It's Alive
Added How We Rate
- Directed by
- Larry Cohen
- Written by
- Larry Cohen
- Produced by
- Larry Cohen, Peter Sabiston
Why it’s HorroRated
Larry Cohen had a gift for smuggling sharp ideas inside a drive-in premise, and this one is about as audacious as premises get. The killer-baby hook gets the laughs and gasps, but the film's real target is parenthood under a microscope: guilt, shame, and the question of whether you can love something the world calls a monster. John P. Ryan's tightly wound performance keeps it grounded, and Bernard Herrmann's mournful score treats the whole thing like tragedy, which it quietly is. Clever, nasty, and oddly moving, it's pure, uncut Larry Cohen.
Synopsis
Monster movies rarely start in a maternity ward, but It's Alive (1974) does: Larry Cohen's horror film follows a mutant newborn that kills the delivery-room staff of a Los Angeles hospital and escapes into the city. John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell play Frank and Lenore Davis, whose ordinary family life collapses under police sirens, reporters, and blame as the hunt for their child spreads. Bernard Herrmann composed the score, Rick Baker created the baby, and the film's success led to two sequels and a 2008 remake.
Filed under
Where to watch It's Alive
- Rent or buy
- Prime Video · Apple TV · YouTube · Google Play · Fandango at Home
Streaming in the US changes often. Listings from JustWatch via TMDB, checked October 10, 2026.See every option
Quick facts
- Release date
- April 26, 1974
- Runtime
- 1 hour 31 mins
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Content rating
- PG
- Entry type
- Movie
Content notes
- Killings, mostly off-screen
- Bloody aftermath imagery
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