Sci Fi Invasion: It's Alive (1969)

I think it is a good thing that I stepped away from this Sci Fi Invasion box for awhile. There are just so many stinkers on here. It is something of a chore to sit through some of these movies. Still, I will soldier on and will eventually get through this set. There has to be a least a couple more watchable movies in there, right? This latest outing, a made for television movie from 1969, is not good and I feel bad for the poor souls who stumbled across it in the middle of the night so many years ago.



The movie is called It's Alive, not to be confused with Larry Cohen's movie of the same title from 1974. This one was written and directed by Larry Buchanan and was commissioned by American International Television, who was looking to leverage the growing television market. This outing is top billed by Tommy Kirk, who was popular Disney star with such movies as The Absent Minded Professor, Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Shaggy Dog to his credit. This one is nowhere near those in quality.

As the movie opens, we meet a couple, Norman (Corveth Ousterhouse) and his wife Leila (Shirley Bonne). They take a side road and find themselves lost and nearly out of gas, a friendly paleontologist (Kirk) who directs them to a nearby house. So, the couple go to the house where hey meet Greeley (Bill Thurmann)' who owns the house and Bella, his maid.

Everything is a little questionable about Greeley, especially when he offers to show off his makeshift zoo. This is where things take a turn, Greeley traps the two, along with the paleontologist who shows up uninvited. The three are stuck in a cavern, where they discover a giant prehistoric monster in a bubbling pool. Ooohhh... Creepy.

It is revealed that Greeley is a little off kilter. He also appen to be the best part of this low budget time filler. He adequately plays the role of creepy nice guy who turns out to e a nasty, insane fellow who traps and abuses people who come to his house. Not a great performance, but the best one of a ad bunch.

The monster is utterly terrible. It is a costume meant to convey a giant prehistoric creature, but instead looks like cheap costume with bug eyes and and teeth. To make it better, the costume was recycled from an earlier Buchanan film called Creature of Destruction.

There is nothing to see or recommend here. Move along.

Not Recommended.