Gluttony
11-16-2004, 11:47 AM
So I was watching "the 100 scariest moments ever" on Bravo, it was interesting, but for the most part it didn't add too many remarkably different choices to the mold. As expected, Halloween, Jaws, The Exorcist, and A Nightmare on Elm Street flirted with the top positions among other legends. However, there were some surprises like Serpent and the Rainbow, Black Sunday, and It's Alive! who deserve their positions.
Wouldn't you know that I bought my DVD copy of Larry Cohen's classic less than a week later. How magical.
Honestly, this isn't Cohen's best movie. However, that's like saying the second coming of Christ is going to be a tad less fantastic than the first. The movie is still great, drumming up some primal fright thatlaies within almost ever human being. What if there's something wrong with your baby?
This movie shows Cohen's was still learning the art of direction at this point in his career, the camera is shakey at times and there isn't a ton of style until the end... instead Cohen allows his script to take carry the picture. The characters are strong, as expected, but the themes got to me. The father's unwillingness to accept the bestial progeny as his own creates a fascinating rift between his emotionally distraught wife, his confused child, and the unforgiving public that judgeshim because of the monster.
The actionis minimal and you never get a real good look at the baby, but there's some gory aftermath... for the most part, the story carries the entertainment value. Cohen creates a taught beginning with his direction but then lets up until the ending where he incorporates some eye popping style. the whole movie does reflect a sort of grindhouse atmosphere too, it feels sort of dirty when you watch... sort of like the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
There are some flaws, the pace gets a little slow at the end and there aren't too many BOO scares for anyone wanting them. Again, it seems that Cohen knew the story was scarier than any springloaded cat could be. A masterpiece of the genre.
9/10 (rewatched and upped the grade a smidge).
Wouldn't you know that I bought my DVD copy of Larry Cohen's classic less than a week later. How magical.
Honestly, this isn't Cohen's best movie. However, that's like saying the second coming of Christ is going to be a tad less fantastic than the first. The movie is still great, drumming up some primal fright thatlaies within almost ever human being. What if there's something wrong with your baby?
This movie shows Cohen's was still learning the art of direction at this point in his career, the camera is shakey at times and there isn't a ton of style until the end... instead Cohen allows his script to take carry the picture. The characters are strong, as expected, but the themes got to me. The father's unwillingness to accept the bestial progeny as his own creates a fascinating rift between his emotionally distraught wife, his confused child, and the unforgiving public that judgeshim because of the monster.
The actionis minimal and you never get a real good look at the baby, but there's some gory aftermath... for the most part, the story carries the entertainment value. Cohen creates a taught beginning with his direction but then lets up until the ending where he incorporates some eye popping style. the whole movie does reflect a sort of grindhouse atmosphere too, it feels sort of dirty when you watch... sort of like the Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
There are some flaws, the pace gets a little slow at the end and there aren't too many BOO scares for anyone wanting them. Again, it seems that Cohen knew the story was scarier than any springloaded cat could be. A masterpiece of the genre.
9/10 (rewatched and upped the grade a smidge).