After requests from Warner Bros. to do another sequel to his landmark thriller "It's Alive", Larry Cohen responded with this tale set several years after the events of the first two movies.
Only five of the murderous mutant babies remain, and after Stephen Jarvis (frequent Cohen star Michael Moriarty), a failed actor and father to one of them, makes a case for the kids to be spared, they are taken to a deserted tropical isle. There they will be left to their own devices, and won't be a danger to "normal" humans.
Four years later, the judge (Macdonald Carey, 'Days of Our Lives') who presided over the trial passes away. Then an expedition is launched to the isle to make note of whatever progress the monster children have made. Stephen is asked to tag along.
Kudos to Cohen for not keeping this *completely* predictable (not that much time is actually spent on the island), and for using this opportunity to make some pointed commentary on things like abortion, the AIDS epidemic, and the way that people will heartlessly exploit human interest stories for the sake of a few bucks. Cohens' script is frequently intriguing, and effective in a darkly comic way. (Gone is the very serious tone of the first two movies.) It allows Moriarty to once again be goofy and eccentric, albeit not quite to the extent that the actor giddily hammed it up in "Q". Also, "Island of the Alive" possesses one thing that some genre movies just don't have: an ability to make an emotional connection to the characters.
The performances are better than you might ordinarily see in such fare. Co-starring are Karen Black ('Trilogy of Terror') as Stephens' ex-wife, James Dixon (another Cohen repertory player again reprising his role of Lt. Perkins), Gerrit Graham ("Used Cars") as a grandstanding attorney, Patch Mackenzie ("Graduation Day") as his opposing counsel, the incredibly sexy Laurene Landon ("Maniac Cop") as a prostitute, film director Neal Isreal ("Bachelor Party") and Art Lund ("Black Caesar") as scientists, and William Watson ("The Mack") as the head of a pharmaceutical company.
The haunting musical theme by Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho") is once again utilized, with good new music by Laurie Johnson ("Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter"). Daniel Pearl ("The Texas Chain Saw Massacre") handles cinematography duties, and it's a real change of pace to see Cohen tackling a production that actually looks like it had a decent budget. Some viewers may be disappointed with the effects, but Cohen never holds on these shots for too, too long, and he does serve up some pretty entertaining gore.
Overall, a nice conclusion to this initial trilogy, and followed in 2008 by a remake of the original movie.
Seven out of 10.
Only five of the murderous mutant babies remain, and after Stephen Jarvis (frequent Cohen star Michael Moriarty), a failed actor and father to one of them, makes a case for the kids to be spared, they are taken to a deserted tropical isle. There they will be left to their own devices, and won't be a danger to "normal" humans.
Four years later, the judge (Macdonald Carey, 'Days of Our Lives') who presided over the trial passes away. Then an expedition is launched to the isle to make note of whatever progress the monster children have made. Stephen is asked to tag along.
Kudos to Cohen for not keeping this *completely* predictable (not that much time is actually spent on the island), and for using this opportunity to make some pointed commentary on things like abortion, the AIDS epidemic, and the way that people will heartlessly exploit human interest stories for the sake of a few bucks. Cohens' script is frequently intriguing, and effective in a darkly comic way. (Gone is the very serious tone of the first two movies.) It allows Moriarty to once again be goofy and eccentric, albeit not quite to the extent that the actor giddily hammed it up in "Q". Also, "Island of the Alive" possesses one thing that some genre movies just don't have: an ability to make an emotional connection to the characters.
The performances are better than you might ordinarily see in such fare. Co-starring are Karen Black ('Trilogy of Terror') as Stephens' ex-wife, James Dixon (another Cohen repertory player again reprising his role of Lt. Perkins), Gerrit Graham ("Used Cars") as a grandstanding attorney, Patch Mackenzie ("Graduation Day") as his opposing counsel, the incredibly sexy Laurene Landon ("Maniac Cop") as a prostitute, film director Neal Isreal ("Bachelor Party") and Art Lund ("Black Caesar") as scientists, and William Watson ("The Mack") as the head of a pharmaceutical company.
The haunting musical theme by Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho") is once again utilized, with good new music by Laurie Johnson ("Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter"). Daniel Pearl ("The Texas Chain Saw Massacre") handles cinematography duties, and it's a real change of pace to see Cohen tackling a production that actually looks like it had a decent budget. Some viewers may be disappointed with the effects, but Cohen never holds on these shots for too, too long, and he does serve up some pretty entertaining gore.
Overall, a nice conclusion to this initial trilogy, and followed in 2008 by a remake of the original movie.
Seven out of 10.