It's Alive (1974/I)

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writer:

Larry Cohen (written by)

Release Date:

October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Whatever it is, it's alive and deadly.

Plot:

The Davies expect a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing when it's scared. And it's easily scared. |

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Monster | Hospital | Homicidal Baby | Throat Ripping

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John P. Ryan	...	Frank Davis (as John Ryan)
Sharon Farrell	...	Lenore Davis
James Dixon	...	Lieutenant Perkins
William Wellman Jr.	...	Charley
Shamus Locke	...	The Doctor
Andrew Duggan	...	The Professor
Guy Stockwell	...	Bob Clayton
Daniel Holzman	...	Chris Davis
Michael Ansara	...	The Captain
Robert Emhardt	...	The Executive
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nancy Burnett	...	Nurse (as Mary Nancy Burnett)

Also Known As:

Baby Killer (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1984) | UK:15 (video re-rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 | Norway:16 (video premiere) | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (1975) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:PG | Iceland:16 | Norway:(Banned) (1975-2003) (cinema release)

Company:

Larco Productions

Trivia:

Bernard Herrmann titled the music cue where the milkman meets his demise "The Milkman Goeth."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the end, when Frank is holding the baby in his arms, the cover accidentally reveals a patch of hair, revealing it to be a dog.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Perkins: Hunting and killing babies doesn't seem to be my specialty.

Movie Connections:

Remade as It's Alive (2008)

Had the Davis baby been breast-fed, this massacre might never have happened.

Screw the negative reviews! If you're into Larry Cohen movies, you will most certainly enjoy this one. Sure it's cheezy, sure it's unbelievable, but nevertheless, it's fun!

What few realize is that this film was intended as a spoof of sorts on Roman Polanski's film, "ROSEMARY'S BABY". You cannot watch this, or either of it's sequels, expecting to take things completely seriously.

John P. Ryan, who plays Frank Davis, is great in this. Ryan, in my opinion, is a terrific actor and is always worth watching. Cohen employed the talents of legendary composer, Bernard Herrmann, to score this film. The score, being one of Herrmann's last compositions, is truly tremendous and gives the film it's essential monster movie feel. Rumor has it that Herrmann passed on an opportunity to score William Friedkin's mainstream horror film, "THE EXORCIST", in favor of this independent project.

If you're looking for a great exploitation epic from the grand ol' days of '70s cinema, you won't be disappointed. The sequels, "IT LIVES AGAIN" and "IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE", are also worth a look.