Rating: 
Summary: Cohen's Social Commentary and Mutant Babies!!
Review: 1974 was a stellar year for the horror genre, with two of its most legendary entries released that year-The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. While It's Alive! may lack the Oscar caliber performances of The Exorcist and the grueling intensity of Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it is nonetheless a very worthwhile and interesting film.
The film opens with a typical all american family eagerly awaiting the birth of a new sibling. The wife swiftly goes into labour and is taken to the hospital where she gives birth to a homicidal, green skinned baby with a taste for human flesh. After murdering most of the attending physicians, the little hellion escapes the hospital to wreak havoc on the California community. Soon the terrible tyke finds itself pursued by the police and its own father hellbent on its destruction.
Director Larry Cohen (Q-The Winged Serpent, Phone Booth) elevates this film over the routine horror exploitation genre by infusing it with liberal doses of social commentary. The origin of the little beast is rooted in the world's deteriorating ecology and pollution, other possible causes are side effects from pharmaceutical drugs.
Another fascinating theme is the parents' unconditional love for the mutated child, by the film's climax even the disgusted father cannot help but feel empathy for his demented offspring persecuted by the same society that created him.
Even though the titular monster baby is obviously a cheap rubber creation, Cohen skillfully evokes a sense of pervasive dread and suspense by showing the beast as little as possible. Hardcore fans of over the top gore would be well advised to look elsewhere as none is to be found here.
The video and audio of the DVD is quite excellent for a relatively low budget film this old. Also, Warner Brothers has supplied a director's commentary and trailers for not only this but the two ensuing sequels, the wonderful It Lives Again! (1978) and Island Of The Alive.
While by no means a classic, It's Alive is a slow moving but rewarding excursion that is as thought provoking as it is chill inducing. It's Alive is a welcome relief from the usual stalk and slash horror films that dominated the late seventies and eighties. Highly recommended for fans of the offbeat and cult classic films.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny, Ferocious Fun!
Review: " It's Alive " is a part of a horror series directed by Larry Cohen, the sequels are " It Lives Again " and " It's Alive III : Island Of The Alive. " But before we get to those sequels, let's talk about this cult classic, of baby-time carnage!!I absolutely love this movie and its sequels, I once watched, I believe all three films on Monstervision, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs. It was ofcourse during the nightly hours. I was just captured and must say these flicks are certainly some of the great mid-night horror marathon movies. I don't give a damn how long ago they came out, these are cheese-ball, absolutely hilarious classics! The humour is, intentional or not, abundantly apart of the fun. This first one picks up with a normal man and his wife who have a baby, who turns out to be a monster baby. The man is John P. Ryan, and his wife, Sharon Farrell, two marvelous actors in this movie. The supporting cast is there too. The Rick Baker babies may look cheesy, but its all apart of the fun. Some of the funnest moments come when the baby is running amock, attacking, milk men, and all sorts of prey. Also the score, by Bernard Herrmann (Psycho) is perfect, absolutely perfect. His last score by the way before his death was " It Lives Again, " the remarkable sequel, which is even better, and keep a look out for the third picture too, not as good as 1 & 2, but still just a great fun time.
Rating: 
Summary: WASTE OF YOUR TIME
Review: Based on the publicity campaign for this movie (when it first hit the big screen) I got "sucked in" to seeing it. Save yourself the money and wait for spiderman II because this is one of the worse movies I have ever seen. And I don't mean Ed Wood "bad/good". This is just BAD
Rating:
Summary: Baby Baby Don't Get Hooked In Me...
Review: Frank and Lenore Davis (John Ryan and Sharon Farrell) decided to go ahead and have a second child. Uh-Oh! Little baby Davis (at a whopping 11-12 pounds) enters the world with a bit of a bang, slaughtering the roomful of doctors and nurses unlucky enough to witness it's arrival! Now on the loose, the cuddly mutant proceeds to attack anyone who gets too close. The famous milkman scene is a grabber. Just watch as the poor milkman is pulled through the back of his truck like a log in a mulcher (with only a minimal amount of gore, as it's mostly in our heads)! Soon, the entire LA police force is on the trail of our bouncing baby beasty. Lenore goes a bit nutty (who wouldn't?), while Frank grows increasingly hardened toward the whole bloody mess. Of course, the drug company that fears they may have been the cause of baby Davis' condition want it destroyed, in order to avoid any implications. Frank is horrified to find that Lenore has let junior in the house and fed it a freezer-ful of food! This leads to the climax in the Los Angeles sewer system. IT'S ALIVE is Larry Cohen's masterwork of horror and satire. A halloween must! Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: A classic horror film.
