CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

BA_Harrison I'm a sucker for a crappy monster movie, but even I have my limits; 'It's Alive!', a made for TV effort from schlockmeister Larry Buchanan, goes beyond those limits and then some...Bill Thurman plays Greely, owner of a back-road menagerie whose most unusual attraction is a prehistoric monster (also played by Thurman) that is kept hidden in a cave and fed on unsuspecting passers-by. When married couple Leilla and Norman Sterns (Shirley Bonne and Corveth Ousterhouse) take a wrong turn and wind up at Greely's place, they soon find themselves added to the monster's menu, along with unfortunate paleontologist Wayne (Tommy Kirk). Greely's petrified housekeeper Bella (Annabelle Weenick) is their only hope of escape, but can they convince the woman to risk her life to help?With a really bad rubber monster and an amazingly OTT performance from Thurman (a master of the maniacal laugh), this could have been an unintentionally funny piece of Z-grade trash, but the dreary script, wooden acting from everyone else, and utterly lifeless direction from Buchanan ensures that no-one is laughing. Technically shoddy from start to finish, this is a real test of patience, the worst parts being a prolonged flashback filmed with no sound, but given a dreadful voice-over by Weenick, and a slow-motion chase scene through the woods. 80 minutes have rarely seemed so long.

wbswetnam In yet another Larry Buchanan Z-grade train-wreck of a movie, "It's Alive" is about three people who get lost and wind up as captives of a deranged farmer. The whacko farmer locks them up in his cave exhibition, along with his lizard-man monster, to be served up as dinner for the farmer's green man-beast critter.How is it that Larry Buchanan funded these rabidly bad movies? As with other films he directed, "It's Alive" suffers from bad dialog, bad acting, bad editing, bad lighting, bad stock music... you name it, it's bad. So bad that it's strangely fun to watch, though. It has a lot of the same themes as Manos: The Hands of Fate but it isn't nearly as mind-numbingly painful as Manos. If you're into bad sci-fi / horror flicks like me, then by all means waste an hour and a half of your life and watch "It's Alive". It's too bad they didn't have the Razzy Awards back in 1969 - Larry Buchanan would have certainly been a contender for worst director.

Woodyanders Bickering couple Norman (stolid Corveth Ousterhouse) and Leilla (pretty blonde Shirley Bonne) find themselves hopelessly lost in some remote rural region. They seek assistance from deranged redneck farmer Greely (a game performance from beefy veteran exploitation picture regular Bill Thurman), who locks them both in a cave so he can feed them to his beloved pet lethal carnivorous reptilian humanoid monster (also played by Thurman). Flatly directed by legendary Grade Z schlockmeister Larry Buchanan, with a dull, talky, uneventful script, a sluggish pace, cruddy, washed-out color cinematography by Robert B. Alcott, a tedious drawn-out flashback that's just tossed in to pad out the running time, a generic film library orchestral mush score, a simply pathetic some-poor-zhlub-in-a-lousy-rubbery-suit creature, no tension or momentum to speak of, and a spectacularly fumbled less-than-thrilling explosive conclusion, this hilariously horrendous hunk of unmitigated junk possesses all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a real four-star stinkeroonie. Former Disney kid thespian Tommy Kirk seems asleep on his feet as paleontologist hero Wayne Thomas while Annabelle MacAdams does her best with the thankless role of Greely's scared and abused housekeeper Bella. Moreover, the misty cavern setting is genuinely cool and creepy. A tasty slice of prime celluloid Velveeta cheese.

actionguy1 This movie was extremely disturbing to me when I first saw it as a kid. Early 70's, late night "Creature Features"! The stock music that Larry Buchanan always used in his movies contributed a lot. But what really disturbed me the most was Billy Thurman's loony character. He physically resembled an uncle of mine! That was really creepy! Considering my uncle is a nice guy. The monster was hokey as hell, but still creeped me out.(Hey! I was 10 years old!) The real monster though, was Bill Thurman's character. He played it with his usual "intensity", and it was scary! No, it will never go down in history as a "classic", but I would like to have it on DVD, to bring back that 10 year old. Just so he can laugh at it now!