God Told Me To...

Rating:
Summary: God Told Me To....Kill! that sounds fun!
Review: A New York City policemen investigating a series of particularly brutal homicides discovers an eerie link between the cases - when the murderers are asked why they committed the crime they all claim, "God Told Me To."

A Very Strange Movie!

Rating:
Summary: A confusing but amazingly good low-budget thriller
Review: God Told Me To (also known as Demon) is probably the most powerful B-movie I have ever seen; writer and director Larry Cohen had me mesmerized from the start yet more and more confused by the end. This isn't the kind of movie you sit and watch drone-like; this is a complex film that revels in mystery, flirts with apocalyptic notions, and incorporates elements sure to make you question what you think you believe the movie is about. The action begins with a sniper perched on a water tower in New York City, killing a number of people on the street with uncanny accuracy. Tony Lo Bianco plays detective Peter Nicholas, who climbs up and tries to communicate with the sniper; he is surprisingly jolted when he hears the guy say that he committed mass murder because "God told me to." From there we encounter several other bizarre and deadly crimes, the perpetrators of which all tell Nicholas that God told them to do it. One truly memorable scene features a seemingly normal man explain how and why he killed his wife and children with no remorse; in fact, he feels better than he has ever felt because he suddenly knows God and has done what He asked him to do. Nicholas eventually finds out that a weird young guy was seen talking to each murderer shortly before he snapped, and this is where the story starts to get a little weird. The guy's mother is a virgin, as Nicholas finds out after she attempts to kill him. Having now come to believe that the religious aspect of the murders is actually real, Nicholas leaks the hidden confessions to the press after being shunned by his fellow detectives. A devout Catholic, Nicholas now begins to change, and one is hard pressed to figure out what exactly is going on with him. He learns a secret of his own birth and seeks out the Messiah figure who has set such incredible forces in motion.

This movie is not as simple as a Christ-Antichrist type of motif. The virgin mothers were seemingly abducted by aliens and impregnated artificially, and this throws a definite monkey-wrench into how one should interpret the two central forces at work here. The Messiah figure, radiating a golden light that makes him almost impossible to really see, is both a counterpart and a completely opposite entity than that of Nicholas, and the possible fusion of the two primal forces betokens powers and realizations one is hard pressed to understand. In the end, I was left rather confused but deeply impressed by this movie. One very unfortunate aspect of the low-budget film is the fact that some of the incredibly important dialogue at the end was impossible for me to understand as it was drowned out by the ever-present and generally very effective music. Knowing everything that was said would still leave me somewhat confused about the immense complexity of the story, but I would certainly have had a better grasp of Cohen's unique vision. I would hope that religious people would not shun this movie as sacrilegious; I certainly have no problem with it. It does, however, force one to ponder incredibly deep thoughts, such as the total abnegation of God and the difficulty posed by a God who perhaps truly does seek to get the attention of his children by means of random terror.

I would make special mention of the special effects, which are really very good, especially for a low-budget movie. The Messianic incarnation is otherworldly and rather incomprehensible, but I was most impressed by the shooting scenes. I've never actually seen a bullet wound, but the wounds in the movie struck me as quite impressive. These victims don't just fall down and play dead; we actually see the bullet's impact with each victim's body. At one point, we watch from behind a victim while the killer shoots him from in front, and we see the exit wound in his back explode with the force of the bullet. I found that amazingly effective. One trivial fact here is also worth noting; Andy Kaufman actually appears in the movie as one of the God-inspired mass murderers. Overall, I would like to understand this movie much more than I do, but I cannot question the power and hypnotic effect it had on me. You might walk away from God Told Me To shaking your head, but I can almost guarantee you will know you have watched a darn good movie.

Rating:
Summary: Good God
Review: This little known feature is a must. By Larry Cohen (Black Ceasar/Q The Winged Serpant/Dial Rat For Terror) the New York based director.The film was initiially retitled called "Demon" after it was refused showings due to the title. A dedicated Christian (oh dear) COP (oh dear,oh dear) starts his investigations in a seemingly senseless spake of sniper killings. Thats about all I can tell you without spoiling it,but this film goes down paths that you never thought it would and suprises all the way to the end. There is also a small apearence by Andy Kaufman (Latka from "TAXI") as a cop who goes kill crazy at a parade. Watch and see why "God Told Me Too"

Rating:
Summary: MUST SEE FOR LARRY COHEN FANS
Review: TONY LO BIANCO PLAYS A NEW YORK COP INVESTIGATING A SERIES OF MURDERS INVOLVING ORDINARY PEOPLE AS THE MURDERERS. THE ONLY CONNECTION BETWEEN ANY OF THE MURDERS IS WHEN CAUGHT THEY HAVE THE SAME MOTIVE "GOD TOLD ME TO", WHICH BY THE END OF THE FILM TURNS OUT TO BE TRUE. EARLY VERY COOL APPERANCE BY ANDY KAUFMAN AS A UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICER WHO HEARS THE WORD AND STARTS SHOOTING.

Rating:
Summary: God Told Me To Write This...
Review: Yes, this is one weird movie. Mass murder has broken out in New York City like a particularly bad flu epidemic. The film opens with a guy perched on a water tower, gunning down pedestrians for no apparent reason. Tony Lo Bianco is a cop named Nicholas who climbs the tower to talk to the man. When asked why he did it, the gunman says, "God told me to." He then takes a swan-dive onto the street below. Nicholas is a very religious man and is fascinated with the idea of God telling anyone to commit mass murder. The murders keep happening. A man goes to the market and stabs a bunch of customers. Andy Kaufman is a cop who goes berserk at the St. Patrick's Day parade and shoots cops and bystanders alike. Another guy kills his entire family and calmly waits for the police. Of course there's one common denominator in all of these incidents. God told them to do it. Nicholas digs deeper into the mystery to the point of losing his job. He seeks out a young man with long blonde hair who was seen with all the killers just before their crimes. He finds the blonde man's mother, who promptly tries to kill him. Later, Nicholas is told by an older, retired officer about a strange occurance back in 1951. A woman he picked up (running naked down the road) told him she'd been abducted by aliens and raped. Nicholas finds her, still living, in a nursing home. What dark secrets does she hold? What connection is there between Nicholas and the blonde haired man? GOD TOLD ME TO is a VERY different movie! Is God really orchestrating these killings? Or is some alien hybrid only impersonating the deity? Check this one out...