The Space Vampires to be adapted as Lifeforce again – but for TV
by Doc on Nov.21, 2013, under Movies, Television
Colin Wilson’s novel The Space Vampires, which was adapted into the 1985 movie Lifeforce starring Steve Railsback and Mathilda May (along with a pre-Picard Patrick Stewart), may get another adaptation – but this time, for the small screen. Ringleader Studios has acquired the rights to produce an episodic series based on the book, to also be titled Lifeforce, as well as plans for a whole multi-media release.
The novel is set in the late 21st century, when a crew from Earth discovers a huge derelict spacecraft in the asteroid belt. Among many dessicated bat-like corpses they find three humanoids in suspended animation, which they bring back to Earth. The aliens turn out to be vampires, of a sort – they drain the life force energy from the humans, and Commander Carlsen, responsible for bringing them to Earth, attempts to stop them.
The movie adaptation is similar, but set in the present day with a hypothetical nuclear-powered shuttle doing a fly-by of Halley’s Comet, where they find the spacecraft. It also adds a more frightening zombie-like contagion to the story. It was a box office disappointment, but has a cult following. The British production received a heavy edit for release in the U.S. including some American voice dubbing, but [asin=B00AWWX6XY]recent DVD/Blu-ray releases[/asin] are of the original 116-minute U.K. release (or both).