Some may be quick to equate “Attack the Block” with another quirky genre-comedy or two which also came out of London, namely “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” The latter two movies are both written and directed by Edgar Wright, who serves as an executive producer on “Block.” However, while Wright’s directorial efforts use slapstick to comment on genre, this film plays it straight from the gut.

Written and directed by Joe Cornish, “Attack the Block” is a simple (but great) concept: What happens if aliens land in the ghetto, and the first human beings they meet are a street gang?

Here, our gang act as protagonists who do some terrible things. The violent youths are led by Moses (John Boyega). He’s quiet, violent and quite convincing as a natural born leader.

After mugging a woman in the opening scene, the boys come across a small alien. It scares and scratches Moses. Of course they chase it down to kill it.

From there on the film gets much more complex and interesting. Cornish immediately starts to paint the boys with empathy. They aren’t bad, they’re just people. This is the life they know.

The gang is made up of distinct characters. Each boy has his own voice to shout into the group. They use a London street slang that had me missing out on some words and phrases, but I don’t think it matters. You get the gist. And the jokes come across just fine “bruv.”

Edgar Wright regular, Nick Frost, shows up as a drug dealer. The boys smoke pot and more aliens fall out of the sky. They get bigger and meaner. The creature design is simple and effective. They skulk and stalk in a creepy and scary way. It’s been a while since I’ve jumped at a horror movie, but “Block” got me more than once.

The aliens are never officially named but the kids call them “bear-wolf-gorilla-motherfuckers.” I love it.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the gang gets tangled up in a few more messes besides aliens. Drug dealers, cops, and a local nurse, Sam (Jodie Whittaker) all make the night more messy and raise the stakes.

Sam, like the gang, defies cliché. She is a wonderful multi-dimensional character. Again, I don’t want to say too much though.

“Attack the Block” does have a bit of a message to share with us. Cornish delivers too overtly at times. If you walk away from the film without catching the social commentary, I’d be surprised. And while I’m more forgiving because I agree with his theme, some may be put off by the moralizing. It is so very nice to see characters given depth and dimension. I can forgive a preachy moment or two.

At first the action seemed a bit clunky, but the pace quickens later in the film. Some moments are worthy of any great action movie, while others were straight out  of the 1970’s drive-in.

Surprisingly, the gore felt out of place. I never thought I’d say that about a horror-comedy.

You might notice a few plot-holes or weird character decisions (Moses is super brave in one creature encounter. In the next he’s trembling and hiding), as well as a touch of stupid horror movie logic (just run goddammit). I’d suggest you forget it. The jokes are spot on, the scares are fun, and the characters are great to be with.

Everything leads to a rousing climax and finale. The movie couldn’t have ended any better. It goes out on a perfect note.

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