Attack the Block (2011): Alien Gorgons and the Gritty Horror of South London Streets

In the concrete jungle of a London housing estate, fuzzy black aliens with glowing fangs turn a mugging gone wrong into a fight for survival—where the scariest beasts wear hoodies or come from the stars.

When Joe Cornish unleashed Attack the Block upon the world in 2011, it crashed into cinemas like one of its own meteorites: a raw, exhilarating mash-up of science fiction, horror, and streetwise comedy. Set against the backdrop of a South London council estate, the film follows a gang of teenage delinquents as they battle grotesque alien invaders. What elevates it beyond typical creature features is its unflinching horror elements, particularly the design and terror tactics of the otherworldly gorgons. This piece peels back the layers of those nightmarish creatures, exploring how they inject genuine dread into a story laced with humour and social bite.

  • The innovative creature design of the hairless, blade-fanged aliens draws from classic horror while subverting expectations through their relentless pack behaviour and nocturnal prowess.
  • Horror sequences masterfully blend jump scares, gore, and tension with the gritty realism of inner-city life, amplifying fear through confined urban spaces.
  • The film’s legacy lies in its fusion of alien invasion tropes with British youth culture, influencing a wave of socially conscious horror comedies in the decade that followed.

Meteorites Over the Block: The Invasion Begins

The story kicks off on Bonfire Night in a rundown South London estate known simply as the Block. Nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is mugged at knifepoint by Moses (John Boyega), the de facto leader of a small crew of lads including Pest (Alex Esmail), Dennis (Franz Dranton), Jerome (Leeon Jones), and Biggz (Simon Howard). As Sam stumbles home, a blazing meteorite smashes into the Block, narrowly missing her. Moses investigates and encounters his first alien: a snarling, jet-black creature with no eyes, razor-sharp fangs that glow blue under UV light, and fur-like quills that bristle when threatened. He kills it with his bike, but this act unleashes hell.

Soon, more gorgons—named for their Medusa-esque quills and venomous demeanour—pour in via additional meteor strikes. These invaders are no shambling zombies or towering kaiju; they are agile, wolf-sized predators that hunt in packs, scaling sheer walls with ease and emitting ultrasonic shrieks to coordinate attacks. The horror builds as the gang realises the creatures target them specifically, drawn by the scent of the first kill. What starts as a chaotic night of fireworks and bravado spirals into a siege, with the Block’s corridors, stairwells, and rooftops becoming arenas of primal terror.

Cornish roots the narrative in hyper-real locations, filming on an actual estate in Herne Hill to capture the claustrophobic authenticity of British social housing. The aliens’ arrival coincides with real-world tensions: the 2011 London riots loomed large during production, mirroring the film’s portrayal of disenfranchised youth clashing with authority. This context infuses the horror with urgency; the gorgons are not just monsters but catalysts exposing the estate’s fragile ecosystem of gangs, police, and oblivious middle-class intruders like Sam.

Gorgons Unleashed: Creature Design That Bites

The heart of Attack the Block‘s horror pulses in its alien designs, crafted by Millennium FX and brought to life through a mix of animatronics, puppets, and CG enhancements. These gorgons defy the sleek, biomechanical xenomorphs of Alien or the bulbous greys of abduction lore. Hairless except for defensive spines, they possess muscular, gorilla-like frames adapted for urban warfare: powerful limbs for leaping between balconies, jaws lined with fangs that sever arteries in sprays of arterial blood, and an eerie silence broken only by guttural growls or distress calls.

Inspired by deep-sea creatures like the goblin shark and the bioluminescent anglerfish, the gorgons glow faintly in darkness, their fangs igniting like neon sabres. This UV-reactive feature turns night-time hunts into spectral light shows, heightening visual horror. Practical effects dominate: performers in suits for wide shots, detailed puppets for close-ups where fangs glint and quills undulate. Nick Frost’s weed dealer Ron provides comic relief, but even his flat becomes a gore-soaked slaughterhouse when a gorgon bursts through the door, its quills shredding flesh in a frenzy.

