It’s Alive (1974)

(On Cable TV, September 2020) I had semi-high expectations going into It’s Alive: writer-director Larry Cohen often worked in B-movies, but he usually had an extra spark of imagination that made them worthwhile regardless of budget. In It’s Alive, you can see his intention of doing something weirder than usual, but also the limitations of his approach. In a premise fit for the ages, this is a film about a mutant baby that goes on a murder spree from birth (an experimental drug is involved, in classic mid-1970s post-Thalidomide fashion), and the efforts of the police forces and his new father to track it down. It sounds crazy enough and, to be fair, the film does a lot of mileage out of that premise. Unfortunately, the film is not all that pleasant to watch: the gritty New Hollywood style compounded by the low budget means that the film is ugly from beginning to end, and that’s before getting into the gore inherent in the premise. In typical Cohen fashion, it’s got more on its mind than just murder, and you can have a relatively good time decoding the various themes and issues that the film touches upon beyond the horror premise. Still, it doesn’t make It’s Alive any more compelling to watch—call it a half-miss or a half-hit, depending on how generous you feel.