Skip to main content

Its Alive (1974) - Larry Cohen

Its Alive was actually a pretty decent horror film and a very hilarious concept. The movie all around has a sort of 1950's b-movie feel to it. Even the soundtrack has that same feel. This has to be the best movie that Larry Cohen directed, he has plastered his name on some stinkers, but this is one of his crowning achievements. One of the best things in this is the Unknown. You barely see the "Monster" the entire film.

If you don't know what happens... A woman gives birth to a freakish monstrosity that runs amok in Los Angeles killing people in its way. The movie climaxes in the beautiful Los Angeles river.. yeah right, beautiful. That's all I'm going to give you on this movie, go see it if you want to know more.

Like I said above the movie does a great job of keeping the monster hidden from the camera for most of the film. It is pretty successful in keeping the audience guessing what is going to happen next. My guess is that when Larry Cohen was directing this he wanted to parody 50's Monster movies, and he did a great job. I could see this movie double billing with such classics as Them or Attack of the 50 foot Woman.

I ordered this movie on Netflix where it is available to watch online. So if you wanna see it go there and watch it instantly. I had a great time watching this baby killing everyone in its path, i got some really good chuckles. The movie isn't shy of blood or suspense either. So it definitely fits in the Horror genre. I will give It's Alive a 6 of 10.

That's no baby, that's a dog man!
  • Movie was remade in 2008 with Bijou Phillips
  • The movie actually made the 100 scariest moments in movie history on Bravo
  • This movie spawned 2 sequels

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t...

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton

Tim Burton's take on the old Sleepy Hollow tale is really interesting. He adds his own flair of course. He delves very deeply into the original story by Washington Irving. The casting is usual for Burton. Johnny Depp of course in your lead. Helena Bonham Carter, thrown in for some flavor. The score is done by Danny Elfman. It's literally just the Ichabod Crane story run through the Tim Burton machine. But in a good way. Sleepy Hollow has a problem with a guy, running around, taking people's heads. Like, a lot of people. The town sends word for assistance and the nervous  Constable Ichabod Crane reports. He starts to unravel clues that take him down an incredibly strange path. With the Horseman still murdering patrons, Crane tries finding who's next before they lose their head.  I've always been a big fan of the Disney cartoon,  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . This movie is a far cry from Bing Crosby and quaint animations....

Le Manoir du Diable (1896) - George Melies

According to Wikipedia in August of 2011, Le Manoir du diable by Georges Melies is the first horror movie. Well, actually its a short film (about three minuets or so) but film was really hard to come by in that time so this counts as a film to me. The plot of the film is basic, you have your hero being tormented by demonic things in a crazy castle room... However, that plot isn't what brought the crowds. The thing that drove the popularity of these films was the fact that you were seeing motion on screen. I suggest going and seeing Hugo. That film is spectacular. It answered so many questions that I had. It really sets the scene and the tone. The film has strong christian overtones and actually ends with Christianity prevailing over the "tides of darkness". I provided a link at the bottom of this review for anyone that would like to see this pioneer in Horror Film. The movie uses very, very early "movie magic" that is an abundance of smoke and m...