It’s Alive is a 2008 straight-to-DVD remake of Larry Cohen‘s 1974 horror film of the same name. It was directed by Josef Rusnak from a screenplay by Cohen, Paul Sopocy and James Portolese and shot in Bulgaria. The film stars Bijou Phillips, James Murray, Raphaël Coleman, Owen Teale, Skye Bennett and Ty Glaser. Officially released straight-to-DVD on October 6, 2009, it is available in both rated and unrated editions.
Interviewed by Films in Review regarding the remake on December 21, 2009 Larry Cohen gave it a negative review, saying “It’s a terrible picture. It’s just beyond awful” and “I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada.”
Just before the end of her semester at college, Lenore Harker (Bijou Phillips) leaves to have a baby with her architect boyfriend, Frank (James Murray) at his remote log cabin. After discovering the baby has doubled in size in just a month, doctors decide to extract the baby by caesarian section, although Frank is not present. As the doctor cuts the umbilical cord, the newborn goes on a rampage, killing every doctor and nurse in the operating room. When the film cuts back to the new mother, the baby is asleep on her stomach and the room is covered with blood.
After questioning by the police, Lenore is allowed to take the baby home. Authorities arrange for a psychologist to help her regain her memory of the delivery. Soon, baby Daniel bites Lenore when she’s feeding him, revealing his taste for blood…
‘The tone is also a bit more even here. Cohen’s film was slightly awkward at times due to some ill-fitting comedic bits, but this one is played completely straight (as long as you consider Bijou Phillips’ performance and the occasional kill shot to be “straight”). And I like the angle that they went for, which is that the mother felt a responsibility to the child, possibly brought on by guilty feelings of trying to abort it (which is also about the only thing we get in terms of an explanation – which isn’t something that I cared about, for the record. Sometimes mutant babies are just mutant babies).’ Horror Movie a Day
‘Whilst It’s Alive is reasonably well acted and the production is above average, it isn’t scary – at all! Barely any of the deaths are shown, and what we do see is comical, and not intentionally so. The writers try to present us with a reason for Daniel’s blood hungry ways, but I didn’t buy it, and neither will you. Only Lenore’s character is built at all, the others are merely conveniently placed prey for little Daniel, and it is difficult to care about such weak characters.’ Stalk ‘n’ Slash
‘Mediocre film with a few nice bits of gore. It tries to be all creepy and intense but it’s mostly laughable and nothing special.’ The Girl Who Loves Horror
‘In the remake, the baby is just an evil little shit. It sees something living and–in a whir of cheap CGI–kills it. Rats, cats, rabbits, birds, humans, it doesn’t matter. If it has a pulse and gets close enough, it’s going to die. And it’s going to die in a flood of gushing blood and gore. That’s right, in place of the compelling characters and nuanced motives from the original film, the remake just offers up frenetic gore.’ Matt Wedge, Obsessive Movie Nerd
‘Bijou Phillips… lacks the presence let alone the gravitas to carry off the tragedy of having created her own monster, and so the film’s examination of maternity and madness falls short’ Anton Bitel, Little White Lies
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