IT'S ALIVE!

Written, directed and produced by Larry Cohen
Starring: John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell
(aka Baby Killer)
1974

In the wake of Roe vs. Wade, which came to its logical conclusion in 1973, Larry Cohen's IT'S ALIVE! was probably one of the first films to actually encourage abortion. The film's hatred and fear of children is one of the film's most bonafide points and, if it wasn't so danged hilarious, its politics would be downright scary...at least to the anti-abortion minions. It isn't about choice so much as just do it - yank that thing outta the womb before its too late...before it wreaks havoc on society as we know it. Monster babies? So what? Get rid of 'em all...It isn't by chance that Cohen shows a close-up of printing on the back of an ice cream truck that says, "Stop...Children."

The movie starts with the Davies family happily skipping off to the hospital when Lenore Davies (Sharon Farrell) starts having contractions - even though "they don't feel right." But, still, Lenore and her husband Frank (John P. Ryan) are excited about having a new baby in their lives even though their 11-year old son named Chris (Daniel Holzman) is totally obnoxious. And, yeah, the new baby was conceived "accidentally" and, yeah, they had considered aborting it, but now they've accepted their lot and its off to the delivery room to welcome the new bundle of joy.

While Lenore is strapped down on the delivery table, Frank waits in the waiting room as other fathers-to-be complain about how the world is a terrible, poisonous place to raise kids, that they're generally unhappy with their lots in life. Intercut with Lenore screaming as the doctor remarks about the new baby's "gigantic" head and that the "thing" looks like it must weigh over 10 pounds - nice, reassuring words to the new mother.

As Frank lights up a smoke in the hospital corridor, a bloodied doctor stumbles out of the delivery room to the horror of Frank and the wandering nurses. Frank runs into the delivery room where wholesale slaughter's the name of this game while bloody, mangled bodies of doctors and nurses litter the floor as Lenore screams, legs hiked high in the air. But, the question lingers, where's the baby?

The baby, of course, has escaped fueled by all the blood and flesh its consumed and, as quick as Frank tosses his cigarette to the floor, the cops are all over the case. Wonky science works into the mix as its realized that Lenore may have taken some sort of drug during her pregnancy that has caused this gnarly mutation. But, of course, nobody wants to claim responsibilty for the kid - not even Frank who declares it ain't his. The key isn't just finding the psycho fetus, but finding it and destroying it without analyzing it. Besides, Big Drug doesn't want any knowledge leaked out that the 'lil creature has any of their pharmaceuticals coursing through its veins. Frank agrees - just get rid of it as soon as you find it.

The baby, which has claws and a couple of fangs, crawls its way back to Frank and Lenore's house, claiming victims along the way, including the local milk man whose wares are to much of a temptation for the Davies baby. Baby concocts a blood milk cocktail as pink fluid pours from the back of the milkman's truck, which is truly brilliant mise-en-scene.

Cohen's disdain for children is evidenced by the complete denial of parental figures in the film of kids who are "different." Frank's boss alludes to a co-worker who keeps his "retarded" kid locked up in the basement so nobody will know about it and that Frank shouldn't be ashamed of his offspring (even though Frank makes it known LOUDLY [again!] that the kid isn't his).

Yet Lenore spends the latter half of the film protecting the child by not telling Frank that its in their basement. Never mind that she has gone completely insane (Farrell's performance is deliciously over-the-top). Even Frank, who chases the kid down the sewer systems of L.A. starts to kind of like the poor bastard and does what he can to protect it from the blazing guns of maniac cops, who eventually put the zap on the little shaver.

Ryan's performance as Frank is stunning - one part Ed Harris another part Walter Brennan. He plays a guy's guy so well you forget he's acting. In fact, Cohen, in the DVD commentary, states that this is Ryan's finest performance of his career (disputable - Ryan was excellent in RUNAWAY TRAIN), which was cut short due to a helicopter accident.

Baby f/x were achieved by the ubiquitous make-up artist Rick Baker, who has shown off his fantastical work in movies for over 30 years, with recent make-up contributions to such films as PLANET OF THE APES (Tim Burton's version), THE RING, MEN IN BLACK I AND II and HELLBOY.

But the real star of IT'S ALIVE is composer Bernard Herrmann's amazing musical score, which foreshadows the music in Herrmann's last film TAXI DRIVER. In fact, there are whole movements from IT'S ALIVE transplanted directly into TAXI DRIVER. The music in IT'S ALIVE is dissonant, jarring, with swelling strings and orchestral overtures that are truly unsettling. The music lurks in the dark, scratching and clawing its way into the viewers subconscious much in the same way Herrmann's score for PSYCHO disturbed viewers back in 1960.

Talk about a film having legs...this deranged baby played at drive-in theaters every summer from 1974 (it was actually released in October of 1974) to 1980 with boffo box office. IT'S ALIVE took in almost 7 million over the years - wholly based on drive-in receipts. Ultimately Cohen penned and directed two dismal sequels - IT LIVES AGAIN (1978) and IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE (1987).

Larry Cohen note: He recently wrote the semi-popular films PHONE BOOTH (2002) starring Colin Farrell (no relation to Sharon), directed by Joel Schumacher, and CELLULAR (2004) with Kim Basinger, directed by David Ellis.

Cohen's best drive-in feature was called GOD TOLD ME TO...