It's Alive

Although it doesn't finally have the courage of its convictions and raises more questions than its standard horror/sci fi format can cope with, there's still a lot that comes off here. The premise is blackly humorous: every monster has a Mom who loves it. A banal Los Angeles family discover that they have brought a homicidal vampire baby into the world when Junior, straight out of the womb, goes on a murder spree and pits his wits against a mobilised police force. Despite such potentially sidesplitting material, the film often manages to instil a genuinely chilling atmosphere, with its initially kitsch family growing into human beings as they plummet into a world unhinged and apart at the seams. John Ryan's performance as the husband is particularly astute, and Bernard Herrmann's score milks the suspense for all it's worth.