IT’S ALIVE TRILOGY: IT'S ALIVE (1974), IT’S ALIVE 2 (IT LIVES AGAIN) (1978), IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE (1987) Blu-ray
Director: Larry Cohen
Scream Factory/Shout! Factory

Independent producer/director/writer Larry Cohen's first dabbling with the horror genre came with IT'S ALIVE, a low budget effort of the "monster child" variety, so popular during the 1970s. Cohen's original, well-written film was a huge success when Warner Bros. re-released it several years after it was made, employing a clever newspaper and TV ad campaign, and the director went on to make two sequels within a 15-year time span. Shout! Factory, through its Scream Factory arm, licenses IT’S ALIVE and its two sequels from Warner for a much-appreciated Blu-ray box set (all three movies are on their own disc in individual amaray Blu-ray packaging).

In IT'S ALIVE (1974), Public Relations executive Frank Davis (John P. Ryan, CLASS OF 1999) and his wife Lenore Davies (Sharon Farrell, NIGHT OF THE COMET), are expecting their second child, but not expecting the disastrous results that follow. She goes into premature labor, and when the offspring appears, it apparently bites off its own umbilical cord and massacres everybody in the delivery room. Disappearing from sight, nobody gets a good look at the thing, and the Davis' are now credited with spawning a "monster" child and stirring up a media frenzy for themselves. The demon-like tyke goes on a killing rampage through the city, offing a hooker, a milkman, and others before it is surrounded by the police in the ample sewage system.

Any movie about a monstrous child should be at least somewhat though-provoking, and this one is, with tense direction by Cohen. The film includes a multi-dimensional performance by Ryan as the father, who spends most of the time wanting to hunt down the child, but when he confronts it, his maternal instincts take over and with a tear in his eye, tries to save it from the trigger-happy police force. The mutant child (whose point of view is depicted as distorted double vision, an effect which gets carried over in the two sequels) devours people like a piranha, with its sharp teeth, claws and abnormal strength, and is intelligent enough to seek out its kin, whom it does not have the impulse to kill. The creature was created by Rick Baker very early in his career, and the pulsating score is provided by the great Bernard Herrmann and was one of his last. IT'S ALIVE also has performances from such notable character actors as Guy Stockwell (SANTA SANGRE), Andrew Duggan (FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND), William Wellman Jr. (THE BORN LOSERS), Michael Ansara (THE MANITOU), Shamus Locke (THE STRANGERS CAME) and James Dixon (THE PRIVATE FILES OF J. EDGAR HOOVER) as Lt. Perkins, a part he would play in all three "It's Alive" pictures.

In IT’S ALIVE 2 (aka IT LIVES AGAIN), Ryan reprises his role as Frank Davis, crashing the baby shower of expecting parents Eugene Scott (Frederic Forrest, THE DON IS DEAD ) and Jody Scott (Kathleen Lloyd, THE CAR), warning them that they are about to give birth to another mutant baby. A government security team led by the mercilessly determined Mallory (John Marley, DEATHDREAM) is trying to destroy all the newborn monsters at the moment of conception, but Davis is working with some scientists (led by Andrew Duggan and ALPHAVILLE’s Eddie Constantine) who want to save them and study their place in the human evolutionary ladder. Jody gives birth to her killer baby in a special mobile unit and it is put in a cage. The parents eventually end up in s secret experimental center where their baby and two other mutant infants are in captivity (but not for long!).

Instead of rehashing too many elements from its predecessor, Larry Cohen expands upon the themes with this fairly effective follow-up. Although the Scotts are in the same situation that the Davis' where previously in, the outcome is very different, with their child being studied and protected (at least for a while) and not out killing on the streets. Frank Davis has now taken a new turn as an advocate for these mutant babies, and the character's growth works to the film's advantage. Rick Baker once again creates the monsters (three this time out), and, like with the first one, we only get glimpses of the babies, playing on our fears of something mysterious lurking in the dark, rather than wallowing in graphic violence. Laurie Johnson (of the British "The Avengers" TV series fame) reworks the late Bernard Herrmann's score from the first film (Johnson also did the score for the third film).

