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

Réalisateur:

Larry Cohen

Scénaristes:

Larry Cohen (characters)
Larry Cohen (written by)

Date de sortie:

mai 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horreur

Accroche:

They do something worse than kill. They multiply.

Intrigue:

The mutant babies have been placed by court order on a deserted island. Appalled by the cycnicism and...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Mutant Baby | Baby | Mutant | Killer Baby

Avis des utilisateurs:

Unusually comical

Ensemble

Michael Moriarty	...	Stephen Jarvis
Karen Black	...	Ellen Jarvis
Laurene Landon	...	Sally
James Dixon	...	Lt. Perkins
Gerrit Graham	...	Ralston
Macdonald Carey	...	Judge Milton Watson
Neal Israel	...	Dr. Brewster
Art Lund	...	Dr. Swenson
Ann Dane	...	Dr. Morrell
William Watson	...	Cabot
C.L. Sussex	...	Hunter
Patch Mackenzie	...	Robbins
Rick Garia	...	Tony
Carlos Palomino	...	First Cuban
Tony Abatemarco	...	Second Cuban

Autre(s) titre(s):

Island of the Alive (USA) (alternative title)
It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive (USA) (DVD box title)

Durée:

95 min | Germany:91 min (cut version)

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

1,85 : 1

Son:

Ultra Stereo

Classification:

UK:15 (video re-rating) | Iceland:16 | Australia:R | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (cut)

Lieux de tournage:

Hawaii, USA

Société:

Larco Productions

Anecdotes:

Last cinema film of Macdonald Carey

Goofs:

Equipe ou équipement visible: When the creatures hijack the boat and Stephen Jarvis is giving his voice over there is a long shot from above. The shadow of the camera helicopter can be seen passing over the boat and water.

Connexions De Film:

Références "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" (1963)

Bande son:

IF I TOLD YOU

Unusually comical

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