Sometimes I will revisit a movie I disliked and check-in if it was the movie that was bad or my take on it. Usually the movie is at fault and Lifeforce, currently streaming on HBO, is no exception.

Released in 1985 and part of Cannon Films’ attempt to expand into big budget cinema Lifeforce, adapted from the novel The Space Vampires, is about a derelict alien spacecraft discovered in the coma of Halley’s Comet by a joint American and European manned space mission. The commander of the mission Col. Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback), and seriously as a friend of mine once clued me in you can pre-judge a film’s quality by the haircuts of the ‘military’ characters and Carlsen’s is terribly non-regulation. Carlsen and his crew discover three aliens with human forms within the craft and bring back to Earth. Something goes wrong and the European space vessel Churchill arrives in Earth orbit but itself now a derelict. A rescue mission finds everyone aboard dead but the three aliens, still in their suspended animation, unharmed and the aliens are brought down to ground. The aliens are of course not dead and ignite a sweeping plague of energy vampirism, and not the cool kind that you get from Colin Robinson, that threatens humanity.

With a budget of 25 million dollars and box office receipts of under 12 million, which I and two friends were part of, Lifeforce crashed and burned on its release gathering neither critical nor commercial success. In some circles the most memorable aspect of the movie are the numerous exploitive nude scenes by the actress Mathilda May. ( I am pleased to report that this did not derail the young woman’s acting career and still is currently still working with nearly six television and film credits.) Lifeforce is a movie that cannot make up its mind as to what it wants to be. At times it’s a sensual vampirism flick, at other times it’s an invasion of body snatchers paranoia movie and by the end it’s an apocalyptic zombie movie with a tacked on happy ending.

There is scarcely an aspect of this movie that works, not in direction, casting, writing, or production design does this film make any sort of sense. Though I will admit that the end credit score by Henry Mancini is a terrific march.

While Lifeforce has found a following as a cult film it is not something anyone really needs to watch.