It's Alive

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It's Alive

PG,

1974,

1h 31m,

Horror

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Watchlist

Watchlist

65%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

41%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

65%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Leaving their son, Chris (Daniel Holzman), with a family friend (William Wellman Jr.), Frank (John P. Ryan) and Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) head to the hospital for the birth of their second child -- which turns out to be a mutant who kills many doctors and nurses as it escapes. Convinced his monstrous son must be destroyed, Frank ignores Lenore and Chris' pleas and tries to destroy the freakish progeny, unaware that the infant may be the blameless product of an experimental drug gone wrong.

Critics Consensus

Tough and unpleasant, It's Alive throttles the viewer with its bizarre mutant baby theatrics.

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David Robinson

The Times (UK)

Jun 27, 2023

The film is too crudely cobbled together to make much of anything -- even a score by Bernard Herrman.

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

May 24, 2019

4/5

Larry Cohen's horror thriller is at once a great suspense/monster film and a darkly comic soap opera about strained parent-child relationships.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Jan 26, 2006

A

A deeply terrifying portrait of child-parent relationships and intolerant fears of "otherness" defined as much by its sociological sharpness as its gore.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Aug 29, 2021

2/4

It skews on the amateurish side, with an intriguing premise compromised by bland characters, awkward dialogue, and lurching scenes.

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Aug 25, 2020

3.5/5

It's Alive goes from foreboding conversations about pollution to full tilt nightmare rather quickly.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Aug 11, 2020

1/4

...the picture slowly-but-surely loses its grip on the viewer as it progresses into an often unbearably meandering midsection...

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Han G

Apr 8, 2019

It speaks to the enduring anxiety produced by the Oedipal relationship that the film is no less eerie for being satirical, filled with a slow-burning sense of terror and humor in equal measure. Yet whatever the natural absurdity of the supernatural circumstances on display, the feelings of unease and uncertainty that imbue the film are given weight by Herrmann's sublime score while being grounded by a set of performances that never admit to the insanity of everything around them, because both comedy and horror are best told with a straight face.

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Anakin S

Oct 24, 2018

Interesante obra de culto de género de la mano de una de las figuras más interesantes del cine: Larry Cohen. Y por supuesto con la magistral música de una grande como es Bernard Hermann. Escuchad nuestro episodio dedicado a ella: https://www.ivoox.com/terror-no-tiene-podcast-episodio-53-audios-mp3_rf_28987381_1.html

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Leia W

Sep 15, 2018

What appears to be another 70's schlock creature feature on the surface is actually much more. Beyond the blood and guts there are some very real human terrors at large here.

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George L

Jul 1, 2018

a killer baby, its so stupid

Leia R

Jan 20, 2017

Luv it. A campy B-movie that just won't quit, It looks like it was made of an $25,000 budget. Watch it, IF YOU DARE! It IS a little melodramatic.

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Han M

Jan 2, 2017

A couple gives birth to a mutant baby that kills people when baby gets nervous! 70s horror not up to today's standards! kinda funny ! always so saw this on the self at video store when I was a kid the cover of movie sells but I didn't see it till it was tcm ? must of been a head of its time in 1974 !!

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Larry Cohen

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John P. Ryan

Frank Davies

Sharon Farrell

Lenore Davis

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Synopsis

Leaving their son, Chris (Daniel Holzman), with a family friend (William Wellman Jr.), Frank (John P. Ryan) and Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) head to the hospital for the birth of their second child -- which turns out to be a mutant who kills many doctors and nurses as it escapes. Convinced his monstrous son must be destroyed, Frank ignores Lenore and Chris' pleas and tries to destroy the freakish progeny, unaware that the infant may be the blameless product of an experimental drug gone wrong.

Director: Larry Cohen
Producer: Larry Cohen
Screenwriter: Larry Cohen
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 26, 1974, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Runtime: 1h 31m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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