It's Alive

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A fun look at the '70s...but not a very scary film.
In "celebration" of the Halloween spirit, my wife and I watched a couple of old horror flicks in recent days. As a lark, one of our selections was Larry Cohen's IT'S ALIVE. I had not seen the film in about 20 years, and I knew perfectly well it was not exactly a class act. But I was looking for modest, guilty-pleasure diversion. It was a diversion, but not altogether a pleasure. Made in 1973/74, it absolutely REEKS of the sensibilities of that fashion-challenged time. Everyone smokes...everywhere. Bosses still played "grab a**" with their secretaries. Fabrics, carpets, cars and curtains were all shades of brown ("earth tones"). Everyone drank hard liquor. If the TV series MAD MEN slavishly recreates the feel of the early `60s...IT'S ALIVE actually gives a somewhat convincing idea of what the early `70s were like. Because not only was it made at that time, but everything was done on such a low budget that little concern was given to making things look nice or glamorous. It almost feels like the cast was just asked to wear their everyday clothes...and it feels like they just pulled up to some random house in the LA suburbs and asked if they could film there. It feels decidedly "TV movie" in scale...but now, with 35 years of history between the film and today...it also feels authentic in its way. This cultural fascination aside, the film also offers a perfectly simple and silly story. Frank & Lenore Davis (John Ryan and Sharon Farrell) are a near middle-age, middle class couple with a 12 year old son. The film literally begins with a pregnant Lenore waking up in the middle of the night to announce "it's time." The couple get up, get dressed, make arrangements for their son, and head to the hospital. Lenore remarks a couple of times that things "don't feel the same this time" in reference to her pregnancy. Otherwise, the first 15 minutes of the film is almost irredeemably mundane. We see Frank pacing around in the father's waiting room. We see Lenore wheeled into delivery. Just as your eyelids begin to droop, a scream breaks out from down the hall. A "baby" of some sort has been born, but this is a baby capable of killing the 5 doctors & nurses who attended its birth. It's also capable of escaping the hospital on its own. Throughout the film, we get only the briefest glimpse of this little monster, just before it leaps onto the throat of an unsuspecting person. But much of the film is really about the reaction of the parents to their monster. It is assumed by the authorities that the beast will simply be killed. Frank is all for this idea...he constantly insists that this baby "isn't mine." Lenore, who understandably is a little nuts at this point from the sedatives and her own dismay at giving birth to a serial killer, mostly wanders around her house in a nightgown, saying weird things to her husband, such as suggesting they "try again" to have a baby. Eventually, the baby finds its way home, and the dynamics of the movie actually take on a few surprising twists that I won't reveal. It's not exactly earth-shaking stuff...but it does show that creator Cohen was actually interested in making some sort of psychological or sociological point. Early in the film, one of the waiting fathers talks about how the smog in LA is so bad, and how many bad things are in the air. Later, Frank tells a detective that he and his wife had considered an abortion early on, and he says "Doesn't everyone talk about it these days?" And Frank also has to deal with a hostile press and a smarmy boss who shows sympathy on one hand, yet maneuvers Frank out of his job on another. I say all this as my way of stating that Cohen appeared to be making an attempt to comment on the baby/creature as an non-surprising "offspring" of our society. In no way is the point made successfully, but I have to reluctantly give the movie some credit for trying to inject some brains into what is mostly a laughably simplistic horror tale. Most of the performances are substandard. No one is particularly horrible, but no one convinces either. The lead detective feels nothing like a cop. A researcher does not come across like a scientist at all. Frank's boss is a playboy wanna-be who doesn't feel like a guy who has ever spent a single day in an office. Etc. etc. (Particularly laughable are all the extras playing uniformed policeman...walking around slowly in stony silence, shining flashlights everywhere without actually looking at what the light beams reveal.) In the midst of all this is the performance of John Ryan. He was a character actor that showed up a lot in cheapie flicks like this in the 70s and `80s. (He was actually quite effective as the insane warden in RUNAWAY TRAIN.) This part was a rare lead role for him. And he clearly relished it, and he gives a performance that sort of dances to its own tune, if you will. He infuses Frank with anguished subtext that is never quite coherent. You can FEEL Ryan working to give a great performance, even though his skills as an actor were not up to the task. There are flashes of total conviction, followed by scenes in which he mostly stares off into the distance with bug eyes. His Frank seems to be teetering on insanity...but honestly, it almost feels that way BEFORE the baby is born. This movie is actually rated PG (I guess it would have been "GP" back in the day)...and the violence is quite mild by today's standards. Heck, even the blood is a totally unconvincing light red. There is not one single genuine moment of fright...but there are a few modestly creepy moments. And there are just enough surprises, and just enough fascination with the look of 1974 to make IT'S ALIVE worth a look. Kids and teens of today will be bored right out of their minds...but if you lived during this time and have clear memories of it, I think you might actually be passingly amused. 2.5 stars

