It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987) User Reviews

Unusually comical

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 20 January 2005]

A father fights for the right for his mutant child to live, the court grants that and his child plus another 4 are sent to an island to live.

It was Warners Brothers idea for a third It's Alive film, which would be shot back to back with Return to Salem's Lot. It was meant to be release straight to video with RTSL, but it got a limited theatrical release.

This film had a little bit more money than that of the 2 previous films, but this time around the film is an over the top black comedy compared to the bleak and serious tone of the first two films, which had subtle humour.

This film was far less effective in the horror and atmospheric department, but not the laughs and it's been more action packed than the previous films. Though it is a stupid and lightweight film, it was still quite fresh (with a different take on the Alive films) and enjoyable to watch… that's if you're in the right frame of mood.

Cohan has a knack of casting the right people, with reasonable performances or you can call them hammy from Karen Black playing the mother to one of the babies and James Dixon (only one in all 3) as Detective Perkins and the standout performance and scene stealer would have to be Michael Moriarty as the father. He brings a strong central character that has a weird sense of humour and goes suddenly bananas with his lunatic behaviour when the film goes along.

Not only is the casting good, but also the script is full of wit and satirical comments (like the other 2 films) on American and Cuban relations, people's emotions, Aids and the media. The pace of the film is perfect and Daniel Pearl (The Texas chainsaw massacre) brings another element with his cinematography and lighting. The score is alright and the same for the atmosphere. The effects are pretty lame, with stop motion, puppets and people in rubber costumes. Too much of the creatures are shown, making it laughable (especially the grown-up versions of the babies), but that's what makes this fun viewing.

The film seems to lose itself and becomes incredibly stupid when the grown up mutant's decide to leave the island and head back to the mainland. Some of those scenes and its humour is totally cringe-worthy, but for what its worth… It's nothing but over the top cheese, it's not great but otherwise quite amusing.

3/5

Michael Moriarty unleashed!

[udar55 · 6/10 · 27 November 2007]

Larry Cohen returns after nearly a decade to finish off his mutant baby trilogy with mixed results. Stephen Jarvis (Michael Moriarty) battles in court for the rights of the mutant baby he had with his wife Ellen (Karen Black). The sympathetic judge orders all of the babies to be placed on an island. 5 years later, a scientific team gets together to visit the island and check the progress. Naturally, Jarvis is brought along because of his ability to communicate with the mutants.

Cohen certainly has tons of ideas with this one. This is a court room drama, KING KONG adventure, and urban chase thriller all in one. Heck, he even throws in an out of nowhere tangent where Jarvis ends up in Cuba. I would say maybe 50% of the ideas work, with the island stuff (shot in beautiful Hawaii) being the highlight. Cohen is also betrayed by the FX for the grown mutants, which look like the babies on steroids. Moriarty also gives quite a performance as the sarcastic Jarvis. There is a great cast alongside Moriarty and Black including Gerrit Graham, Laurene Landon, and director Neal Israel. Also, Cohen regular James Dixon returns in his biggest role to date as Lt. Perkins, the only character to appear in all three films (outside of the killer kids).

Not a Popular One, But My Favorite of the Three

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 1 May 2007]

Stephen Jarvis is the father of the monster (where "the monster" is another bloodthirsty infant). He gets involved with a court case that ends up getting the infants sent to an isolated island. But once the judge who ordered the infants away dies, different parties want them back in the spotlight.

Many people, including my horror reviewing colleague Don Normann, really dislike this film. It is considered the weakest of the three, the least popular and I would suspect that most consider it the cheesiest. I really liked it -- this one, more than the other two, seemed to really hit on a variety of social commentaries. Writer and director Larry Cohen's strength is his social commentary. Actually, that's almost his only strength -- he has no budget, is poorly organized in his shooting schedules and writes much of his scripts on the fly (which is quite obvious).

