It's Alive

Despite the advertising and the reputation of writer director Larry Cohen, 1974's IT'S ALIVE is not entirely the expected schlockfest.  The first plus - the title does not have an exclamation mark after it.  The second - the film's murderer on the loose, a mutant infant, is rarely shown (and you never get a good look at it, though of course you noticed that I did provide this public service).  The third - the emphasis is on the bewildered and emotionally wrecked parents rather than just gore.  I would not have anticipated this approach from the man who more often than not embraces exploitation elements.

Frank (John P. Ryan) and Eleanor (Sharon Farrell) Davis are expecting their second child.  At the hospital, mom's labor is long and difficult, and she knows something is "different." A doctor remarks that the baby is huge, maybe over ten pounds.  Dad is in the waiting room, chatting with other fathers about how pesticides often only breed more aggressive and hard to kill cockroaches.  Eventually, Frank sees a doctor crash through doors, landing on the floor with his neck a bloody gash.  The delivery room finds several dead doctors and nurses with the same fatal injuries.  The baby was delivered, and it had sharp claws and fangs.  It disappeared through the skylight.  It's alive, indeed.

The movie gives us some standard kills.  Mainly people who check out what sounds like a crying baby in the shrubbery.  We get the little killer's blurry point of view at times.  Cohen doesn't get too graphic with these scenes (the film is rated PG), which may disappoint folks who crave this sort of thing.  I have to give the director high marks for the milkman scene, in which the camera focuses on a trail of spilled milk, mixing with fresh blood.  I bet Hitchcock would've liked that.  Especially also since Bernard Herrmann scored this (and the entire movie) so perfectly.

Ryan gives a fine performance as a man who is as at first as ready as the authorities to kill the mutant, but by the end has found his love for his offspring.  The journey there is filled with strong moments of doubt and disgust, many with the doctors and pharmaceutical reps.  Cohen does a nicely subtle rip job on the medical community, of course driven by profit.  I also liked Farrell's dynamic performance as the wife and mother who just isn't sure how to react, and starts to lose her mind.   That the focus is on familial bonding is what made this film an unexpected gem for me.  Particularly the third act, when baby makes its way home. There is some powerfully emotional stuff here.  This movie truly blindsided me.

Still, this is a horror/thriller, with plenty of effectively eerie atmosphere.  The low budget is well utilized.  Rick Baker's baby creation is usually in shadow but looks seedily impressive.   Less is more, demonstrated once again.  Like in JAWS.