Attack the Block

A teenage gang roams a South London housing estate, led by fifteen-year-old Moses. When a young nurse named Sam passes through the neighbourhood on her way home, the group surrounds and robs her. Their confrontation is cut short by something falling from the sky: a small, aggressive creature that Moses kills. More of them follow, and what begins as a single landing turns into a full invasion, with the estate's tower block becoming the front line. Moses and his friends, together with the residents they have been terrorising, end up defending their home.

Joe Cornish wrote and directed Attack the Block, his first feature as director; his second, The Kid Who Would Be King, followed in 2019. John Boyega plays Moses, with Jodie Whittaker as Sam and Alex Esmail, Simon Howard, Franz Drameh and Leeon Jones among the gang. Nira Park and James Wilson produced. The film runs 88 minutes across action, comedy and science fiction.

Made for about 13 million US dollars, it took roughly 6 million at the worldwide box office, a commercial shortfall. On IMDb it holds 6.6/10 from around 115,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.5/10 from about 2,350 votes. A critics' rating of 7.6/10 from 186 reviews is noticeably higher than those audience scores.