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During a space exploration mission, a team discovers mysterious beings on a distant planet. These beings are brought back to Earth, but their arrival triggers a terrifying crisis in London as they begin to absorb the life force of humans. Detective Tom Carlsen finds himself facing an extraordinary threat as he struggles to understand and combat the alien presence, battling not only to save the city but also confronting his own mortality in the process.

During a space exploration mission, a team discovers mysterious beings on a distant planet. These beings are brought back to Earth, but their arrival triggers a terrifying crisis in London as they begin to absorb the life force of humans. Detective Tom Carlsen finds himself facing an extraordinary threat as he struggles to understand and combat the alien presence, battling not only to save the city but also confronting his own mortality in the process.

Does Lifeforce have end credit scenes?

No!

Lifeforce does not have end credit scenes. You can leave when the credits roll.

Meet the Full Cast and Actors of Lifeforce

Explore the complete cast of Lifeforce, including both lead and supporting actors. Learn who plays each character, discover their past roles and achievements, and find out what makes this ensemble cast stand out in the world of film and television.


Ratings and Reviews for Lifeforce

See how Lifeforce is rated across major platforms like IMDb, Metacritic, and TMDb. Compare audience scores and critic reviews to understand where Lifeforce stands among top-rated movies in its genre.


Metacritic

50

Metascore

7.1

User Score

Rotten Tomatoes
review

58%

TOMATOMETER

review

46%

User Score

TMDB

63

%

User Score

Take the Ultimate Lifeforce Movie Quiz

Challenge your knowledge of Lifeforce with this fun and interactive movie quiz. Test yourself on key plot points, iconic characters, hidden details, and memorable moments to see how well you really know the film.


Lifeforce Quiz: Test your knowledge of the 1985 sci-fi horror film Lifeforce and its alien vampire story.

What celestial event is occurring during the events of Lifeforce?

Awards & Nominations for Lifeforce

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Discover all the awards and nominations received by Lifeforce, from Oscars to film festival honors. Learn how Lifeforce and its cast and crew have been recognized by critics and the industry alike.


13th Saturn Awards 1986

Nomination

Best Special Effects

Full Plot Summary and Ending Explained for Lifeforce

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Read the complete plot summary of Lifeforce, including all major events, twists, and the full ending explained in detail. Explore key characters, themes, hidden meanings, and everything you need to understand the story from beginning to end.


On August 9, 1985, during the extraordinary occurrence of Halley’s Comet, a joint British-American mission aboard the space shuttle Churchill finds itself on an unprecedented journey. As they get closer to the comet, the crew makes a shocking discovery: a massive 150-mile long alien spaceship concealed within the comet’s tail. Their curiosity piqued, they venture inside the spacecraft, uncovering not only hundreds of deceased bat-like creatures but also three naked humanoid bodies—two males and one female—suspended in glass coffin-like containers. With no time to waste, the crew successfully recovers these aliens and begins their return journey to Earth.

However, as they return, calamity strikes. Mission Control suddenly loses contact with the shuttle, prompting an urgent rescue mission to ascertain the fate of the crew. When the rescuers arrive, they are greeted by a harrowing scene: the Churchill is left charred and gutted by fire, with only the three alien specimens remaining intact. These aliens are subsequently transported to the European Space Research Centre in London, where they are closely monitored by scientists Dr. Leonard Bukovsky (Michael Gothard) and Dr. Hans Fallada (Frank Finlay). Just before a planned autopsy, the female alien, a seductively dangerous entity known as a ‘vampire’ (Mathilda May), awakens and swiftly drains the life force of a guard, enabling her escape. She embarks on a path of chaos, draining humans of their energy and using various host bodies to evade capture. The two humanoid males unexpectedly awaken as well, wreaking havoc, attacking guards with ferocity, quickly leading to a perceived annihilation—yet their fate is far from over.

Meanwhile, in a twist of fate occurring in Texas, an escape pod from the ill-fated shuttle Churchill is discovered, revealing the only survivor, Colonel Tom Carlsen (Steve Railsback). Upon being flown to London, he recounts the terrifying ordeal of how the crew was methodically drained of their life forces before he made the desperate decision to torch the shuttle and flee in the pod. During a hypnosis session, Carlsen realizes he possesses a psychic bond with the female alien—a connection that will prove pivotal. Joined by Col. Colin Caine (Peter Firth), a skilled member of the SAS, they track the vampire to a hospital for mentally disturbed patients in Yorkshire, where they believe they have corralled the alien girl within the body of Dr. Armstrong (Patrick Stewart), the hospital’s highly sedated manager. But as the plot thickens, it becomes evident that this is nothing more than a cunning ruse designed to mislead them.