Review: I saw this film years ago on tv, but I didn't know what it was. I went to the prevue channal and saw that it was called It's Alive. Years later I saw that the ratings on it weren't that bad so I rented it and I thought it was a very good horror film. The creepiest part is when they're in the sewers. The composer is, as usual, Bernard Herrmann, and he is at his scariest kinds of music in this film. The score completely freaked me out in the scene where Frank is running down the sewer tunnel with the baby. This film is also telling us that we need to be careful in what kinds of chemicals we release out into the world, for who knows what it will create.
Rating:
Summary: It's a B-Movie Classic!
Review: Larry Cohen has always had fun making no-frills, slightly creepy "B" Horror movies. As a result, his films tend to be non-cerebral, quirky, violent, cheesy-looking, infectiously funny, and, most of all, fun. It is in this spirit of fun that I write this review for one of Cohen's most memorable and fun films, IT'S ALIVE! (1974). The plot is simple: a relatively normal (though slightly quirky) middle-aged couple with an 11-year-old son, who decided to have one more child, is going through what is obviously a prolonged, painful pregnancy for the expectant soon-to-be-second-time-mother. The Davis family, consisting of Frank (John P. Ryan), Lenore (Sharon Farrell) and Chris (Daniel Holzman) just want to get through it, already. Lenore finally goes into labor one night, and the whole family drives to the hospital, during which time Frank tries to lighten the mood with a little humor. During the interminable wait in the hospital lobby, Frank overhears two men discussing something about the toxins being released into the environment and how scientists are warning of the possible mutations this could cause for humans. Suddenly, a badly wounded doctor comes stumbling out of the O/R and drops dead on the hallway floor. Frank and the others run into the room to find a scene of sheer horror: five doctors and nurses dead, their throats all torn and bloody. As they stare in shock and amazement, Lenore (who is uninjured) delivers the chilling news: she gave birth to a newborn baby monster. As Frank and the police try to find the Davis' mutated son, who had escaped the hospital through a ventilation shaft, Baby Davis tries to find his way home by himself, dispatching several unaware victims in the process. Frank is torn amongst his feelings of protectiveness for his son, of the sense of duty to snuff out this newborn killer's life, and anger at those he feels are overly anxious to kill him. I have rented this film and seen it on three separate occasions (all on VHS, of course; unfortunately, Warner Brothers has not yet seen fit to issue it on DVD) and it gives me something new to focus on each time. The first time, it was the visceral violence of the film (it is quite bloody); the second time, it was the sheer campiness of the whole thing. The third time, it was the emotional suffering of Frank Davis, as he tries to simultaneously make sense of the situation, figure out what his newborn monstrosity will do next, and to make it right. Although all of the acting in the film is effective and dependable, none stands out more than John P. Ryan. I love his goofiness at the beginning of the film as he's talking to his "young whipperschnapper" son in a comic Humphrey Bogart-meets-Edward G. Robinson voice. I like the effectiveness of the quiet, tense scene that takes place right after the horrible slaying in the hospital, in which the police try to dance lightly around Frank as they begin to ask him uncomfortable questions at this very awkward time. Frank's foot-shifting, equally uncomfortable responses and increasing agitations hit just the right note, and are a subtle example of great Method Acting. Finally, I like the heartbreakingly somberness of the climactic, and inevitable, final scene. The PG-rating for IT'S ALIVE! remains something of a deceptive mystery; it IS quite bloody, although there isn't much in the way of graphic gore. Still, this got rather strong ratings abroad: According to IMDb, it received a "15" rating in Sweden, an "18" rating in both the U.K. and The Netherlands (the numbers referring to the age at/above to which the film's viewership was restricted), an "R" rating in Australia, and in Finland, it was banned! I know it's cheesy, I know that you hardly see the monster baby (which, given the lack of special effects, was probably a good thing and even added to the suspense), and I know that future multiple-Oscar-winning makeup genius Rick Baker was basically beginning to learn his craft here; the fact is, I find it impossible not to like IT'S ALIVE! If you love those late-night creepy old movies, then you know you will like this too. You've got to admit, you like this kind of stuff--and director Larry Cohen sure makes it fun to watch! RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF 1970'S FILMS
Rating:
Summary: It's a B-Movie Classic!