Two of horror's icons appear here: Michael Moriarty (as Stephen Jarvis) and Karen Black (as Ellen Jarvis). Black is probably now best known to modern audiences from Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses". Moriarty, on the other hand, is a Cohen staple -- appearing in "Q" and "Pick Me Up", for example. And this happens to be one of Moriarty's better roles (he has a very unique way of delivering dialog which works here but is dreadfully awful in "Pick Me Up"). I found him to be a good lead, especially in the improvised segments (such as the singing scene).

There is a good commentary on disease (does an infected child mean an infected parent) and a really good jab at Cuban-American relations. I think Cuba's military obsession is played up a bit, but the part about them being human was a good one (and still relevant twenty years later). And the pharmaceutical company trying to destroy the infants so their drugs couldn't be blamed... very nice (and reminiscent of the Thalidomide scandal).

Lastly, once you've watched it, watch it again with audio commentary (if you get the chance). Cohen's explanations really add a new dimension to this picture, pointing out where Bob Kane's wife comes in (Kane invented Batman), how many of the parts are just Cohen's friends and how a rubber chicken ended up on a deserted island. His justification for a variety of aspects of this film really help you understand what he was trying to achieve and make you realize just how close he came to achieving it.

If you've seen the first two, you need to see this third one. Not only does it wrap up the story in a nice, neat little package, but I think it's grossly under-appreciated. Judge it for what it is -- a low-budget B-movie. With that in mind, I think you'll be hard-pressed to find another film of its kind.

The most entertaining of the It's Alive films, but also the stupidest.

[TOMNEL · 5/10 · 14 January 2007]

Starring: Michael Moriarty and Karen Black.

A TV actor is plagued with a mutant baby that he wants to live. The mutant babies are sent to an uninhibited island. 5 years later the washed up actor is a shoe salesman because no one will hire him, and he decides to find his baby, and make a trip to the island. Once on the island, he learns that the babies have grown up, and the baby wants to meet it's mother (a waitress played by Karen Black). Before the trip to the island this film is quite entertaining, and once on the island it becomes extremely stupid. I was entertained enough through the movie, but it gets stupider than any of the other films. It seems as though the gore and language were amped up a level. Overall it was stupid, but it's entertainment value made it on the same level as the other 2 films.

My rating: ** out of ****. 94 mins. R for Language, Violence, and some Sex.

Third time the charm

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 6 June 2013]

Third time was the charm of sorts for Larry Cohen. The first It's Alive film was interesting, the second I thought stupid. But in Island Of The Alive Cohen found the tone he should have used for the two preceding films and the right actor to set the tone.

Michael Moriarty and Karen Black play a parents of the latest mutant baby and Moriarty goes to court on a preventive strike to win his kid's life. He does, but it and some other mutants are placed on a Caribbean island in exile to be studied to find a solution to a growing problem.

Moriarty with his swaggering style dominates this film. The writers took special care of him with the script and he delivers their lines at his sarcastic best. The film takes a couple of real good jabs at contemporary America of the Reagan era.

Sad the film's antecedents retard its ratings. But this is clearly the best of the series. If another is done, hopefully it will be in the same vein.

Not really all that bad

[chinaskee · 4/10 · 19 March 2001]

Personally,I didn't see a single boom shot in the whole extravaganza.There were some shots that were incredibly out of focus,but it turned out they were deliberate choices by the filmmakers.Parts of this film are actually wickedly funny,as all horror films should be.I couldn't help thinking though while watching this film that it might have actually been quite terrifying if the babies just looked like real babies!

Great sequel...excellent black comedy!