Decent enough but I will never bother with the sequels
The Davis family eagerly awaits the birth of their second child. After Lenore Davis(Sharon Farrell) gives birth, the room is left in a bloody mess with doctors and nurses dead. The police together with Frank Davis(John Ryan) conduct a "baby" hunt to catch a deformed infant with animalistic behavior. "It's Alive" is a movie that took me a few tries to get through. The movie is painfully slow with some very cheap deaths. I really can't imagine anyone over ten years old being afraid of this one because it is not scary at all. The supposedly creepy scenes are built up badly and the music lost it's appeal rather quick. The only elements that keep me from giving this two stars exactly is the characters and themes. The character development is pretty good and a parent would have to feel the characters plight. Put in a position to may have to kill your kid might not be very easy to digest. Mutantly deformed or not. Another message is also hit upon but I won't bother spoiling that one. The ending was pulled off very well. But people who need a faster paced story may not feel the trip was worth it. Still, something must have worked for this to spawn two more sequels. Sequels I have no intention on ever seeing. This movie was enough for me and it will more than likely be lost in my collection. If you have a serious thing for old 70's and 80's low budget horror then give this a spin. That's why I picked it up. Others who need in your face graphic death, shouldn't even bother.

I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN PAMPERS!
IT'S ALIVE! This movie put Larry Cohen on the map(well,the HORROR map that is) this is about the birth of a killer mutant infant who terrorizes Los Angeles. The storyline is handled with commendably straight faces and John Ryan does give it his all! This has GREAT music by none other then Bernard Herrmann who did PSYCHO and Brian DePalma's SISTERS. Also the It's Alive baby is done by Rick american werewolf Baker. Please give this 74 movie a try on which I quote Tarantino...This movie is hilariously wicked! Trust me this is the HORROR movie to powder your bottoms right. p.s.also recommend BASKET CASE!

A 70's horror classic!
The Davies (John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrel) are expecting a baby but as soon as they arrive in the hospital, something goes wrong in the living room as the wife gives birth to a sharp toothed, red-eyed, clawed mutant infant monster that kills anyone that gets in it's way. The cops are urged to kill the mutant freak before it kills more and the father is determined to find out the mystery behind what caused the mutant and must destroy it. One of the most influential horror movies of the 1970's and one of Larry Cohen's best movies! spawning two sequels with a remake coming out sometime and some rip-offs. This gory thriller gives us the chilling possiblities of what radioation or a deadly drug can effect a developing fetus, Rick Baker's creature and make-up effects are excellent for it's day and the acting is good. It's a shocking and startling movie with ideas and one of the most original screen monsters there is, a must see for fans of old school horror. The DVD contains a good widescreen transfer with good sound and the only extras are a audio commentary by writer-director Larry Cohen and trailers for all three movies. Also recommended: "Basket Case", "Re-Animator", "The Toxic Avenger", "C.H.U.D", "Bride of Re-Animator", "Beyond Re-Animator", "Q: The Winged Serpent", "It Lives Again", "It's Alive III: Island of the Alive", "The Brood", "Halloween", "Class of Nuke'Em High", "The Fly (1986)", "Scanners", "Bloody Birthday", "An American Werewolf in London", "God Told Me To", "Brain Damage", "Frankenhooker", "Pet Semetary", "The Children", "Slugs", "Baby Blood", "The Stuff", "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie", "28 Days Later", "28 Weeks Later", "The Crazies", and "Dawn of the Dead (1978 and 2004)".

HORRIBLE AS HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAN! This movie creeps the hell of me!!! Of course! like most of the horror movies, is low budget! BUT is still a good film! I mean... The picture quality is VERY clear, the "baby monster" desing was VERY CREEPY (I don't understand why most people don't see it that way), the sound quality was good and the acting was also good but don't expect an oscar-winning acting. The reason that this movie is HORRIBLE is that the concept is very scary! I mean... This baby is an UGLY one with fangs, claws and horrible baby wails! eww!, when the baby or monster come out of his mother he kills every doctor on the room! and then while his parents are suffering he is out in the town killing everyone he sees by CHEWING THEM!! OH MY GOD!! The movie is also VERY BLOODY! (specially the milkman scene), the corpes that the baby left are chewed and all cover with BLOOD!! HAHAHA!! There are a lots of killings on this movie so be prepared to enjoy some dead fest! HAHAHA!! P.S: The ONLY thing that I didn't like was that the gory scenes were so fast that you could hardly see the killings, but is still BLOODY and SICK as hell! Adios!