think the scattershot screenplay with ever-shifting genres and structures (or lack thereof) is a result of the Canon production model. When non-native English speakers go Hollywood, sometimes the producers aim for a vibe without a disciplined script. As Robot Monster rushed into production to try to land in the 3-D boom, the Hollywood razzle dazzle of effects and talent were whooshed together to make a bombastic film that from a distance felt like classic, big-budget movies, but things are offffff.

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