Yes, this movie features a baby of a different kind...the kind that crawls and kills!!! Yes, a killer baby that for some reason me and my family watched quite a few times when I was a kid. Somewhat creepy and somewhat cheesy at the same time as parts of it are easily made fun of. The movie has a couple of kills in it, but it really is not all that gory compared to an Italian horror movie. The story is okay and it does not try to explain things to much, unlike the later "It's Alive" movies would do. The movie ends in a rather different fashion too as it is somewhat surprising what the man does at the end. Still, the thought of a killer baby is kind of creepy and kind of funny and that is why this movie somewhat works. More gore and such would have made it better and more sewer scenes too, for some reason I find the sewer to be a very good horror backdrop that is used somewhat in movies, but not not enough for my tastes. All in all though this movie is not boring and somewhat fun to watch and in some parts make fun of.

Heading off to the hospital, a pregnant woman about to give birth is horrified when the ravenous, bloodthirsty mutant that was born runs wild and escapes into the city forcing the team tracking it down to realize where it's going and try to stop its mission.

For the most part, this one was a rather tough one to get through. When this one works, its mainly due to the rather fun idea of the killer mutant infant running around doing the killing. The celebrated birth sequence, where the off-screen birth coincides with the scream and then rushing in to find the trail of destruction and bloodied bodies as it escaped earlier makes for a rather startling and horrifying introduction during the time of a person's life they should be exceptionally happy. That, in turn, leads to the main fun to be had with this one where it features the series of attacks committed by the creature around the neighborhood, from the short attacks on the lone woman in front of her car and the delivery person on the streets. As well, the finale where it arrives back at the house and engages in the confrontation with the family there before the stellar series of encounters in the sewer system where the group tracking it find the creature in the area which is quite chilling to add some decent enough action to the proceedings. As well as the fine makeup designed for the mutant babies, these here hold it up over it's few flaws. The biggest threat to the film overall is the bland, disjointed pacing that crops up where this one just becomes dull after a while. The fact that it starts off rather strong with the hospital attack, but then after that we have nothing until the final half of the film which is punctuated only with dry, dull scenes of the investigation going through the city trying to find the cause of the strange accident at the hospital before tying it into the rampage around the city. That leaves the film incredibly dull with very little interest or action in what's happening during this investigation as that holds this to a strict tempo which isn't all that exciting to see play out. The other flaw to be found here is the exceptionally dull issue of the lack of explanation for how the creatures appear and what they're intending to do once they're loose, as this one never gives any kind of rationale about their sudden appearance which doesn't make any sense here. These are what hold this one back overall.

Rated PG: Violence, Language and themes of children-in-jeopardy.

Larry Cohen has made a name for himself for producing offbeat horror movies, and this story of a killer deformed baby certainly belongs in his filmography. It's Alive is a huge highlight of the horror genre, and one that doesn't get the praise that it deserves. The film is notable amongst other films of similar plotting because of the way that it fully explores it's premise. Rather than focusing on the monster and the murders, Cohen sees fit to show the audience the effect that the birth of a murderous monster has on the family at the centre of the story, the government, the family friends and various other entities; all of which helps to aid the film in it's bid to be a complete horror thriller. Of course, the film is too silly to be truly touching, but the idea of trying to get the audience to empathise with the characters in this sort of movie is nice, and it adds to kitsch campness of the movie, which does it no end of favours in this kitsch fan's opinion.

The acting adheres to the typical, and much loved, B-movie styling and that is another plus point to add to this movie's resume. John P. Ryan in particular is superb as the upset father, and we see him go through a range of emotions in response to the birth of his 'son', which is a treat indeed. The script isn't the greatest work of art ever to be brought to the screen, but it's always inventive enough to ensure that the action stays interesting and It's Alive hardly suffers from becoming trite and boring. The creature effects aren't the best ever seen, but Larry Cohen hides this fact by never completely showing the creature. This hampers the movie in a way, as it will no doubt get on many viewers' nerves as seeing the monster is normally a highlight of this type of movie; but on the other hand, seeing the monster usually results in disappointment - so at least Cohen's film stays away from that! On the whole, while this film will do nothing for fans of serious art movies; horror fans, particularly very B-horror fans, will be in heaven. Highly recommended!