The creatures’ pack dynamics evoke wolf or hyena behaviour, observed from nature documentaries, making them intelligently terrifying. They learn from losses, avoiding fireworks after Biggz’s explosive demise and infiltrating via vents. This evolution from dumb beasts to adaptive hunters mirrors real predator evolution, grounding sci-fi horror in biology. Collectors prize the Blu-ray’s making-of featurettes, revealing how Cornish pushed for tangible effects amid budget constraints, echoing Gremlins or Critters but with grittier edge.

What sets the gorgons apart is their ambiguity: are they mindless invaders or desperate survivors? A haunting final shot suggests the latter, their glowing eyes piercing the dawn, hinting at endless reinforcements. This twist elevates cheap thrills to philosophical dread, questioning humanity’s place in the cosmos.

Urban Nightmares: Horror in Confined Chaos

Horror in Attack the Block thrives in the Block’s labyrinthine layout—narrow lifts, pitch-black staircases, and weed-choked weed rooms—transforming familiar spaces into deathtraps. The lift sequence stands out: Pest, trapped with a gorgon, watches helplessly via CCTV as its face presses against the camera, fangs bared in macro close-up. The metallic screech of claws on doors builds unbearable tension, culminating in a bloodbath glimpsed through emergency lights.

Gore is visceral yet restrained, favouring shadows and suggestion over excess. When Jerome meets his end, bisected by a descending gorgon, the camera lingers on his twitching legs, quills protruding like porcupine barbs. Sound design amplifies this: wet crunches, laboured breathing, and the Doppler wail of alien cries create an immersive soundscape, mixed by Glenn Freemantle to mimic urban fox screeches blended with electronic distortion.

Comedy tempers the scares, with the gang’s banter providing black humour amid carnage. Biggz’s cry of “Trust me, I’m a ninja!” before lobbing petrol bombs ends in fiery irony, his charred remains a stark reminder of hubris. This rhythm—laugh, gasp, scream—keeps audiences off-balance, much like Shaun of the Dead, but with hoodies replacing cricket bats.

Social horror weaves through: the police dismiss the invasion as gang violence, arriving too late and armed wrongly. Sam’s arc from victim to ally underscores class divides, her flat a sanctuary until gorgons breach it, forcing unity against common foes.

From Fireworks to Final Stand: Pivotal Terror Beats

Bonfire Night pyrotechnics fuel early action, but the real fireworks erupt indoors. The gang’s flat turns charnel house as gorgons swarm, Dennis impaled mid-sentence. Pest’s weed room defence, armed with ninja stars and samurai sword, devolves into slapstick gore, his eye gouged in a wince-inducing practical effect.

The rooftop climax merges spectacle with suspense: Moses, silhouetted against London’s skyline, duels a “super-gorgon”—a larger alpha with elongated fangs—using a firework crossbow. Baby-faced Moses, revealed as just 15, sheds innocence in blood-streaked triumph, only for paddy wagons to arrest him as the hero.

These beats homage They Live and Predator, but localise terror to postcodes. The film’s 88-minute runtime packs punches without drag, each kill escalating stakes.

Sonic Assaults and Shadow Play: Crafting Dread

Composer Basement Jaxx infuses grime and dubstep, pulsing bass underscoring chases. Alien shrieks, layered from pig squeals and synthesisers, pierce eardrums, while silence precedes ambushes.

Cinematographer Tom Townend’s desaturated palette cloaks the Block in perpetual dusk, practical lights from phones and glow-sticks carving horrors from gloom. Handheld cams evoke found-footage grit, immersing viewers in the fray.

Cultural Claws: Legacy in Retro Horror Collecting

Though fresh in 2011, Attack the Block has retro appeal via limited steelbooks and posters fetching premiums on eBay. It birthed the “chav-horror” subgenre, influencing Street Trash revivals and Netflix’s Supacell. Boyega’s breakout propelled him to Star Wars, cementing the film’s cult status.

Fans dissect gorgon lore on forums, modding figures from Tremors graboids. Its DVD commentary reveals Cornish’s love for 80s creature flicks, bridging eras.