[Coventry · 7/10 · 6 June 2005]

I can't possibly figure out why the movie is rated so low here on IMDb... It's a very entertaining movie and an excellent closure to Larry Cohen's wild 'monstrous infants' trilogy. It already starts out terrific with a brilliant casting job: Michael Moriarty ("The Stuff") and Karen Black ("Burnt Offerings") together as parents?? No wonder that results in murderous offspring! This quirky B-movie implements a great tempo right from the beginning, with the cliché delivery of a killer-baby in a cab, and becomes even better when the entire freakshow is replaced to a courtroom. In this particularly fantastic opening, Stephen Jarvis (Moriarty), father of a mutant-baby, defends the rights of these ugly creatures and wants to prevent that more unfortunate babies are destroyed immediately after birth. After a powerfully scripted emotional speech, he wins the case and the babies are quarantined on a secret island location, down South of Florida. Five years later, Stephen Jarvis is forced against his will to join a scientific expedition towards to island to see how the babies have developed. The expedition crew will soon find out that the former babies still have ferocious tendencies but Jarvis equally discovers that they gained telekinetic powers and that they formed a community on their own...

Larry Cohen's still growing sense of black, offbeat humor is terrifically illustrated through some of the deranged plot-twists and – especially – through Moriarty's eccentric character. His sarcastic one-liners about his unsuccessful acting career or his unwanted popularity as the "father of the monster" makes this "Island of the Alive" one of Cohen's wittiest achievements to date. Also, this final chapter obviously disposed of a much larger budget as the previous installments which allows Cohen's to zoom in more on the malevolent babies and the mess they make when slaughtering. Keep your eyes open for all the ingenious little ideas Cohen adds during the trip to, and return from the island! There are too many to list, such as a side-trip to Fidel Castro's Cuba, a demented singing choir (which looks like it's spoofing "Jaws") or Jarvis' self-indulgent harassing-efforts towards a female scientist. Naturally, this movie has its flaws I can't overlook.. Maybe the finished product is a little long and some sequences should have stayed in the cutting room. Like for example a totally unrelated hunting-trip of greedy thrill-seekers to the island early in the film or a study of Karen Black's troubled love-life after giving birth to a monster. The climax is great, rewarding and makes Cohen's "It's Alive" circle complete. If you appreciate imaginative plotting and absurd horror tales, I recommend the entire It's Alive-cycle as well as every other production Larry Cohen was ever involved in.

Cohen to the extreme, but the grown babies disappoint

[horrorbargainbin · 3 September 2002]

It's full of outrageous speeches and monologues ripe with social commentary and dark humor. The violent scenarios are so outrageous as to be funny, intentionally or otherwise. I can't always tell wether I laughing at or with Cohen's material. From Maniac Cop to The Stuff Cohen's movies question America's laws, beliefs, and habits in not so subtle ways. I do think that horror and sci-fi films have an important use as a way of getting audiences to question the way society conducts itself. At the same time I don't know if Cohen is making fun of his own film with some of the more sentimental dialogue (Cubans, then enemies of the U.S. wishing Jarvis the best) and the over the top scenes (a dying baby monster trying to Baptise itself).

How about the babies? Well they have been banished too a Jurassic Park type island where they crawl about in well done stop-animation and dispatch a bunch of hunters in gorey fashion. Unfortunately, the latter half of the film takes place after the babies have matured and the impressive little demons are replaced by silly rubber suits. For some reason they strip their victims of clothes and then wear the tattered rags. Ultimately the conclusion is less spectacular than expected and we don't get to see many close-ups of the bigger monsters for obvious reasons.

Leave my baby alone

[lastliberal · 4/10 · 24 August 2008]

The most interesting thing about this film was seeing Golden Globe and three-time Emmy winner Michael Moriarty rant and rave about the fact that they wouldn't leave his child alone. I just can't look at Moriarity without seeing Ben Stone from "Law and Order." Seeing him on the other side arguing before Macdonald Carey (also a two-time Daytime Emmy winner for "Days of Our Lives") to save that butt-ugly child of his was hilarious.

But, it gets even funnier as he tries to save his child and, ultimately, his grandchild. He should be Parent of the Year for loving those creatures. Karen Black is his ex, the mother of the monster, and, well, you just have to see how that ends.

Making a comedy out of these things is genius.

