Film Review: It’s Alive (2008) Remake

Rate This Movie

SYNOPSIS:

It’s Alive is a remake of the 1974 film of the same name except that beyond the killer baby motif absolutely nothing is the same as the original.

Directed by Josef Rusnak (The Thirteenth Floor) and written by Larry Cohen (Q, It’s Alive III, Phonebooth), Paul Sopocy (new Thundercats?!) and James Portolese (JCVD’s Until Death) this is a re-imagining of a film that really didn’t need to see the light of day. It’s Alive would have to work very hard from the off to justify it’s existence.

Just before the end of her semester at college, Lenore Harker (Bijou Phillips) leaves to have a baby with her architect boyfriend Franck (James Murray) at his remote log cabin in the woods. After discovering the baby has doubled in size in just a month they have to extract the baby by caesarian section, without Franck being present. As the doctor cuts the umbilical cord all hell breaks loose, with the baby killing every doctor and nurse in the operating room. When we cut back to the new mother, baby is asleep on her stomach and the room is painted a lovely shade of blood red.

After questioning by the police Lenore is allowed back home with her baby (after all, a baby killing people would be ridiculous!) and is left to get on with her life while they organize a psychologist to help her try to remember anything. It’s not long before Death Baby bites Lenore when she’s feeding him and his taste for blood is revealed.

Gradually the baby gets the taste for rats, cats and penguins* before progressing to killing fully-grown people. As Lenore refuses to accept her baby is seriously messed up it comes down to wheelchair bound kid Chris (Raphaël Coleman) and school chum Nicole (Skye Bennett) to save the day.

REVIEW:

This film does a good job considering it’s plot it’s given. A killer baby with one hell of an appetite. This film is a remake so if you liked the original then go out an check this movie out, if not you should avoid it.
Honestly I have never seen it and most I recommend this for a late night rent with a entertaining but pointless gore fest. I am sure of that the original did a better job so go rent it instead.

The little bastard is named Daniel, who at first you think is just a sweet normal baby. If normal is killing coyotes and mice then he is a perfect fit.

It starts normal with showing our main mother Lenore(Bijou Phillips) and her friend in their dorms talking about her pregnancy and their futures. All along as the monster grows inside her plotting all along. Lenore drives to her new home where she meets her boyfriend Frank(James Murray) and his brother Chris (Raphael Coleman). Chris is stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life? This film leaves a lot of questions like that through out the runtime. Acting in the movie was good in this film though with a strong cast, especially Frank. Well ,Lenore is taking care of her newborn she disconnects herself from her friends and most of her surroundings.

The baby was born in aftermath of 4 murders in a enclosed room. Police ponder through out film who could of done such a brutal massacre. Little do they know it was Lenore and Frank’s bundle of joy Daniel that is the root of all evil. The kills shown in the flick are usually ones to laugh at nothing really believable about this movie. Sgt. Perkins(Owen Teale) is thinking there is something Lenore knows considering she was only person left alive in the hospital room along with Daniel. He just like many find a similar fate in getting to close to finding out the truth.

The scenery used in this movie I was impressed with as well. They were in middle of nowhere so nobody really could get nosey about a upset infant next door. Plenty of places for Lenore to hide vehicles thaft were from victims from accidents that the baby has due to missing lunch time. The film shows a kind of realistic approach to a mom’s reaction of a blood hungry newborn. After leaving bite scarring from breast feeding and finding various animals carcasses you think a mom would find it a bit odd. Lenore believes in a mothers love and that nothing can be wrong with her little angel.

Toward the end of the movie Lenore ends up finally telling Frank that her friend bought these pills for her to have a natural miscarriage. He of course still loves her of course as she explains she regretted all of it. What he didn’t see coming was that he would have to decide to keep or kill his out of control son. Frank is working hard to try to keep this a still functioning relationship. He works his job and tries to help his wife out all he can but which is really not that much of help. Chris goes to school during the day along with Frank at work so all during the day Lenore loves her half-Satan child.

Left disconnected her best friend and her boyfriend come to visit Lenore. Her friends confused why she hasn’t been answering her phone. The boyfriend gets picked off during a smoke break outside, while inside she talks with Lenore. After a argument over she throwing her life away for a baby leaves her more body count for Daniel. This devastates Lenore when she finds out what he did, but she can’t punish him. Through tears and motherly love she still ignores all the signs of him being a bad omen.

The film ends on a strong point which I enjoyed actually. Sgt. Perkins comes with a deputy to the house after a doctors recent disappearance and that’s when the fun begins. Frank and Chris shortly find ou t that Daniel is a killing machine and need to get the hell out of there. After a few deaths and a decision that leaves Frank in tears the film comes to the end. With out giving all the film away it will leave you with a burning sensation.

To me it was the burning feeling one would feel during peeing, uncomfortable and just downright wrong. I didn’t hate the film no but I sure as hell didn’t like it. No I didn’t see the original maybe that takes away from the effect I’m not to sure. Living in a decade where remakes are in, this was just another sad excuse.