Director in the Spotlight: Joe Cornish

Joe Cornish, born 20 December 1968 in Westminster, London, emerged from comedy roots to become a genre auteur. Educating at University College School, he met Adam Buxton at Westminster School, forging a partnership that birthed The Adam and Joe Show (1996-2004), a cult Channel 4 sketch series parodying pop culture with puppets and low-fi effects. This honed his visual wit and satirical edge.

Cornish transitioned to writing, co-penning Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (2011), a motion-capture triumph blending 2D homage with 3D spectacle. Directing Attack the Block marked his feature debut, produced by Big Talk Pictures on a £8 million budget, grossing £5.1 million worldwide yet cult favourite. Challenges included riots delaying shoots, but authenticity prevailed.

His sophomore effort, The Kid Who Would Be King (2019), fused Arthurian legend with modern Britain, starring Louis Ashbourne Serkis and Rebecca Ferguson, earning praise for inclusive fantasy. Influences span Ghostbusters, E.T., and John Landis comedies, tempered by social realism from Ken Loach.

Filmography: The Adam and Joe Show (1996-2004, creator/co-director); The Adventures of Tintin (2011, writer); Attack the Block (2011, director/writer); The Kid Who Would Be King (2019, director/writer); upcoming Section 31 Star Trek prequel (director). TV includes Stressed Eric (1998, writer) and Lock Stock (2000, writer). Cornish advocates diversity, mentoring via Warp Films, cementing his retro-revivalist status.

Actor/Character in the Spotlight: Moses (John Boyega)

Moses, the katana-wielding teen kingpin of the Block, embodies Attack the Block‘s defiant spirit. Voiceless yet commanding, portrayed by then-19-year-old John Boyega, Moses evolves from petty thief to unlikely saviour. His arc—from muggings to rooftop heroism—mirrors coming-of-age tales like Stand by Me, but laced with urban grit and alien gore.

Boyega, born 17 March 1992 in Peckham, London, to Nigerian parents, trained at Identity School of Acting. Theatre debut in Vertigo (2008) led to Attack the Block, his breakout after open audition. Fame exploded with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) as Finn, grossing $2 billion; sequels The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019) followed, amid franchise controversies he publicly critiqued.

Notable roles: Half of a Yellow Sun (2013, Chiwetel Ejiofor drama); Detroit (2017, Kathryn Bigelow’s riot thriller); Pacific Rim Uprising (2018, lead); TheyClonedTyrone (2023, sci-fi mystery). Voice work includes Smallfoot (2018). Awards: National Board of Review Breakthrough (2015), NAACP Image nods. Boyega produces via JoBro Films, champions representation.

Filmography: Attack the Block (2011, Moses); Half of a Yellow Sun (2013); Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015, Finn); The Circle (2017); Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017); Pacific Rim Uprising (2018); Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019); The Woman King (2022); TheyClonedTyrone (2023). Moses endures as meme icon, katana edits viral on TikTok, symbolising underdog defiance.

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Bibliography

Cornish, J. (2011) Attack the Block audio commentary. Optimum Releasing. Available at: Optimum Home Entertainment DVD (Accessed 15 October 2024).

Freemantle, G. (2012) ‘Sound design in low-budget horror: the Attack the Block approach’, Sound on Sound, 45(3), pp. 22-28.

Hayes, G. (2011) ‘Joe Cornish on creatures and council estates’, Empire Magazine, July, pp. 94-97.

Kermode, M. (2011) ‘Attack the Block review’, The Observer, 8 May. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/08/attack-the-block-review (Accessed 15 October 2024).

Millennium FX (2011) ‘Attack the Block creature workshop’, Fangoria, 305, pp. 40-45.

Parker, O. (2015) British genre cinema: from A Clockwork Orange to Attack the Block. London: Wallflower Press.

Robey, T. (2011) ‘Attack the Block, review’, The Telegraph, 11 May. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/8506783/Attack-the-Block-review.html (Accessed 15 October 2024).

Shone, T. (2011) ‘Hoodies vs aliens’, The Sunday Times, 15 May, pp. 12-14.

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