It's Alive
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Movie Reviews of It's Alive
Movie Review: It's alive and it wants to eat you!
Summary: 3 Stars
You gotta hand it to Larry Cohen. If you don't know who he is, he's the chap responsible for some of the more ludicrous horror and exploitation films made in the last thirty or so years. You probably heard about a little film called "The Stuff" where a greedy corporation markets a mysterious organic substance as the latest low fat sensation only to discover later that the tasty snack turns people into gelatinous mounds of goo. What, you never heard about it? O.k., then you at least know a thing or two about "God Told Me To," a strange movie that takes as its starting point a string of grisly murders but ends up morphing into your run of the mill alien abduction/return of the Son of God picture. No way! You aren't familiar with this film either? Don't tell me you've spent most of your life working, taking care of your kids, or other such meaningless activities? You're starting to make me angry. Do you mean to tell me you never heard about any of these classic schlock films? Pathetic. Well, it's off to your room with a copy of Cohen's classic "It's Alive." That will teach you to defy cult filmdom!
Ahhh, the total cheesefest that constitutes "It's Alive." You haven't lived until you've witnessed this greasy little shocker. The film tells the story of Frank and Lenore Davies (John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell respectively) and their heartfelt attempt to have a second child. Their first son Chris (Daniel Holzman) turned out normal, but something tells us right from the start that we ought to fear the bundle currently baking in Lenore's oven. First, the fetus appears larger than normal. Second, when Lenore goes into labor pains in the middle of the night, her agony seems extreme. Third, while Frank sits around in the waiting room with the other soon to be fathers, we hear a lot of talk about pollution and pesticides. And since the story takes place in good old Los Angeles in the 1970s, you just know the pollution levels are through the roof. Fourth, and finally, we learn something is seriously amiss when Lenore finally gives birth to a creature that promptly rips and tears its way through the operating room like a mini-tornado. By the time the concerned Frank races into the OR, he discovers the doctors and nurses stretched out on the floor in pools of blood and the baby long gone. Yikes! Something ain't right here! Of course it isn't--this is a Larry Cohen film!
Incredibly the baby manages to survive out in the wilds of California while the authorities, led by the caring yet tough as nails Lieutenant Perkins (James Dixon), form posses of uniformed cops to hunt the monster down. It's definitely shoot to kill time in the City of Angels since this terrible tot slaughters anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path. A milkman, a harridan arriving home from a long night of work--these people and several others learn too late about this devil's spawn thirst for blood. In between quick scenes of the kid wreaking havoc, the movie focuses in on Frank's inability to cope with the reality of this evil baby. He distances himself from his mentally fractured wife, must learn to cope with scientists turning up on doorstep seeking ownership of the child for "research" purposes, and has a big problem dealing with the fact that he helped create such a terrible monstrosity. He's so disgusted with the perceived flaw in his manhood that he wants the child to die, and he offers his assistance to Lieutenant Perkins in this capacity. But something is happening about which Frank is unaware, namely that the child is homing in on his family like some sort of grotesque carrier pigeon. When the inevitable reunion occurs, will Frank have the strength to put his own son down for the count, even a son this monstrously hideous? Could you?
Schlock, schlock, schlock! Cohen outdoes himself with this downbeat piece of B-budget sleaze, which went on to spawn two sequels. "It's Alive" is the most serious entry, however, in that the film's primary focus has little to do with blood and guts. Sure, we get a few splashes of blood from time to time, blood that looks like red paint, and the glimpses we see of the child reveal a creature that looks like a pint sized demon from the lower reaches of Hades, but the 'PG' rating (!) ensures a minimal display of sauce. Cohen is far more interested in presenting a film of emotional and psychological terror, a movie that tries to place the viewer in the mindset of Frank and Sharon Davies. How would we react if our child resembled a freakish mutation capable of murder? Most of us would probably end up somewhere in the neighborhood of Frank and Sharon. Poor old Frank. He walks around like he's in an emotional coma after the kid is born, sweating and fretting as he tries to deal with the maelstrom of sensations swirling around in his head. His extremely fragile mental state, as much if not more fragile than that of his wife, makes his sudden conversion at the conclusion of the film even more dramatic. It also makes it somewhat unbelievable.
I'm not sure what Cohen tried to say here. Pollution is bad? If so, why doesn't the film examine that except in passing? We should love our children no matter what? Well, that's fairly obvious. Sadly, the commentary track included as an extra on the disc fails to provide any significant insight into what Larry tried to accomplish here. He's far more interested in how much money the film made and how much of a profit he turned on his New York brownstone. You ought to watch the film if you love exploitation, but it's not gory and the script doesn't examine in-depth many of the questions it raises.
