It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive |
| Release Year | 1987 |
| Original Title | It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive |
| Also Known As | Island of the Alive |
| Director | Larry Cohen |
| Screenplay Writer | Larry Cohen |
| Story By | Larry Cohen |
| Based on Novel by | Sequel to It’s Alive (1974) |
| Producer(s) | Paul Kurta |
| Executive Producer(s) | — |
| Lead Actors | Michael Moriarty, Karen Black |
| Cast | Michael Moriarty, Karen Black, Laurene Landon, Gerrit Graham |
| Genre | Horror |
| Subgenre | Monster Horror, Sci-Fi Horror |
| Release Date | May 15, 1987 (United States) |
| Runtime / Duration | 1h 35m (95 minutes) |
| Budget | Low-budget studio production |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | Limited theatrical release |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Production Company | Larco Productions |
| Distributor | New Line Cinema |
| Filming Locations | Venezuela and California, USA |
| Music By | Laurie Johnson |
| Cinematography | Daniel Pearl |
| Edited By | Lance Anderson |
| Production Design | — |
| Costume Design | — |
| Special Effects | Practical animatronic creature effects |
| Makeup Effects | Mutant baby prosthetics |
| MPAA Rating | PG-13 |
| Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 |
| Sound Mix | Stereo |
| Format | Color |
| Themes | Mutation, survival, government experimentation, morality |
| Setting | Isolated tropical island |
| Notable Trivia | Larry Cohen returned to direct the third installment of the franchise |
| Critical Reception | Mixed-to-negative reviews |
| Audience Reception | Cult following among creature-feature fans |
| Awards / Nominations | — |
| Home Media | VHS, DVD |
| Streaming Availability | Occasionally available on cult horror services |
| Sequels / Franchise | Third and final film in the original It’s Alive trilogy |
| Franchise Type | Monster horror franchise |
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As the mutated babies continue to be born, drastic measures are taken to ensure that the little killing machines are wiped out. Finally after nearly five years the births of the mutants have begun to dwindle. The remaining few have been either caught or exterminated. Enter Stephen Jarvis one of the last to father one of the mutants, after his son is caught, Jarvis fights for the life of his child and after a very emotional plea and tense moment in a courtroom, the judge orders that all future births of any mutants will not end in termination, but relocation. The mutant babies will be left on a deserted island all their own, but what will happen when humanity discovers the secret island?
I cannot say enough bad things about this film, it is truly horrible, but at the same time it is addictive as crack.
First off the plot is bad, you know what’s going to happen from the minute this one starts. Second, the effects are miserable. The first two used rubber puppets for the babies, this one regresses into claymation for Pete’s sake. But what gives this one it’s truly fatal flaw is the acting of Michael Moriarty, who plays the lead role of Stephen Jarvis.
Moriarty is a terrible actor, I mean he is bad from the start, no facial expressions and a monotone voice the entire movie. The guy is on downers. Worse than his acting is his character Stephen Jarvis, the guy is an ASS. Jarvis is dealing with the fame/shame of being the father of one of the last mutants.
One minute he is in a room trying to raise money to help the babies, the next he is telling mutant baby jokes. He questions everybody and knows it all, but nothing beats when a scientist shows him a gun they will use to tranquilize the babies. Jarvis asks “Will it hurt them?”, the doctor says “No.” Jarvis then shoots the doctor with the gun to test it out. When this happened I nearly pissed myself!
There is also a great scene where a baby latches onto a guys neck and they tumble down a waterfall, after watching this my wife turned to me and said, “That looked like a frozen turkey on his back,” the sad part was it did.
Island of the Alive is full of bad horror moments, but at the same time some of the most unexplainably stupid shit you will ever see. Grab some friends and sit back and enjoy this one for the pure shit fest it is. Even Karen Black can’t add any dignity to this one.
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