No Baby is an Island

[BaronBl00d · 6/10 · 27 March 2005]

Yes, this movie has some laughable plot implications, some over-the-top special effects, and some less than stellar acting, but all in all I found it quite enjoyable and interesting. Director/writer Larry Cohen opens with a scene in a a cab where a woman is about to have a baby. We know what is going to happen from the onset, but Cohen paces the opening scene very nicely. This sets the atmosphere of a society still being intruded on by these mutant, deadly infants that were both the subject of It's Alive! and It Lives Again!. Next, we are taken into a court room and presented with the facts of Michael Moriarity's fight to keep his baby alive despite a large group that want to see it obliterated. This scene is done quite effectively, even though Moriarity gives one of his usual, yet convincing, performances of a man that seems not to care but does(?) Anyway, I have always had problems figuring out Moriarity's motivation at times, but I think he and Cohen were going for more of a black comedy approach to this material. Thus it has dark edges to it, yet is really lighter weight material. Anyway, Moriarity convinces the court and in particular the judge, played nicely by MacDonald Carey, to come up with some alternative living accommodations for these infants - thus comes the Island of the Alive. Well, from there things go kind of down hill in terms of plot. The babies grow rapidly and we turn to five years later: Moriarity, James Dixon(again as the Lt.), and a host of scientists set off to monitor the rate of growth, etc... of the babies for government reasons. You can guess what happens from there on. The end gets very implausible but is fun and never takes itself very seriously(like the first two movies). We see a lot more of the babies here and are even given an explanation for why they are mutants. I enjoyed this one more than the second but think all three make for one of the very rare treats in horror - a horror trilogy. I also liked the whole Cuba interlude but would have loved even more a reverse of who landed on Cuba and what happened after the landing. Now that would have been a real hoot!

Mutant babies are collected and contained.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 7 December 2010]

Whether for good or bad, Larry Cohen's mutant baby sage continues. Razor-sharp toothed killer infants are shipped to a remote deserted island. Of course, this is to completely keep the killing tykes from civilization. The government is closer to eliminating them when a father (Michael Moriarty) of one of the babies gathers a group to protest in mass the wholesale demise of the mutants. Cohen's trilogy seems to have gone unappreciated. Yes, some of the scenes are disturbing...but overall special effects could have been improved. This doesn't mean this flick can't satisfy the fans of cheesy gore. Also in the cast: Laurene Landon, James Dixon, Gerrit Graham and Karen Black.

so bad it's good

[leawenthome · 8/10 · 17 August 2006]

I am a big fan of Larry Cohen movies. So absurdly and poorly written and executed that they are hilarious. This one contains some really funny scenes. Trivia- in the shoe store Mr. Moriarty says "plunk your magic twanger froggy." This stuck in my head a very bizarre moment (actually I re-winded and puzzled over it several times) and I later found out that it is a quote from "the frogger song" released on a "pacman fever" album in the 1980s. Both before and after I found out what the reference was to I wondered what drugs the writers were on. I bought the DVD. You don't have to see the other It's Alive movies to enjoy this one. You just have to like off the wall B-movies.

Somewhat enjoyable if still flawed effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 6/10 · 18 May 2018]

Wanting to rid themselves of the babies, the decision to import the mutants to an uninhabited island leads to a later expedition to study the creatures which shows that they're attempting to get back to the mainland to continue their line and must prevent them from doing so.

