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Customer Reviews of It Lives Again

A So-So Successor To The Original
In 1978, Larry Cohen finally offered us a sequel to the classic 1974 low-budget horror original IT'S ALIVE! In the follow-up IT LIVES AGAIN, he gives us the same low-budget treatment (some would argue this film was made on an even lower budget). However, while the original had some delightful goofiness, the tone of this movie is decidedly darker and more serious. It is also more violent. Although the PG rating for IT'S ALIVE! may have been a bit of a stretch to begin with, there was no doubt whatsoever about the R rating for IT LIVES AGAIN. With three murderous babies on the rampage, the body count goes up. Unfortunately, the story doesn't progress as well.

John P. Ryan returns as Frank Davis, the father of the original mutant newborn from the first film; after having experienced all the horrors of mutant fatherhood, he's become a crusader in the interests of helping other parents deal with these issues. Four years older, with noticeably grayer temples, he is also decidedly wiser in the way he advises these horrified people. There are three sets of such parents in this film, most notably Eugene and Jody Scott (played very well by Frederick Forrest and Kathleen Lloyd) who give the film a sense of realism.

[SPOILER ALERT] Unfortunately, after building suspense in showing us the three locked-up mutants who of course find a way to escape, the film kind of lets us down. The murder scenes are great; however, at approximately the mid-point, the script suddenly decides to off Frank Davis, who was the real heart and soul of this story. I found that I really didn't care much about what happened after that. Killing him off was a big mistake, I feel, and it looks suspiciously as if it were decided on as the film was being shot. Also, let's face it: the low-budget look of the original probably added to its effect; in this sequel, I think it subtracts from it. We see the babies more in this one; however, they look so fake that it's laughable. Also, the visuals are actually not as good, as the picture is frequently muddied; also, you can clearly see the boom mike in at least one scene. Even the sound is subpar.

Even with these obvious flaws, I will tentatively recommend this film to those of you who have seen and liked the original. It may not be as good, but hey, it does continue the story somewhat decently and offers some suspense. It's also necessary viewing if you want to see the final installment, IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE, which was not made until 1987. Just remember that these films are made about babies but are not for babies' viewing; I would suggest a minimum viewing age of no lower than 12 for each installment of this series.

MODERATELY RECOMMENDED

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Interesting
When I saw the first "It's Alive" movie in the theatre when I was 17, it scared me so bad I couldn't sleep alone for 3 nights. Funny, when I saw it the other night, I could not figure out what scared me. It is such a funny movie. The cinematography is extremely bad, but I guess it was good for 1976 or whenever it first came out. This movie is not as good as the first and I'm going to watch the third tonight. I'm expecting it to be equally bad.

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An exiciting and funny sequal!
This film was so much more exciting to see. Larry Cohen is still the master of classic horror films. In this one, there are three more babies, and the sounds of their crying you just have to laugh about. Some of the scenes that are supposed to be scary are actually quite hilarious also, but it still holds you to your seat. Another thing that made the movie so good was that Larry had kept Bernard Herrmann's music, and had asked a friend of his called Laurie Johnson, a British composer well known for the tv shows The Avengers, to adapt Herrmann's music. I love to watch these Alive films all the time, but I haven't seen the third one yet, and I want to so badly. This film is a classic next to the first one, and I recommend it to anyone who love classic horror films.