Review: Larry Cohen has always had fun making no-frills, slightly creepy "B" Horror movies. As a result, his films tend to be non-cerebral, quirky, violent, cheesy-looking, infectiously funny, and, most of all, fun. It is in this spirit of fun that I write this review for one of Cohen's most memorable and fun films, IT'S ALIVE! (1974). The plot is simple: a relatively normal (though slightly quirky) middle-aged couple with an 11-year-old son, who decided to have one more child, is going through what is obviously a prolonged, painful pregnancy for the expectant soon-to-be-second-time-mother. The Davis family, consisting of Frank (John P. Ryan), Lenore (Sharon Farrell) and Chris (Daniel Holzman) just want to get through it, already. Lenore finally goes into labor one night, and the whole family drives to the hospital, during which time Frank tries to lighten the mood with a little humor. During the interminable wait in the hospital lobby, Frank overhears two men discussing something about the toxins being released into the environment and how scientists are warning of the possible mutations this could cause for humans. Suddenly, a badly wounded doctor comes stumbling out of the O/R and drops dead on the hallway floor. Frank and the others run into the room to find a scene of sheer horror: five doctors and nurses dead, their throats all torn and bloody. As they stare in shock and amazement, Lenore (who is uninjured) delivers the chilling news: she gave birth to a newborn baby monster. As Frank and the police try to find the Davis' mutated son, who had escaped the hospital through a ventilation shaft, Baby Davis tries to find his way home by himself, dispatching several unaware victims in the process. Frank is torn amongst his feelings of protectiveness for his son, of the sense of duty to snuff out this newborn killer's life, and anger at those he feels are overly anxious to kill him. I have rented this film and seen it on three separate occasions (all on VHS, of course; unfortunately, Warner Brothers has not yet seen fit to issue it on DVD) and it gives me something new to focus on each time. The first time, it was the visceral violence of the film (it is quite bloody); the second time, it was the sheer campiness of the whole thing. The third time, it was the emotional suffering of Frank Davis, as he tries to simultaneously make sense of the situation, figure out what his newborn monstrosity will do next, and to make it right. Although all of the acting in the film is effective and dependable, none stands out more than John P. Ryan. I love his goofiness at the beginning of the film as he's talking to his "young whipperschnapper" son in a comic Humphrey Bogart-meets-Edward G. Robinson voice. I like the effectiveness of the quiet, tense scene that takes place right after the horrible slaying in the hospital, in which the police try to dance lightly around Frank as they begin to ask him uncomfortable questions at this very awkward time. Frank's foot-shifting, equally uncomfortable responses and increasing agitations hit just the right note, and are a subtle example of great Method Acting. Finally, I like the heartbreakingly somberness of the climactic, and inevitable, final scene. The PG-rating for IT'S ALIVE! remains something of a deceptive mystery; it IS quite bloody, although there isn't much in the way of graphic gore. Still, this got rather strong ratings abroad: According to IMDb, it received a "15" rating in Sweden, an "18" rating in both the U.K. and The Netherlands (the numbers referring to the age at/above to which the film's viewership was restricted), an "R" rating in Australia, and in Finland, it was banned! I know it's cheesy, I know that you hardly see the monster baby (which, given the lack of special effects, was probably a good thing and even added to the suspense), and I know that future multiple-Oscar-winning makeup genius Rick Baker was basically beginning to learn his craft here; the fact is, I find it impossible not to like IT'S ALIVE! If you love those late-night creepy old movies, then you know you will like this too. You've got to admit, you like this kind of stuff--and director Larry Cohen sure makes it fun to watch! RECOMMENDED
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FANS OF 1970'S FILMS
Rating:
Summary: Baby justs need some luvin'
Review: Monster baby, looking much like an overcooked sausage with big pointy teeth, comes into the world and firstly lays waste to the entire staff of the delivery room. From there it's all uphill. Or downhill, depending on your point of view. This movie never fails to crack me up with its balance of humor and horror. The directors wisely show the baby only in quick shots, so that what it looks like is mostly left to the imagination. Think _Alien_ until the end of the movie, when you finally get to see the monster. It turns out, at the end, that you actually feel sorry for the little tyke. Mostly, it appears, he just wants to be loved. Is this a great film? No. Is it one you should see if you're a fan of horror films? Absolutely!
Rating:
Summary: "What's wrong with my baby!!?"
