Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

evanston_dad There are some interesting and even somewhat ambitious (for its genre) ideas buried in the screenplay for "It's Alive," a mutant killer baby movie from 1974, but everything about the film is so poorly executed that the ideas don't get a chance to go anywhere.Those ideas include the anxiety and loss of control that come with having a newborn baby; the disappointment parents can feel when their children don't live up to their own preconceived expectations; the rift that children can create between husbands and wives; and the general responsibility husbands and fathers feel to "fix" whatever is wrong with their families. The film reminded me a tiny bit of David Lynch's "Eraserhead": in both, a literal monster exists as a stand in for all of the psychological angst that comes with bringing a child into the world. But "It's Alive" is very poorly directed, so it's not at all scary, and, though it elicits a chuckle once in a while for how stupid it is, it's not really bad enough to land into "so bad it's good" territory either. Mostly, the audience spends its time trying to get a glimpse of this killer baby, which it never really sees in any detail (probably a wise decision on the part of the filmmakers).Grade: C-

Leofwine_draca Larry Cohen's grisly and original take on the monster movie is very much a product of its time. This is a cold, unflinching '70s film, where every camera shot seems to take place on the corner of a regular street, inhabited by regular, hard-working guys, and the cold night air seems to give a chilly, clinical atmosphere to what's taking place on screen. IT'S ALIVE reminds me very much of early Cronenberg: think SHIVERS and RABID. This is a disturbing film that has the atmosphere of a never-ending nightmare: despite some dodgy effects and occasional campiness, for the most part the horror works.The story of a mutant baby crawling around and biting people to death sounds pretty ludicrous on the face of it. There are only so many stalk-and-slash scenarios that the director can work with, although his blurred-eye-vision tracking shots seem to have influenced Carpenter when he made HALLOWEEN. No, Cohen wisely chooses to focus on emotion and characterisation over action, and the central character is the distraught father who runs a gamut of feelings when he discovers that his baby is responsible for a hospital massacre. John P. Ryan, giving one of the all-time-great B-movie performances, excels as the clinically detached dad who discovers his paternal instincts at the film's climax.The special effects are quite poor by today's standard (the baby is played by a regular actor in close-up shots) and Cohen keeps the monster off-screen for the most part, which does help counter the general cheapness. Still, I found the baby quite eerie, thanks mainly to Rick Baker's makeup work, and the fact that it retains some humanity helps to give the film its emotional heart. Despite the low budget, IT'S ALIVE is also blessed with an absolutely fantastic soundtrack thanks to Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann, who goes all out to create spooky, evocative and atmospheric music. The presence of these three men (Herrmann, Ryan and Cohen) makes this film a minor classic of the period.

wes-connors While sleeping peacefully in his Southern California home, public relations businessman John Ryan (as Frank Davis) is awakened by pregnant wife Sharon Farrell (as Lenore). She has gone into labor. After depositing young son Daniel Holzman (as Chris) with family friend William Wellman Jr. (son of renowned director William Wellman, as Charley), Mr. Ryan drives his wife to the hospital. Delivery of the couple's second child is difficult, to say the least. The horrific hospital incident produces a monster who terrifies Ryan's family and community..."It's Alive" is a minor miracle for Larry Cohen, who wrote, produced and directed this low-budget, sleeper classic...After a skillful career in television, Mr. Cohen began dabbling in feature films, with mixed (but interesting) results. Here, as the auteur of his film, Cohen reveals great style and structure; the latter being a big improvement over his previous "Bone" (1972). Like the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, Cohen knows what, when and how much to show. Rick Baker's makeup and special effects look amazing. Cohen gets Hitchcock's notable soundtrack composer Bernard Herrmann to score and gets great help from Ryan, who plays the baby's father to perfection.******** It's Alive (1974-07) Larry Cohen ~ John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, James Dixon, Daniel Holzman

bkoganbing All is happy in the Davis household as parents John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell are expecting the arrival of a new baby. But after a difficult labor Farrell gives birth to something out of Alien. It kills the delivery team in the hospital leaving mother alive, but shattered beyond belief and not knowing really what's going on. A beautiful Bernard Hermann score is really wasted on a cheap horror exploitation flick that spawned to sequels itself. Although Farrell as the mother should by all accounts be the protective one even though this thing which we never quite see, it is Davis as the father who tries to save it in the end. Even though Davis is only the father in the sense that Joseph is the listed father on the birth certificate in the Nazareth Hall of Records. In fact we're never really sure what caused Farrell to bring this into the world.Fans of gory horror films will love It's Alive, not sure how others will take it.