Le monstre est vivant

"It's Alive" is one of those cult horror films that I had heard a lot of great things about but didn't get around to seeing until just recently. I have to say that I was bored with it throughout most of the film, but started to catch on to its vibe as it got closer toward the end. I truly support what this movie has to say about the somewhat totalitarian world of medicine, and ended up liking "It's Alive" a lot more when I realized that it wasn't just some dumb movie with no real point or scares at all. I still have to admit that the movie didn't scare me at all, but it generated some good, healthy suspense, and the point is such a good one (and is so well done) that I do have to hand this movie some major support. It was more sad than anything else, but it wasn't too bad at all.

IT'S ALIVE (1974) ** John Ryan, Sharon Farrell, James Dixon, William Wellman, Jr., Daniel Holzman, Guy Stockwell, Michael Ansara. Cult horror classic conceived by filmmaker Larry Cohen with his signature low-budget aplomb probes many fears (pregnancy, parenthood, chemically enhanced polutions et al) when a loving family's latest offspring turns out to be a murderous monstrosity. Subjective camera angles and quick interspersed cuts of the 'infant' (created by a young Rick Baker, Future Oscar-winning MonsterMaker!) give a few good chills in this fairly middling, tongue-in-cheek genre flick.

Expectant parents Frank (John P. Ryan) and Lenore (Sharon Farrell) get the shock of their lives when their new baby turns out to be a hideous mutant, one that kills whenever it feels threatened. Fleeing the hospital, having massacred the entire delivery room staff only seconds after its birth, the savage infant roams Los Angeles, hunted by the police and its own father.

Although writer/director Cohen's script flirts with ecological/medical issues, briefly suggesting that either pollution or untested drugs may be the cause of the mutation and questioning the morality of abortion, these interesting plot points are quickly pushed aside in favour of Frank's growing psychological turmoil and the mounting police search for the monstrous child.

The former is handled pretty well, John P. Ryan giving a commendable performance as the initially belligerent father who ultimately tries to save his new son, but the pursuit of the creature is very tedious—unimaginative, repetitive, and lacking in general outrageousness and gore, with effects genius Rick Baker's mutant baby frustratingly kept hidden in the shadows for the majority of the film.

Larry Cohen has made a name for himself for producing offbeat horror movies, and this story of a killer deformed baby certainly belongs in his filmography. It's Alive is a huge highlight of the horror genre, and one that doesn't get the praise that it deserves. The film is notable amongst other films of similar plotting because of the way that it fully explores it's premise. Rather than focusing on the monster and the murders, Cohen sees fit to show the audience the effect that the birth of a murderous monster has on the family at the centre of the story, the government, the family friends and various other entities; all of which helps to aid the film in it's bid to be a complete horror thriller. Of course, the film is too silly to be truly touching, but the idea of trying to get the audience to empathise with the characters in this sort of movie is nice, and it adds to kitsch campness of the movie, which does it no end of favours in this kitsch fan's opinion.

The acting adheres to the typical, and much loved, B-movie styling and that is another plus point to add to this movie's resume. John P. Ryan in particular is superb as the upset father, and we see him go through a range of emotions in response to the birth of his 'son', which is a treat indeed. The script isn't the greatest work of art ever to be brought to the screen, but it's always inventive enough to ensure that the action stays interesting and It's Alive hardly suffers from becoming trite and boring. The creature effects aren't the best ever seen, but Larry Cohen hides this fact by never completely showing the creature. This hampers the movie in a way, as it will no doubt get on many viewers' nerves as seeing the monster is normally a highlight of this type of movie; but on the other hand, seeing the monster usually results in disappointment - so at least Cohen's film stays away from that! On the whole, while this film will do nothing for fans of serious art movies; horror fans, particularly very B-horror fans, will be in heaven. Highly recommended!

A fantastically focused and engaged socio-horror film from the last golden age of the 1970s. Anchored around a most committed and persuasive performance from John Ryan and Larry Cohen's empathetic and savvy direction, It's Alive might display some raggedness and lapses in style, but it more than makes up for this with searing intelligence, sharp and sad gallows humour and a beating heart on the side of the ostracized and ridiculed. A fine example of what genre movies can really do.