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It's Alive

Play trailer Poster for It's Alive PG 1974 1h 31m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
65% Tomatometer 23 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Leaving their son, Chris (Daniel Holzman), with a family friend (William Wellman Jr.), Frank (John P. Ryan) and Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) head to the hospital for the birth of their second child -- which turns out to be a mutant who kills many doctors and nurses as it escapes. Convinced his monstrous son must be destroyed, Frank ignores Lenore and Chris' pleas and tries to destroy the freakish progeny, unaware that the infant may be the blameless product of an experimental drug gone wrong.
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It's Alive

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Critics Consensus

Tough and unpleasant, It's Alive throttles the viewer with its bizarre mutant baby theatrics.

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Critics Reviews

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David Robinson The Times (UK) Jun 27, 2023
The film is too crudely cobbled together to make much of anything -- even a score by Bernard Herrman. Go to Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine May 24, 2019
4/5
Larry Cohen's horror thriller is at once a great suspense/monster film and a darkly comic soap opera about strained parent-child relationships. Go to Full Review Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness Jan 26, 2006
A
A deeply terrifying portrait of child-parent relationships and intolerant fears of "otherness" defined as much by its sociological sharpness as its gore. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Aug 29, 2021
2/4
It skews on the amateurish side, with an intriguing premise compromised by bland characters, awkward dialogue, and lurching scenes. Go to Full Review Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Aug 25, 2020
3.5/5
It's Alive goes from foreboding conversations about pollution to full tilt nightmare rather quickly. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Aug 11, 2020
1/4
...the picture slowly-but-surely loses its grip on the viewer as it progresses into an often unbearably meandering midsection... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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B P @Bradster69 3 days ago Not Bad, but Not My Favorite See more bret A @RT57082650 Mar 12, 2026 very underrated movie liked it See more Justin T @RT08580778 Dec 9, 2025 Come on, how many films have mutant babies stalking milkmen? It is one seriously angry baby. It was not played for laughs and that was a great shame. You have to pity the poor kid; he grew up in a sewer. I do wish that they had thought to cover his head with a jacket much sooner. Would have saved me some boredom. Far too serious to be enjoyed. Some baby effects were a little cool for a short while. But that is the biggest problem, the killer baby was barely in the movie. Far too little happened and it’s so slow. See more Nick O @Nicki1985 May 24, 2025 This weirdo Larry Cohen monster flick makes The Omen and Rosemary's Baby look like adorable little sweethearts. See more Shawn R @satiable Jan 14, 2025 it's a good movie, but scared the living daylights out of me when I was six years old, when it first came out, it was the trailer for it that terrified me. Never saw the movie until I was in my teens lol See more acsdoug D @acsdoug Jan 23, 2024 So bad it's good? Nope, not in my book, just a bad 70s horror movie with an incredibly intrusive score. John P. Ryan, who was so good in Runaway Train, is about as emotive as a log in this one. See more Read all reviews
It's Alive

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Cast & Crew

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Larry Cohen

Director

John P. Ryan

Frank Davies

Sharon Farrell

Lenore Davis

Andrew Duggan

The Professor

Guy Stockwell

Bob Clayton

James Dixon

Lieutenant Perkins

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It's Alive

It's Alive! (1974) It's Alive! (1974) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Leaving their son, Chris (Daniel Holzman), with a family friend (William Wellman Jr.), Frank (John P. Ryan) and Lenore Davis (Sharon Farrell) head to the hospital for the birth of their second child -- which turns out to be a mutant who kills many doctors and nurses as it escapes. Convinced his monstrous son must be destroyed, Frank ignores Lenore and Chris' pleas and tries to destroy the freakish progeny, unaware that the infant may be the blameless product of an experimental drug gone wrong.
Director
Larry Cohen
Producer
Larry Cohen
Screenwriter
Larry Cohen
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers
Rating
PG
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 26, 1974, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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