Post by Quorthon on Mar 26, 2008 12:19:07 GMT -5
It’s Alive
Horror
1974
Color
MPAA Rating: PG
Directed by: Larry Cohen
USA
When I was a kid, there were three movies that terrified me to the point of leaving me mentally scarred and irrationally terrified of various stupid things: Cujo, Pet Semetary, and It’s Alive. I saw all of them when I was ten years old or younger—Cujo and It’s Alive, I saw them when I was seven years old and younger. Anyway, I found this “gem” for $7 and went and bought it. Turned out, the movie I remembered terrifying me so badly was actually the sequel, but this is a good starter, right? I mean, we all have to face our fears at some point, right? I’ve warmed up to a Saint Bernard and now I think pet cemeteries are a total blast to hang around, so I’m finally able to watch the film with the killer mutant babies that so badly scarred me as a child. Unfortunately, as I said, I was apparently scared by the sequel as I remember three mutant killer babies, and this movie has just one of the little buggers.
So, the basic synopsis is: A family is expecting a new baby. The baby is born in a hospital, and “something’s up” and all the doctors and nurses in the room are killed. And the baby is nowhere to be seen. I’ll save you the suspense as the baby is actually horribly mutated and has pointy teeth, weird eyes, and creepy three-fingered claws instead of, you know, normal hands. Strangely enough, the baby is making it’s way home to Mom and Dad by scuttling through bushes as it meanders through town to get home. And it kills people along the way. Eventually, we have the fairly typical horror film ending.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Good:
--Well, it was unique at the time. I’ll give it that.
--The baby is genuinely creepy when we finally get to see it, and the special effects are surprisingly good. Better than I had expected. They’re not perfect, by any means, but they don’t look horrible.
--The father’s struggle with his personal identity related to the baby is actually fairly well done and adds a nice layer of depth to the film. Does he love the child or hate the child? Does he want it dead, or does he want to care for it? Actually pretty good stuff.
--If you have the DVD, watch the trailer for the film. The latter half is strangely boring, but the first half of the trailer? I challenge you not to laugh at that. They show a clip from the movie, then the announcer blurts, “IT’S ALIVE!” and this is repeated several times, and each time, the announcer’s voice is “more stressed with fear,” but it’s all very funny.
Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--Some of the cinematography is pretty decent, though there are a lot of standard indie-70’s tricks thrown in. A lot of blurriness.
--The world as seen by the baby is merely “extremely unfocused” double vision. Strangely enough, the first time we see the baby, it’s also as if we’re seeing him through his own eyes.
--Blood looks only marginally better than regular fake 70’s horror film blood.
--No real swearing, no nudity, minor gore—but more than to be expected in a PG film. This was before the advent of the PG-13 rating, however. You don’t have to worry about your kids watching this, they’ll be bored too quickly anyway.
--Most of the acting is pretty ho-hum. Some is good, some is horrible, most is just kind of lifeless.
--Generally light on the atmosphere.
--Average music, bland dialog. Some humorous lines every now and then, but I think that was unintentional.
The Bad:
--Slow. The film is slow and plodding. Clearly, the filmmakers were trying to build up some tension, but Hitchcock they ain’t. Rather than building tension, it’s just dull and boring.
--People die so easily in this film. The vast majority of people are killed with a quick swipe to the throat and then they’re dead instantly. No bleeding to death, no struggling to live, no gurgling on blood, no nothing. It’s as if that swipe to the neck caused the victims’ brains and hearts to simultaneously cease to exist and they just drop over dead. Nobody even ever tries to save them.
--Seventies sexism alive and well, mostly relegated to what we modern folk would see as rudeness towards the baby’s mother.
--Yet another film with a lot of illogical happenings now and then. Why, for instance, would someone suddenly report to media that a mutant killer baby was born (and the media goes along with it very easily), and why would they just instantly give out the names of the parents? This seems like somewhat weak writing used to vainly add more tension to the film.
The Ugly:
--Apparently the décor of the 70’s was made up of three things: Brown, pale creamy yellow brown, and pale creamy sickly green. Everything from clothes, to cars, to wallpaper, to carpet is this color. Imagine how much fun a sickly color of beige would be—that’s the visual appeal of the sets in this film.
--For the most part, we just don’t give a crap about these characters, which affects the tension and atmosphere.
Memorable Scene:
--There’s a milkman actually delivering milk. Just how old is this movie? Ending was pretty good, if an odd parallel to classic sci-fi feature, Them!
Acting: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Character Development: 6/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10
Dialog: 6/10
Music: 6/10
Direction: 6/10
Nudity: 0/10
Sexuality: 0/10
Violence: 7/10
Gore: 5/10
Cheesiness: 6/10
Crappiness: 3/10
Overall: 5/10
So, finally, I realize after all these years, I was scared of relatively harmless mutant babies… Granted, it was the second movie that did it to me, but if this is any indication (and the third one is pretty bad), then I think I’m well over this. Good for hardcore horror fans, mostly—and that’s about it.
