Aliens try to invade a housing project in South London? They may want to rethink that plan…

A funny thing happened on The CW a while back: they actually took a short break from spewing out lame-ass pretty-boy fantasy crap and broadcast a real tough-guy alien-invasion movie: Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block.

Good choice. This in-your-face action picture takes the basic “young kids are the only ones who know the aliens are real” premise, birthed by Invaders from Mars, made pretty by E.T., revived by Super 8, and redeemed right here.

The dudes from the Miami Herald said to best: “Here is a shaggy monster movie that pulls double-duty as a satire of class and ethnic barriers, and how those barriers quickly disappear when we are forced to fight for our simple survival.” ‘Very apt. Made for about a buck fifty, and sporting a dialect so thick we were glad we saw a copy with English subtitles available – so thick, in fact, that even some of the South Londoners themselves have a hard time following it (one of the better joces in the movie). And the big-ass four-legged monster-attack dogs that are so black you can’t see any of them but blackness and teeth…that’s good. That’s real good.

The best thing about it: for all the posing and bravado, these kids love their neighborhood, and they don’t hesitate to risk their lives to save it. No big guns, no intervention by the army, just to locals going up against the big bad. Is there ever any doubt who will win? Can’t help but be reminded of Casablanca, when the evil Nazi Major Strasser taunts Rick about Nazis invading New York, and Rick give a tiny little sneer and says, “Well there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn’t advise you to try to invade..”

Same goes for South London, you bloody freakin’ aliens. Take heed! Here’s an extended clip, courtesy of Sony:

If you’re looking for a slam-bang action pic, an alien invasion pic better than anything out right now, or a monster movie that keeps the genre alive…Attack the Block. Stream it for free here, on Crackle. Also available for less than $10 on Amazon. And expect to hear more from Joe Cornish: he’s writing the script for the upcoming Ant-Man movie. Hooraw.