It Lives Again (1978)

Very disappointing...

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It seems after the events of the first movie, a Tucson married couple named Eugene and Jody Scott (Kathleen Lloyd and Fredric Forrest) are expecting their first child. However, Frank Davies (John Ryan) who was the father of the first mutant baby in the original that was gunned down flies from LA to warn the couple about their unborn child who might suffer the same effects as his own baby before of the vast and dangerous conspiracy to murder their baby and the other unborn mutant children who are being born around the country. And thereby in mortal danger from a nationwide task force dedicated to destroying the monster infants. Despite their initial apprehension, the Scotts eventually place a tenuous trust in Davis and a group of scientists who want to help couples cope with their child as they have 3 children to study. However there is a rival group lead by Detective Lt Perkins (James Dixon) who gunned down the Davies's baby in the first movie followed by Mr Malloy (John Marley) who was the father of the Seattle baby that was mentioned in the end of the first movie.This sequel to the 1974 box-office hit sci-fi horror shocker has Larry Cohen write-produce-direct this sequel where the first one left off. This one is quite dark and humor free as it's more on the serious side than the original! yet it is interesting and nice to see Frank Davis from the first movie back in this one played by John Ryan again. The new couple is quite annoying and some characters aren't likable outside of Frank whom ends badly in this movie out of the picture.Still a watchable sequel no doubt.

John P. Ryan returns as Frank Davis, the father of the mutated baby in this, Larry Cohen's sequel to his cult favourite "It's Alive". Frank is now working with a group of people that attempt to help other mutated babies and their parents, and to prevent the tykes from eradication by the authorities. He makes contact with expectant couple Eugene (Frederic Forrest) and Jody (Kathleen Lloyd) and assists in spiriting the kid away to a special sort of clinic. But the cops catch up to them in time to have to deal with the escape of not only Eugene and Jody's offspring but two other murderous infants as well. Cohen had already made his point in the first movie about a possible effect of negative environmental changes on a developing fetus, and his story here is more a portrayal of irrational behaviour that may well annoy some viewers, as it shows how people can be in total denial, and stubbornly continue to engage in dangerous activities, hoping that history won't repeat itself. Characters also opine that maybe, just maybe, the infants have been altered as part of a new step in evolution, a common enough theme in genre fare. But, in the end, there's also the notion present that love and tenderness can temporarily keep a monster at bay. The movie is basically entertaining enough, and respectably paced, with particularly good scenes with Ryan (it's really nice to see him reprise his role) & Forrest and Forrest & John Marley, who plays a cop with a personal motivation for wanting to make the babies extinct. The Bernard Herrmann score is still very effective as well as the Rick Baker makeup effects; Cohen and company refrain from ever giving us an extended look at the babies, which can only be a good thing. The under-rated Forrest is likable as Eugene while the cute Lloyd, an actress whose career should have gone further, is similarly appealing as Jody, although some folk watching may grow tired of their vacillating on the issue of what to do with their child. Marley is very good in his role, while Andrew Duggan, Eddie Constantine, and Cohen regular James Dixon also provide solid support, and Cohen's daughter Jill Gatsby pops up in a small part. All things considered, this isn't as sharp or memorable as the first movie but not really bad either. Six out of 10.

It Lives Again (1978) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Sequel to It's Alive has another mutant baby being born but this time the government is there to kill it on the spot. This doesn't sit too well with a certain group of people who want to keep the baby and study it. Once again director Cohen adds some political messages but the end results aren't as fun as the first film. I'm sure he must have needed the money to do this thing because it doesn't come off with any of the charm as the first one. There are some very good moments in the movie but sadly they're all wasted with the deep message, which becomes quite annoying after a while. The attack sequences are all well done though.

I read James Dixon's great novelization of this sequel first, so my expectations were high. Too high. It plays like a retread of the first film with three killer tots instead of one.John Ryan is back trying to warn other parents of the infant scourge, but nobody listens until it's too late or they're dead.Once again, Cohen gives us a dialog-heavy, vapid time-waster with little action until the last ten minutes and badly directed action at that.Bernard Herrmann's score is culled from unused cues from the first film and is the film's only saving grace.If you can still find it, read the novelization and consider what this film could have been.