It’s Alive
1974 Dir. Larry Cohen Larry Cohen is renowned for his low budget, high octane and surprisingly thought provoking B thrillers laced with social and political commentary. After penning and directing the blaxploitation movie Black Caesar (1973) and its sequel Hell Up in Harlem (1973), Cohen returned with his outrageous and highly satirical shocker It’s Alive , a cult hit that crossed over into Seventies mainstream cinema and highlighted the sly wit and subversive bite of the filmmaker. Frank (John P Ryan) and Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) are plunged into a nightmarish world after the birth of their second child: a monstrously mutated toddler with an insatiable appetite for blood! With quite a startling premise, Cohen really wastes no time in cutting to the chase and evoking surprising emotional depth from the outset. Sociological and environmental issues are addressed throughout the film. The over-prescription of drugs to expectant mothers, like Thalidomide in the 50s and 60s, an