This was the best of the series but is still somewhat of an issue. Among the more enjoyable elements found here is the opening manner of what to do with the creatures in society which is a unique take. The exploits of the courtroom trial, which has some nice work in the ability to showcase how friendly they can be and the overall outcome of the verdict, start this off on a nice note while setting up what's going to occur with the later half. The concept of the tropical island where they're being stored away from humanity gives this a solid and nicely appealing storyline involving the continuation of the themes and ideas from the previous films coming together into the fine series of attacks shown in the final half. From the scenes of the expedition members getting wiped out to the carnage shown onboard the boat with the dead bodies and the search for the creatures back on the mainline, these here are what make this one somewhat fun. Along with the nice gore in the few kills we do get to see, these here are enough to hold this one up over its many flaws. Like the past films in the series, this one is mostly hurt by the fact that so much of this one is just not that interesting to sit through. The creatures are given the motive of wanting to return to civilization in order to seek out the mother of their conception which should be quite a fun concept to go through but instead, there's just no sympathy given for this kind of storyline here. It's just quite impossible to get into why this should matter with how this plays out and the film just never makes it over into that realm here due to the inherent stupidity of everyone in the film. The idea of a secret mission to the island without any kind of backup with a rinky-dink sort of operation and background just seems moronic, the way it carries out is quite appropriate and the whole affair is just so hum-drum that it doesn't really make any impact. As well, there's also the lame special effects here with the shoddy-looking creature suits substituting for the few shots they get on-screen as they are mostly just shown flashes of arms, claws or fangs or just done in their point-of-view so it leaves quite a distasteful feeling. Overall, these here are what hold this one down.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and an attempted Rape.

Very Enjoyable Unlike Where I Live

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 24 June 2003]

Someone once asked me " What`s the inhabitants of the isle of mute called - Mutants ? " " No Corporal " I replied " It`s the isle of Bute and they`re called Brandanes " But come to think of it when I walk down the streets of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and see the inbred lumpen underclass drinking on top of empty heads I do think Corporal Williams may have been right . It is the Isle of Mute and the inhabitants are Mutants

***** SLIGHT SPOILERS *****

Anyway you get the drift , I live on an island and I come across mutants all the time so I was going to relate to a film dealing with mutant babies being confined and I wasn`t disappointed by what I saw . ISLAND OF THE ALIVE is a very entertaining bad taste horror comedy , maybe not a classic like Peter Jackson`s BAD TASTE but still fairly good as the film opens with a woman giving birth in a New York taxi cab and a cop trying to shoot the new born baby , while the next scene features the knowingly stupid line " It took four bullets before it died - That`s some baby " , and of course there`s scenes of the mutant killer babies ( Done by stop frame animation , none of this CGI rubbish )going on killing sprees , and I haven`t even mentioned Michael Moriarty doing a great Al Bundy impression .

I`ve no idea why people are slagging this movie off , it`s supposed to be silly . My only criticism about ISLAND OF THE ALIVE is it slows down in the final third and the expected HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP ending with the mutant infants emerging from the sea attacking everyone in the city doesn`t appear which made the ending a complete anti-climax .

And if Larry Cohen is thinking of doing a sequel to ISLAND OF THE ALIVE showing what happened to the mutant youngsters after they`ve grown up he should come to the Isle Of Bute . He won`t need a script , only a camcorder

Not as good as the first two.

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 26 September 2010]

It's Alive III: Island of the Alive starts in court as state prosecutor argues that the mutant babies that are being born across the US should be killed at birth & are not human, mutant baby father Stephen Jarvis (Michhael Moriarty) manages to convince the court that the babies have feelings & should be allowed to live. Judge Milton Watson (Macdonald Carey) rules in favour of Jarvis & the babies right to live but orders them all to be placed on an isolated island away from humanity so they cannot hurt anyone & that the location be kept secret. Five years later & Jarvis is contacted by cop Lt. Perkins (James Dixon) who has agreed to go to the island with a team of Government funded scientists to study the babies & how they have adapted, as a father of one of the mutant babies they want Jarvis to accompany them which he also agrees to. Once at the island the team discover that the babies have grown up remarkably quickly, have telepathic powers & have started breeding amongst themselves...