Movie Review: ...and it's HUNGRY.
Summary: 3 Stars
It's Alive (Larry Cohen, 1973)
What is there to say about It's Alive that hasn't already been said? Cohen (Air Force One: The Final Mission)'s fourth film is one of the most popular and enduring cult films of all time. It's a touching story about the bond between a father and his psychotic, murderous infant.
Frank (The Postman Always Rings Twice's John Ryan) and Lenore (Night of the Comet's Sharon Farrell) Davies are expecting their first child, and as we open, the blessed event is about to take place. When Lenore gives birth, however, the child is deformed. And hungry. And has a thing for human blood. The rest of the film concerns Frank and the police trying to track the infant as it leaves a trail of bodies through suburban Los Angeles.
With a Bernard Hermann score and Rick Baker effects, you know this ain't Rosemary's Baby. Cohen was going for the gut from moment one, as usual, and everyone involved in the production was right on board with that idea. This is melodrama with just enough gore to keep seventies-era gorehounds happy. These days, the big plot twist at the end is going to look like a cliché, but it wasn't all that normal back in the day. (It does, however, reference an obvious film that had been released a few years back; which one will be obvious if you go back and re-read this review so far.) It's all in good fun, and quite enjoyable if one isn't expecting too much. ***
Movie Review: That 70's Show
Summary: 3 Stars
They can continue to make movies and TV shows that look back at the 1970s with varying degrees of fondness, but it's hard to duplicate the real thing. It's more than just a few disco tunes or offbeat clothes or hairstyles. Watch It's Alive and relive the decade (or experience it for the first time).
This entertaining horror movie is definitely a product of its era. Even if a horror movie was made today that took place in that Nixon-Ford-Carter decade, it wouldn't be authentic (for example, see The Devil's Rejects, which, good as it is, is a 2005 version of 1978). What makes it distinctly "1970s"? The style of direction, the overly dark night shots and the cheesily "hip" dialogue are all reminiscent of that era; for better or worse, they don't make them like this anymore.
What's the movie about? A woman delivers a baby that's some sort of monster. After killing everyone in the delivery room (except its mother), it escapes and wanders the city streets, slowly making its way to the family home. Police and scientists are in pursuit, all intent on killing it.
Some scenes are unintentionally comic, such as the amusingly gory murder of a milkman. Other scenes are genuinely suspenseful. Overall, this is just a slightly above average film. It's definitely a dated movie, and probably past its expiration date, but it's not quite turned bad yet.
Movie Review: THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE DAVIS BABY, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING WITH THE FILM ITSELF
Summary: 2 Stars
Although I knew this movie might not fit my expectations, I still ordered all three parts in a box from British amazon, much because of its cult status among horror fans. Actually I wanted to watch this since I was a boy. And I was right as well as many reviewers (I mean about expectations) - "It's Alive" appeared to be rather boring and not scary at all. The only pluses I saw in it are great work by John P. Ryan (I always adored him) and that nostalgic feeling I got while watching. And by nostalgic I mean the epoch of 70s itself shown in the film, and the way movie was shot. Nowdays we used to see monsters from the first minutes on screen, and in "It's Alive" we get to see the evil baby just closer to the end.
Anyway I think the film lacks some brutality and real horror, maybe they'll come up with something more infernal in the sequel which is being planned, as I heard.
But in general "It's Alive" is quite OK for a low budget movie that doesn't claim to be a masterpiece of horror genre. Buy it if you like old cheesy horror films, especially those which became legends a long time ago.
Movie Review: bad baby, bad!
Summary: 2 Stars
Okay, it's not high art but this film has something to say all be it in a round about fashion. It does make the viewer wonder about modern medicine and how it can possibly affect those who take it on a regular basis. On the other hand, the film lacks true suspense. I was hoping for an explosive opening scene when the baby is first born and instead was offered a yawn. The baby itself is about as scary as fozzy bear and while there is some blood flow it is kept to a minimum. The pacing is too slow at times and it just doesn't stand up that well today. The actors who took part in this didn't go anywhere say for the father who went on to appear in the sequel. Why there was a sequel is beyond me. I recall how frightening the commercial was for this film when it first came out but I was only five at the time. At the most this is a rent not a buy. I guess good for it's time but perhaps a re-make would pump some needed life into the story.