Horror
1974
Color
MPAA Rating: PG
Directed by: Larry Cohen
USA
When I was a kid, there were three movies that terrified me to the point of leaving me mentally scarred and irrationally terrified of various stupid things: Cujo, Pet Semetary, and It’s Alive. I saw all of them when I was ten years old or younger—Cujo and It’s Alive, I saw them when I was seven years old and younger. Anyway, I found this “gem” for $7 and went and bought it. Turned out, the movie I remembered terrifying me so badly was actually the sequel, but this is a good starter, right? I mean, we all have to face our fears at some point, right? I’ve warmed up to a Saint Bernard and now I think pet cemeteries are a total blast to hang around, so I’m finally able to watch the film with the killer mutant babies that so badly scarred me as a child. Unfortunately, as I said, I was apparently scared by the sequel as I remember three mutant killer babies, and this movie has just one of the little buggers.
So, the basic synopsis is: A family is expecting a new baby. The baby is born in a hospital, and “something’s up” and all the doctors and nurses in the room are killed. And the baby is nowhere to be seen. I’ll save you the suspense as the baby is actually horribly mutated and has pointy teeth, weird eyes, and creepy three-fingered claws instead of, you know, normal hands. Strangely enough, the baby is making it’s way home to Mom and Dad by scuttling through bushes as it meanders through town to get home. And it kills people along the way. Eventually, we have the fairly typical horror film ending.
Here’s the breakdown:
The Good:
--Well, it was unique at the time. I’ll give it that.
--The baby is genuinely creepy when we finally get to see it, and the special effects are surprisingly good. Better than I had expected. They’re not perfect, by any means, but they don’t look horrible.
--The father’s struggle with his personal identity related to the baby is actually fairly well done and adds a nice layer of depth to the film. Does he love the child or hate the child? Does he want it dead, or does he want to care for it? Actually pretty good stuff.
--If you have the DVD, watch the trailer for the film. The latter half is strangely boring, but the first half of the trailer? I challenge you not to laugh at that. They show a clip from the movie, then the announcer blurts, “IT’S ALIVE!” and this is repeated several times, and each time, the announcer’s voice is “more stressed with fear,” but it’s all very funny.
Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--Some of the cinematography is pretty decent, though there are a lot of standard indie-70’s tricks thrown in. A lot of blurriness.
--The world as seen by the baby is merely “extremely unfocused” double vision. Strangely enough, the first time we see the baby, it’s also as if we’re seeing him through his own eyes.
--Blood looks only marginally better than regular fake 70’s horror film blood.
--No real swearing, no nudity, minor gore—but more than to be expected in a PG film. This was before the advent of the PG-13 rating, however. You don’t have to worry about your kids watching this, they’ll be bored too quickly anyway.
--Most of the acting is pretty ho-hum. Some is good, some is horrible, most is just kind of lifeless.
--Generally light on the atmosphere.
--Average music, bland dialog. Some humorous lines every now and then, but I think that was unintentional.
The Bad:
--Slow. The film is slow and plodding. Clearly, the filmmakers were trying to build up some tension, but Hitchcock they ain’t. Rather than building tension, it’s just dull and boring.
--People die so easily in this film. The vast majority of people are killed with a quick swipe to the throat and then they’re dead instantly. No bleeding to death, no struggling to live, no gurgling on blood, no nothing. It’s as if that swipe to the neck caused the victims’ brains and hearts to simultaneously cease to exist and they just drop over dead. Nobody even ever tries to save them.
--Seventies sexism alive and well, mostly relegated to what we modern folk would see as rudeness towards the baby’s mother.
--Yet another film with a lot of illogical happenings now and then. Why, for instance, would someone suddenly report to media that a mutant killer baby was born (and the media goes along with it very easily), and why would they just instantly give out the names of the parents? This seems like somewhat weak writing used to vainly add more tension to the film.
The Ugly:
--Apparently the décor of the 70’s was made up of three things: Brown, pale creamy yellow brown, and pale creamy sickly green. Everything from clothes, to cars, to wallpaper, to carpet is this color. Imagine how much fun a sickly color of beige would be—that’s the visual appeal of the sets in this film.
--For the most part, we just don’t give a crap about these characters, which affects the tension and atmosphere.
Memorable Scene:
--There’s a milkman actually delivering milk. Just how old is this movie? Ending was pretty good, if an odd parallel to classic sci-fi feature, Them!
Acting: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Atmosphere: 6/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Character Development: 6/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 7/10
Dialog: 6/10
Music: 6/10
Direction: 6/10
Nudity: 0/10
Sexuality: 0/10
Violence: 7/10
Gore: 5/10
Cheesiness: 6/10
Crappiness: 3/10
Overall: 5/10
So, finally, I realize after all these years, I was scared of relatively harmless mutant babies… Granted, it was the second movie that did it to me, but if this is any indication (and the third one is pretty bad), then I think I’m well over this. Good for hardcore horror fans, mostly—and that’s about it.