Executive produced, written & directed by Larry Cohen this was the third entry in his It's Alive trilogy, the first It's Alive (1974) is generally considered to be a strong film while it's sequel It Lives Again (1978) expanded upon the original's themes without being quite as good which leaves It's Alive III: Island of the Alive as probably the weakest of the three films in my opinion & I have now seen all three in the space of three days. The script here seems rushed, the film jumps from one random subplot to another, from the court case to Jarvis being rejected by a woman because he's the mutant babies father to a hunting expedition on the island to the scientific research team to a bizarre scene in Cuba to an ending where the mutant baby wants to find it's mother the film as a whole never quite gels together with the various strands of the plot dangling around without nothing to tie them together. It's Alive III: Island of the Alive just seems like a lazy film, it just seems like Cohen had various ideas but didn't quite know how to knit them together so he would just put one idea into the script, get bored with it & have another idea & go with that one instead forgetting about the previous one. At an hour & a half it does drag at times & the biting social commentary & neat metaphors from the previous It's Alive films are notably absent here in what is a much more routine & predictable script.

Made back to back with A Return to Salem's Lot (1987) with many of the same cast & crew that might also explained the rushed nature of the film, even the amusing visuals of the first two films are missing here in what is a fairly bland looking film throughout. The gore is very restrained despite being the only one rated 'R', there's some profanity, one mild sex scene, some slashed faces, some blood splatter & the only real stand out gore moment is a guy seen staggering around with his arm ripped off. Once again the babies are barely seen, this time around there's stop-motion animation & we see them grown up but like when they are babies it's just quick flashes of what they look like.

The island scenes were apparently filmed in Hawaii but the editing is still choppy & it does look a little cheap at times. The acting varies, Michael Moriarty is always watchable but he puts in a crazy performance here, from mumbling to himself to singing songs while on the open sea to various sarcastic one-liners to sexual harassment of female scientists.

It's Alive III: Island of the Alive is the weakest of the three It's Alive films, that's all there is to it really. Watchable in an oddball sort of way but nothing special overall.

May God have mercy on their souls

[Baz-13 · 28 May 1999]

Never before has such an atrocity been sinned upon celluloid. The acting, writing, directing and special effects are so terrifyingly laughable that I hovered on the brink on insanity as I watched the "story" unfold. The microphone bobs into shot so many times it's almost a regular character, and it has more screen presence and charisma than the rest of the cast put together. Everyone responsible in any part for this film should never be allowed to work in the motion picture industry again.

Probably the best film ever made about bad stop motion mutant babies living on an island.

Cohen abuses his own premise with silliness

[fertilecelluloid · 5/10 · 5 December 2005]

An island of mutant babies! Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, in Larry Cohen's hands, it's more amusing than great, although the island setting is quite evocative. The real pity once again is Cohen's direction. Is the guy making a black comedy or a serious horror pic? I don't think he's sure. He's definitely taking every opportunity to lather in his trademark social commentary, and I don't have a problem with that, but he abuses his own premise here with sheer silliness.

The babies look like Garbage Pail Kids crossed with Party Beach monsters. They're big and they're greasy and they wear hand-me-down rags that don't fit. They still kill and they're still sympathetic tragics, but they've lost their mystery, their awe.

It's a shame the great artwork didn't reflect the movie.

IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE

[TCurtis9192 · 3/10 · 28 February 2020]

"IT'S ALIVE III: ISLAND OF THE ALIVE" (1987, Cohen), along with its predecessors, captured my imagination as a kid. I loved this entry the most back then; its wild colours, comedy and titular island ignited a fire in me. Michael Moriarty and James Dixon were wildly entertaining.

Watching it now is a bit different. It's not a bad film but it does outstay its welcome for me now. The erratic editing (present in all three films by the way) and quick glimpses of the monsters become boring fast and I wish they had stayed on the Island rather than leave it so quickly.

That being said it is very funny at times, as well as creepy, but it all boils down to acting and music once again.

I love Cohen!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 1 April 2021]

This movie has an all-star cast and by that I mean an all-star cast for me. Michael Moriarty? Gerrit Graham? Laurene Landon? Karen Black?

Stephen Jarvis (Moriarty) and Ellen Jarvis (Black) had a mutant child that she wants to forget and society wants to exile on an island, where the drug company who caused all this sends soldiers to kill the children. Of course, the kids kill and eat everyone, because these babies are nature's most amazing predators.

