The team behind cult hit horror comedy Shaun of the Dead are currently in production on their latest exciting new film - Joe Cornish’s debut feature Attack the Block. Nira Park and James Cornish are producing the fast, funny and frightening action adventure which pits a teen gang from a South London estate against alien monsters.

Trainee nurse Sam is walking alone through the dark streets of South London when a gang of youths surround her and rob her, but she is saved when something falls from the sky. A meteor impacts with a nearby parked car and Sam flees, just before the gang is attacked by a small alien creature that leaps from the wreckage. The gang chases the creature and kills it, dragging its ghoulish carcass to the top of the block, which they treat as their territory. But the adventure is not over. The alien attacks have only just begun…

Joe Cornish directs his first feature after co-writing Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (which has just finished shooting) and Edgar Wright’s proposed Ant Man.

Cornish, one half of the British comedy duo Adam and Joe, is the host of one of the BBC’s most popular radio shows. First appearing on British TV screens in 1997 as co-star and co-creator of The Adam and Joe Show, a home-made comedy show famous for its sketches, songs and animations, Cornish created the show’s signature Toymovie animations and directed its live action segments. The show found considerable cult and critical acclaim. Cornish has also directed Channel 4 comedy pilots Modern Toss and Blunder. 

Optimum’s Will Clarke describes Attack the Block as: “One of the most inventive and entertaining scripts we have ever read.”

Filming has been reported at the Heygate Estate in Elephant and Castle - the same estate used for Michael Caine’s Harry Brown, and more recently Clint Eastwood’s London-shot Hereafter. Unfortunately the iconic inner-city backdrop will soon disappear as the area undergoes one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe.

Jodie Whittaker (St. Trinians, Venus) star alongside John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones and Simon Howard. Nick Frost and Luke Treadaway will also make an appearance. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz Production Designer Marcus Rowland is on board along with Cinematographer Thomas Townend and Costume Designer Rosa Dias. Double negative will provide the visual effects.