While transporting the sedated Dr. Armstrong back to London by helicopter, the female alien cunningly breaks free and vanishes into the night. Carlsen confesses to Caine that he was irresistibly drawn to open the alien’s container on the shuttle, sharing intimate moments that entwined their very life forces. As they reach the city, all hell breaks loose; a plague fueled by the vampires’ rampant energy consumption engulfs London, sparking waves of violence and panic. Even the Prime Minister has succumbed to this insidious infection, and martial law is executed to prevent the spread of this nightmarish contagion. The chaos escalates as the two male vampires break free from confinement and taint London’s populace, turning them into ravenous, zombie-like creatures with a single-minded hunger for life force energy. This plague transforms its victims into living-dead terrors every two hours, who in turn seek out fresh victims, perpetuating a cycle of horror.

With the military’s assistance, Carlsen and Caine end up in quarantine at the city limits, desperate to implore the authorities to allow them to return to tackle the situation head-on. Realizing that their time is running out, they split up: Carlsen heads toward the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral, while Caine maneuvers back to the devastated research center, battling through hordes of both fleeing humans and insane zombie-vampires. Caine discovers Fallada in his office, who has bravely managed to kill one of the male vampires, using a lead sword—an ingenious insight that the vampire legend might trace its roots back to this alien race.

As events spiral into chaos, Carlsen becomes acutely aware of his psychic connection being used as bait, leading him back to the vampiric alien. He finds her lying on St. Paul’s Cathedral’s altar, retrieving energy to send back to her spacecraft. Caine follows the trail, confronting and defeating the second male vampire, but not without cost; he is forced to eliminate Fallada due to an infection that has ultimately turned fatal. In a desperate bid, Carlsen sacrifices himself, managing to impale both himself and the female alien. Though wounded, she manages to return to her ship, releasing an uncontrollable burst of blue energy into the sky, detonating the dome of the cathedral and taking Carlsen with her.

As the two ascend into the alien ship propelled by brilliant blue light, Caine is left amidst the ruins of London, a city ablaze yet finally free from the spell of the vampire-zombies. Reflecting on the remnants of tragedy, he witnesses the city fall still, though knowing the potential for another catastrophe looms—this mysterious racing spacecraft now dashes away towards its home in the cosmos, laden with the souls it has ensnared, a grim reminder of the horror that may one day return, precisely 75 years from this day.

Uncover the Details: Timeline, Characters, Themes, and Beyond!

Watch Trailers, Clips & Behind-the-Scenes for Lifeforce

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Watch official trailers, exclusive clips, cast interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage from Lifeforce. Dive deeper into the making of the film, its standout moments, and key production insights.


Lifeforce (1985) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

Lifeforce ≣ 1985 ≣ Trailer #2

Original Trailer

Official Sizzle

Cars Featured in Lifeforce

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Explore all cars featured in Lifeforce, including their makes, models, scenes they appear in, and their significance to the plot. A must-read for car enthusiasts and movie buffs alike.


Audi

1969

100 C1

Austin

1968

1100 MkII

Austin

1963

Mini MkI

Bedford

1954

RL

Citroën

1970

Ami 8 Break

Daimler

Fleetline DMS

Datsun

1974

160B

Ford

1967

Cortina MkII

Ford

1977

Cortina MkIV

Ford

1972

Granada MkI

Movie Themes and Keywords

Discover the central themes, ideas, and keywords that define the movie’s story, tone, and message. Analyze the film’s deeper meanings, genre influences, and recurring concepts.


alienspace vampirezombiefemale frontal nudityalien invasionmind controlhalley's cometvampirefemale nudityblood splattersex scenekissgorevoyeurfeeding on energydesiccated corpsemummified bodyapocalypsepublic nudityfemale rear nuditynudityvoyeurismimpalementdisintegrationmeltingnude female silhouettenude female alienspaceshipastronautfemale vampireremoving a woman's robedisrobing a womanchild murdererkiss of deathhuman alien hybridcarnagecity on fireshot in the stomachmass murderhuman alien romancecontagionintelligence agentspecial agentarm ripped offmental projectionmind meldpsionic poweralien spaceshipspace podalien possession

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