Somehow, another journey to the island ends exactly the same way, with Jarvis surviving because one of the mutants is his son and also because they have a supply of human bodies to eat and need him alive. He ends up in Cuba, where he's treated way better than he is in the United States, and when he gets back to Florida, the children have sought out Ellen to raise one of their children.

Also, a giant baby wipes out cop after cop after cop.

Larry Cohen's third movie in the series, this came about after Warner Brothers wanted him to remake House of Wax. Instead, he made this film and A Return to Salem's Lot.

If the beginning of this movie seems familiar, it was also used in the Dirty Harry movie The Dead Pool. But hey, Larry Cohen was all about recycling. He used footage from The Old Man and the Sea for the sharks and ocean shots from The Sea Chase.

You know, people have made fun of this movie when they tell me about it and they were wrong. Sure, the effects are somewhat dated, but so what? You have Michael Moriarty being as insane as he always is, going off in every single scene, and mutant children with mental powers eating human beings. That's the kind of movie that I choose to watch over almost anything else.

Michael Moriaritys' Midlife Crisis

[jackbruns29 · 5/10 · 29 October 2020]

It's Alive III: Island of the Alive is basically two hours of Michael Moriarity mumbling to himself and calling everyone a-holes....which is fine by me, because he's by far the best thing about this terrible movie. In a nutshell, the third movie of this franchise still sticks with the basic concept of mutant baby going on a murderous rampage at the expense of society. However, this entry relies more on the comedic timing of Michael Moriarity to carry things along. The way he creeps people out by being such a weirdo and just plain annoying people is great. Just great stuff. But method acting alone can't save bad special effects and poor editing. That said, I'm giving this movie five stars for his performance in this turkey. No more and no less.

I love Cohen!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 1 April 2021]

Frank Davis (John P. Ryan), the father of the child in the original It's Alive, is trying to make up for his part in the life and death of his child by warning parents of the conspiracy to murder their mutant children. Parents like Eugene (Frederic Forrest, The Conversation) and Jody (Kathleen Lloyd, The Car), who are met at the hospital not by doctors and nurses, but by police officers. She's rescued by Frank just before she goes into labor and delivers her child in a specially made vehicle.

The trouble is, even the calmest of people can spook these mutant children, who are nature's most perfect apex predator. Now that there are three of these babies, things are even more intense than the first film.

Like always, Larry Cohen can take an idea that sounds ridiculous when read and make a movie that completely works. He's honestly one of the directors I depend on most, because no matter the genre or budget, his movies are always something that entertains and makes you think.

Of course, there would have to be a third film in this series and, spoiler warning, I ended up enjoying it even more than this one.

a biting satire of america

[sonatine42 · 9/10 · 23 February 2000]

Like Sam Fuller, Larry Cohen is an extremely underrated filmmaker who managed to make 'b-movies'which say alot more then 'a-movies'. Its Alive 3 is perhaps his most subversive and humorous film. While the surface plot involves an island of mutated babies, the film also holds commentary on abortion, the media (and how it manipulates and destroys lives) and even Cuba. All it takes to pick up on this masterpiece is an open mind...

A baby ate my dingo.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 30 May 2018]

After requests from Warner Bros. to do another sequel to his landmark thriller "It's Alive", Larry Cohen responded with this tale set several years after the events of the first two movies.

Only five of the murderous mutant babies remain, and after Stephen Jarvis (frequent Cohen star Michael Moriarty), a failed actor and father to one of them, makes a case for the kids to be spared, they are taken to a deserted tropical isle. There they will be left to their own devices, and won't be a danger to "normal" humans.

Four years later, the judge (Macdonald Carey, 'Days of Our Lives') who presided over the trial passes away. Then an expedition is launched to the isle to make note of whatever progress the monster children have made. Stephen is asked to tag along.