Review: One of the great cult films of the '70's, Larry Cohen's "It's Alive" plays less as a horror film than as a psychological drama, smartly focusing on the emotional devastation wrought on the marriage of the parents, Frank and Leonor Davis (well played by John Ryan and Sharon Farrell) and, to a lesser extent, their existing eleven-year-old son Chris. The theme Cohen plays with is less a "monster on the loose" picture than one in which the very human parents are forced to confront the ugly consequences in which society, and particularly the media, want only to feed on and exploit the pain of individuals thrust into a situation beyond their immediate comprehension or control. Farrell, (understandably) close to the edge of insanity, still maintains a mother's love for her child - no matter what it might look or behave like. Ryan, seeing this as a slam against his manhood, simply refuses to accept that this "child" is anything that he could have fathered. The film also raises dark questions concerning the pharmaceutical industry's cynical promotion of birth-control drugs and their side-effects, as well as a speculating on the effect pollutants in the air and water might have on our bodies. (A theme revisited by director Phillip Kaufmann in the 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). Unfortunately, these themes are a bit hamstrung by Larry Cohen's flat-footed direction; there are some great, and funny scenes to be sure (the milkman comes to mind), but the film is unsure whether it wants to be a social satire or a real horror film. Ironically, it ends up being neither; the "Davis baby" actually emerges as a truly tragic figure, crawling up alongside King Kong and Frankenstein's monster (who Ryan's character makes reference to in the film) as a poor creature unwittingly thrown into the harsh world of mankind, which always fears and hates what it doesn't understand. Flaws aside, this is still a great example of how far out (and how much sick fun) horror films of the '70's could be. Even though this was distributed by a major studio (Warner Bros.), this was essentially a low-budget independent film. The "baby" was created by the brilliant, multiple Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker. At the time the film was made, the "baby" puppet didn't permit (nor did the budget) any of the cable-control mechanisms inside to create movement, as Baker and his crew would later use to great effect on "An American Werewolf in London", "Harry and the Hendersons" and "Gorillas in the Mist". Still, few could argue that the "Davis baby" is one of the wildest and most bizarre characters ever to emerge from '70's horror films. Highly dated, but still recommended nonetheless!
Rating:
Summary: "What's wrong with my baby!!?"
Review: One of the great cult films of the '70's, Larry Cohen's "It's Alive" plays less as a horror film than as a psychological drama, smartly focusing on the emotional devastation wrought on the marriage of the parents, Frank and Leonor Davis (well played by John Ryan and Sharon Farrell) and, to a lesser extent, their existing eleven-year-old son Chris. The theme Cohen plays with is less a "monster on the loose" picture than one in which the very human parents are forced to confront the ugly consequences in which society, and particularly the media, want only to feed on and exploit the pain of individuals thrust into a situation beyond their immediate comprehension or control. Farrell, (understandably) close to the edge of insanity, still maintains a mother's love for her child - no matter what it might look or behave like. Ryan, seeing this as a slam against his manhood, simply refuses to accept that this "child" is anything that he could have fathered. The film also raises dark questions concerning the pharmaceutical industry's cynical promotion of birth-control drugs and their side-effects, as well as a speculating on the effect pollutants in the air and water might have on our bodies. (A theme revisited by director Phillip Kaufmann in the 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). Unfortunately, these themes are a bit hamstrung by Larry Cohen's flat-footed direction; there are some great, and funny scenes to be sure (the milkman comes to mind), but the film is unsure whether it wants to be a social satire or a real horror film. Ironically, it ends up being neither; the "Davis baby" actually emerges as a truly tragic figure, crawling up alongside King Kong and Frankenstein's monster (who Ryan's character makes reference to in the film) as a poor creature unwittingly thrown into the harsh world of mankind, which always fears and hates what it doesn't understand. Flaws aside, this is still a great example of how far out (and how much sick fun) horror films of the '70's could be. Even though this was distributed by a major studio (Warner Bros.), this was essentially a low-budget independent film. The "baby" was created by the brilliant, multiple Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker. At the time the film was made, the "baby" puppet didn't permit (nor did the budget) any of the cable-control mechanisms inside to create movement, as Baker and his crew would later use to great effect on "An American Werewolf in London", "Harry and the Hendersons" and "Gorillas in the Mist". Still, few could argue that the "Davis baby" is one of the wildest and most bizarre characters ever to emerge from '70's horror films. Highly dated, but still recommended nonetheless!
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