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Suicane75 · 10-29-2013, 11:44 AM

It's Alive: 40 Out Of 100 Stars
From 1974, the tale of a mutant newborn who goes on a killing spree. It's really not that gory and relies more on drama, but it's too absurd to be truly dramatic.

The early fun is in how everyone is completely unfazed that there's a baby mutant running around killing people. "Yep, she had a baby and it's a mutant, poor lady". The cops are just like, "welp we better go kill it", and the doctors are like "this shit happens sometimes, should have had an abortion or something".

The lead, John Ryan, plays the father, and he does his gosh darndest to try and bring a real performance to this film. He plays it as straight as you possibly can in a film like this and really helps elevate the film to something close to watchable.

Unfortunately it's still a rather undramatic drama, with not much gore and a really silly story that I can't quite recommend but I think might still be an interesting watch for some.

It's Alive #2: 38 Out Of 100 Stars
Because the story must continue. This time around John Ryan is going around warning couples about their impending mutant babies. He's part of a group going around trying to save the children from the government, who of course is trying to kill them. The babies they can save are rounded up and taken to a safe house/nursery for killer toddlers.

Much like the first film, the gore is rather limited and it instead relies on the drama and tension to carry it for most of the film. It tries it's hardest but it's just too silly to take seriously, the script is a little bit more ridiculous too, with motivations that change too much and decisions that are only made to further the story, such as a doctor theorizing that these babies are a new breed of human designed to survive the world we're destroying. Perhaps these are the first X-Men. It's campy, but not really campy enough to work.

Pretty much more of the same, and if you liked the first one you'll probably like this one. The main flaw continues to be how serious it takes itself.

It's Alive #3: 73 Out Of 100 Stars
Released in 1987 and starring Michael Moriarty, the 3rd iteration of this franchise is much more of a monster movie, but it still spends a lot of time on the morality issue, which would be irritating if not for the fact that Moriarty is so fucking magnificent. He takes over for John Ryan as the center of the film, a father whose baby was the center of a huge court case about how to deal with all the mutant babies. Much like Ryan made the first movie better than it had any right to be, Moriarty attacks the rather ridiculous script with zeal. Only James Dixon as Lieutenant Perkins, now looking more like Donald Trump than ever, returns from the first two films.

So A judge rules that the mutants should be sent to an undisclosed, uninhabited island, where they can live out their lives without endangering or being threatened by humans. OK then. So after a profoundly wondrous courtroom scene in which Moriarty convinces the court not to kill his baby, he loafs around for a few years. He tries to reconnect with his ex wife, he gets picked up by a hooker at a carnival, he sells kids shoes. Eventually the judge dies, and apparently when a judge dies, his decisions get overturned. I don't think that's how it works, but It's not my script, so whatever.

So a government led team of incompetent scientist, cops and Morariaty is now going back to the island to see how the babies are doing and to try and bring one back to study, and off we go into a final 45 minutes that reaches maximum insanity. I cannot tell if the script is trying to be as ridiculous as possible, but if it is, Moriarty is more than happy to play along. There are points in the films second half where I just sat with my mouth wide open, trying to fathom what I was watching. I'm not at all being blusterous when I suggest that few movies ever have been better served by their leading men than this one. It's just fascinating to watch.

Silly and so very 80's, It's Alive #3 is a sadly forgotten treasure trove of 80's horror movies and a fucking tour de force from Moriarty, who's every bit as bat shit insane as the script. Just a wonderful viewing experience that I can't recommend enough.

10-29-2013, 11:44 AM	#5408
Suicane75 Coordinator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NJ	It's Alive: 40 Out Of 100 Stars From 1974, the tale of a mutant newborn who goes on a killing spree. It's really not that gory and relies more on drama, but it's too absurd to be truly dramatic. The early fun is in how everyone is completely unfazed that there's a baby mutant running around killing people. "Yep, she had a baby and it's a mutant, poor lady". The cops are just like, "welp we better go kill it", and the doctors are like "this shit happens sometimes, should have had an abortion or something". The lead, John Ryan, plays the father, and he does his gosh darndest to try and bring a real performance to this film. He plays it as straight as you possibly can in a film like this and really helps elevate the film to something close to watchable. Unfortunately it's still a rather undramatic drama, with not much gore and a really silly story that I can't quite recommend but I think might still be an interesting watch for some. It's Alive #2: 38 Out Of 100 Stars Because the story must continue. This time around John Ryan is going around warning couples about their impending mutant babies. He's part of a group going around trying to save the children from the government, who of course is trying to kill them. The babies they can save are rounded up and taken to a safe house/nursery for killer toddlers. Much like the first film, the gore is rather limited and it instead relies on the drama and tension to carry it for most of the film. It tries it's hardest but it's just too silly to take seriously, the script is a little bit more ridiculous too, with motivations that change too much and decisions that are only made to further the story, such as a doctor theorizing that these babies are a new breed of human designed to survive the world we're destroying. Perhaps these are the first X-Men. It's campy, but not really campy enough to work. Pretty much more of the same, and if you liked the first one you'll probably like this one. The main flaw continues to be how serious it takes itself. It's Alive #3: 73 Out Of 100 Stars Released in 1987 and starring Michael Moriarty, the 3rd iteration of this franchise is much more of a monster movie, but it still spends a lot of time on the morality issue, which would be irritating if not for the fact that Moriarty is so fucking magnificent. He takes over for John Ryan as the center of the film, a father whose baby was the center of a huge court case about how to deal with all the mutant babies. Much like Ryan made the first movie better than it had any right to be, Moriarty attacks the rather ridiculous script with zeal. Only James Dixon as Lieutenant Perkins, now looking more like Donald Trump than ever, returns from the first two films. So A judge rules that the mutants should be sent to an undisclosed, uninhabited island, where they can live out their lives without endangering or being threatened by humans. OK then. So after a profoundly wondrous courtroom scene in which Moriarty convinces the court not to kill his baby, he loafs around for a few years. He tries to reconnect with his ex wife, he gets picked up by a hooker at a carnival, he sells kids shoes. Eventually the judge dies, and apparently when a judge dies, his decisions get overturned. I don't think that's how it works, but It's not my script, so whatever. So a government led team of incompetent scientist, cops and Morariaty is now going back to the island to see how the babies are doing and to try and bring one back to study, and off we go into a final 45 minutes that reaches maximum insanity. I cannot tell if the script is trying to be as ridiculous as possible, but if it is, Moriarty is more than happy to play along. There are points in the films second half where I just sat with my mouth wide open, trying to fathom what I was watching. I'm not at all being blusterous when I suggest that few movies ever have been better served by their leading men than this one. It's just fascinating to watch. Silly and so very 80's, It's Alive #3 is a sadly forgotten treasure trove of 80's horror movies and a fucking tour de force from Moriarty, who's every bit as bat shit insane as the script. Just a wonderful viewing experience that I can't recommend enough.