Kudos to Cohen for not keeping this *completely* predictable (not that much time is actually spent on the island), and for using this opportunity to make some pointed commentary on things like abortion, the AIDS epidemic, and the way that people will heartlessly exploit human interest stories for the sake of a few bucks. Cohens' script is frequently intriguing, and effective in a darkly comic way. (Gone is the very serious tone of the first two movies.) It allows Moriarty to once again be goofy and eccentric, albeit not quite to the extent that the actor giddily hammed it up in "Q". Also, "Island of the Alive" possesses one thing that some genre movies just don't have: an ability to make an emotional connection to the characters.

The performances are better than you might ordinarily see in such fare. Co-starring are Karen Black ('Trilogy of Terror') as Stephens' ex-wife, James Dixon (another Cohen repertory player again reprising his role of Lt. Perkins), Gerrit Graham ("Used Cars") as a grandstanding attorney, Patch Mackenzie ("Graduation Day") as his opposing counsel, the incredibly sexy Laurene Landon ("Maniac Cop") as a prostitute, film director Neal Isreal ("Bachelor Party") and Art Lund ("Black Caesar") as scientists, and William Watson ("The Mack") as the head of a pharmaceutical company.

The haunting musical theme by Bernard Herrmann ("Psycho") is once again utilized, with good new music by Laurie Johnson ("Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter"). Daniel Pearl ("The Texas Chain Saw Massacre") handles cinematography duties, and it's a real change of pace to see Cohen tackling a production that actually looks like it had a decent budget. Some viewers may be disappointed with the effects, but Cohen never holds on these shots for too, too long, and he does serve up some pretty entertaining gore.

Overall, a nice conclusion to this initial trilogy, and followed in 2008 by a remake of the original movie.

Seven out of 10.

the its alive babies are all grown up!

[dav07dan02 · 8 August 2005]

Director/Script: Larry Cohen, Cast: Michael Moriarty, Karen Black, James Dixon

This is, of course, the last film in the 'Its Alive' trilogy by Larry Cohen. It also features James Dixon, the only person to appear in all three films. In the original film, only one couple was known to have produced such a baby. By this third film,they have multiplied and several couples are producing these mutant demon babies. This film starts out in court with the father of one of the babies. He is pleading with some federal judge to spare these babies from destruction. The babies are ordered by the judge to be sent off to a remote island off the coast of Flordia where they will remain in exile. Nobody is to go to the island. Five years later the judge dies so the no visitors to the island policy changes. A team of scientists along with the father go to the island to 'see how the babies are doing' The babies are now five years old, fully grown and meaner than ever! Before long, the father is the only one left alive. The 'babies' are brought back to the mainland with disastrous results!

This film is a good ending to the series. Certainly not on par with the first but a good enough sequel with that same 'B' movie campiness of the two previous films. This probably had the highest production cost of the three films. Interestingely enough, the first two films where PG rated whereas this one received an R rating due to F words that where thrown in for good measure. Cinematography was done by Dan Pearl of Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame.

Dark Humor Drenched in Blood

[PretentiousFilmCritic · 6/10 · 11 May 2018]

Stephen Jarvis (Michael Moriarty) argues in a courtroom for the life of his mutant son. The judge mandates for the isolation of the mutant babies on an abandoned island. Five years pass, Stephen accepts the opportunity to see his child again on the island. I guess no love is greater than that of a father for his son.

Michael Moriarty's eccentric performance and Larry Cohen's direction enhance a clumsy and uninvolving script. The dark humor and social commentary on AIDS, media exploitation, abortion, and Cuba-US relations elevates the ensuing B-movie schlock and manages to make the film slightly transgressive.

Be warned, this movie is nothing more than cheesy dialogue and bad special effects. The first fifteen minutes drag and only set up the mayhem. After that, I thought the film got progressively better, but depends on the viewer's temper with Moriarty's hammy performance. The narrative structure becomes clumsy and almost meaningless (I stopped paying attention and went along for the ride). While "It's Alive III: Island of the Alive" isn't anything to praise, the film knows how to have fun.