The third chapter in the series, IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE (1987) was shot back-to-back by Cohen with RETURN TO SALEM'S LOT for a straight-to-video release (though apparently both films received a few limited theatrical engagements). This time Michael Moriarty (REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER) plays Stephen Jarvis, the father of a monster baby who is brought to trial to fight for its life, as prosecutors want it executed. With only five such tiny terrors left in America, and experts claiming that no more will be born, a judge (MacDonald Carey, THESE ARE THE DAMNED) decides to ship them to an isolated island where they can't harm anyone. Four years later, after Jarvis has written a book about his experience and failed to get back with his ex-wife (Karen Black, TRILOGY OF TERROR), he sails with a scientific team to visit the island, where the now fully grown mutants reside. After a number of killings, Jarvis' offspring and the other creatures guide his boat back to Florida.

The third film even goes further with the themes, and the idea of secluding the creatures only to have them grow rapidly, is quite ingenious. Probably since it was shot in the late 1980s, this one is far more graphic than the previous entries, and with Baker not involved, some stop motion effects are employed. When seen full-sized, the unconvincing monsters somewhat resemble those lumbering sex-crazed creatures in HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP. This one also tends to delve into comedy, unlike its dark predecessors, with Moriarity improvising and hamming it up to the max (and talking to himself constantly), so fans of the veteran actor will not be disappointed. The film is fast-paced, in a far-fetched, campy sort of way, constantly shifting the action from one place to another. IT’S ALIVE III also features Gerrit Graham (PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE) as an obnoxious prosecutor and Laurene Landon (WICKED STEPMOTHER) as Jarvis’ sexy boardwalk pick-up, who freaks out when she discovers who he really is.

Previously available on DVD as issued by Warner Bros. themselves, Scream Factory packages the three films together with terrific new 2K HD transfers, presenting all three in 1080p and in their proper 1.85:1 aspect ratios. It’s really nice to see them restore the original 1970s era logo to the first two movies (“A Warner Communications Company”) with IT’S ALIVE 2 getting the most noticeable facelift here, as the previous DVD had some visible print damage and muted fleshtones (the onscreen title on the source element does read “It’s Alive 2” and not “It Lives Again”). But all three impress in their transfers, boasting filmic grain, bold colors and excellent detail and black levels. Scream Factory provides DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio tracks, which are pretty flawless; dialogue and sound effects sound clear. Optional English subtitles are provided for all three films.

No stranger to audio commentaries, Larry Cohen provides tracks for all three movies, which were carried over from the old Warner Bros. DVDs. Cohen goes solo, giving us a lot of information about the cast (whom he often jokingly refers to as "Cohen's Irish Players") and crew, and other various details about the productions of the three movies. He also shares some great anecdotes about Bernard Herrmann, and reveals some other secrets, including when his daughter's pet dog substitutes as the mutant baby! The commentaries have occasional stretches of silence, but Cohen is always entertaining to listen to and you come out with the feeling that you know everything there is to know about this horror trilogy.

IT’S ALIVE has the new featurette “Cohen’s Alive: Looking Back At The It’s Alive Films” (18:14) containing interviews with individuals involved in the three films as well as others: Larry Cohen, James Dixon, Michael Moriarty, Laurene Landon, film music historian Jon Burlingame, film journalist/author F.X. Feeney, cinematographer Daniel Pearl, and producer Paul Kurta. This is a tight documentary on the trilogy, covering a lot of bases in just under 20 minutes (including the first film’s initial dissatisfaction from Warner Bros, followed by a successful re-release and a demand for a sequel, as well as Cohen’s upset that the sequel didn’t pass with a PG rating). “It’s Alive At The Nuart: The 40th Anniversary Screening” (13:27) features Cohen being interviewed on stage during a screening of IT’S ALIVE where he starts off by saying how he left the monster in the picture mostly in the dark to leave it more to the viewer’s imagination. Cohen talks about different facets of the film’s release and production, including how he was shooting it at the same time as he was making HELL UP IN HARLEM for AIP. IT’S ALIVE III has its own featurette, an “Interview With Special Effects Makeup Designer Steve Neill” (10:11), where he talks about coming to LA in 1974 and calling every Rick Baker in the phonebook until he found the right one. Baker was the one who recommended Neill to Cohen, and he describes his monster designs on IT’S ALIVE III — as well as his on-set working relationship with Cohen — in great detail. IT’S ALIVE includes three radio spots (one of them from the UK), two TV spots (from the 1976 re-release), and a theatrical trailer. IT’S ALIVE II contains a teaser theatrical trailer and a still gallery. IT’S ALIVE III includes a full frame teaser video trailer and a still gallery. (George R. Reis)

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