God Told Me To

Trust something this darkly warped to come from the creative juices brewing from the mind of Larry Cohen. The 70s through to the mid 80s was the pinnacle for Cohen, and "God Told Me to" would have to be ranking at the top of his greatest achievements. With a limited budget, Cohen resourcefully constructs a fascinatingly chilling, bewildering and off-kilter little winner. Talk about the strangest film Cohen has ever done, and probably his most ambitiously versatile in the story's ever-changing format of genres! Subtexts aplenty. And they manage some depth too.

The cryptic story is cleverly utilized, as the mystery holds together and the fearful psychological undercurrents of repressed faith make it rather interesting. Though it's so hard to follow due to that fractured story-telling. It shifts from grounded reality to utter weirdness, which has you totally feeling the confusion and frustration that the main protagonist would be going through trying to come to terms with what's going on. So does it make sense? I'm not quite sure, but hell it's entertaining and bizarre. Too much for me to worry about thinking of the bigger picture. But hey it makes great for repeat viewings! Some sequences can unsettle, while others thoughtfully delve into the characters at hand. A compact, but involving script is complicatedly put together and drives hard with an audaciously literal sense. Some of the dialogues actually raise most of the tension than some visual set-pieces involving violence and shocks. Cohen's capably understated direction is well presented and shines with his own distinctive personality, as he ably uses the authentic New York Locations with the use of intimately taut cinematography. He manages to install a haunting air throughout the whole feature, and Frank Cordell's dreamily sombre music score largely complements the atmospheric awe.

A quality cast lend solid performances. Tony Lo Bianco is undeniably excellent in the lead role of a religious NYPD detective. Sandy Dennis and Sylvia Sidney offer strong support. Sam Levene, Al Fann and James Dixon (a Cohen favourite) are also good. Richard Lynch appears in a small, but unusually striking part and Andy Kauffman in an out-of-the-ordinary performance.

Cohen's "God Told Me To" is a loopy, but challenging b-grade exploitation of the highest order. An unforgettable cult gem!

God Told Me To (1976)

** (out of 4)

New York detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) begins to investigate a strange string of mass homicides where the murderers claim that they are doing the crimes due to God telling them. Soon the detective learns of a woman who while still a virgin gave birth to a boy after an apparent alien abduction.

GOD TOLD ME TO is a low-budget thriller from writer-director Larry Cohen who is best remembered for the string of pictures he made in the 70s including IT'S ALIVE. This film here has some interesting ideas behind it but for the most part it doesn't completely work, although there's still enough interesting stuff here to make it worth watching.

I think one of the best things going for the film is the lead performance by Lo Bianco. The character actor certainly does a nice job in the role of the detective as he looks and sounds the part. He brings a certain authentic feel to the part. Deborah Raffin and Sandy Dennis are good as well and it was fun seeing Sylvia Sidney in her small role. Mike Kellin and that great voice are also on hand.

The direction is good throughout and there's no doubt that Cohen handles his screenplay just fine. I think the lack of any real suspense is the biggest deal-breaker for the picture as well as the fact that it runs out of gas around the fifty minute mark and it takes a while to finish. There's no question that the first half of the film is much more entertaining than the second.

Let me tell you, that if this was a movie that got done with a bigger budget to spend and some more well known names in it, this movie would had been absolutely considered to be a classic one within its genre.

You really probably beforehand don't expect much good to come from this movie. It's a '70's movie with the title "God Told Me To" and the main premise makes it sound as if this is your average typical exploitation flick about a killer on the loose. But you'll be surprised at what sudden turns this movie makes throughout. It actually starts to combine lots of different genre elements, such as horror, thriller but above all things also science-fiction. Here is mostly were the movie start to get interesting and surprising to watch. It's a real refreshingly original movie, that truly deserves some more attention and recognition.

But also simple fact about this movie remains is that it's a quite cheaply done one and you can really tell that. It's the sort of cheap '70's movie that for instance used different camera's, none of which were the same, so the movie its look changes throughout the movie a few times. The interior and exterior shots especially differ. It's cheapness can been seen back in basically about everything, such as also in the directing and acting and this is what mostly harms the movie.

But yet, once you really start to get into this movie, you'll start to forgive the movie for its cheap look and lesser moments. It simply has a great concept and a refreshing approach. This all should be good enough to still make you thoroughly enjoy watching this movie.

The movie can get quite messy and confusing to watch at times but it's hard to say if you can really blame the writer or director for this, since lots of '70's movies were basically just being that way. It also sort of adds to the style and atmosphere of this movie its unlikely and refreshing story and approach.

It's also fun to note that this movie features late comedian Andy Kaufman's first movie appearance. It's really about a 2 second part but it's fun to notice nevertheless.

A surprisingly good and refreshingly original movie.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Larry Cohen the New-York based director (Q-The Winged Serpent , Black Ceasar , Stuff) brings us this oddity. The title was changed to Demon after most television stations refused to run the trailer for the film. A deeply religious cop (Tony lo Bianco) is involved in the investigation of a series of seemingly unrelated sniper killings in the New York area. His investigations however only start when he tracks down a sniper and is given the answer "God Told Me Too" , thats about all I can say without ruining the film and giving away one of the most effective plot twists in years. Andy Kaufman (Latka in TAXI) turns up as a kill crazy policeman at a parade, with lots of other surprises along the way this little known gem is well worth the hunt if you can get a copy on video. And with we have the best of all excuses to watch it.."God Told Me Too"

I must have seen close to twenty movie written and/or directed by Larry Cohen ('Q', 'Black Caesar', 'Maniac Cop', 'It's Alive!', 'Best Seller', 'The Stuff', 'Uncle Sam',etc.etc.) and I have greatly enjoyed most of them, but 'God Told Me To' is without a doubt his best movie. It's an extraordinarily original picture, one of the best low budget horror movies of all time. Horror movie? Horror, mystery, science fiction, whatever you want to call it! Tony Lo Bianco plays a religious cop who is faced with a seemingly random series of murders committed by various people who, when asked why, simply say "God told me to". This is just the beginning of a very strange and fascinating story that will leave the viewer continually guessing! Lo Bianco was a last minute replacement for Robert Forster who was sacked after two days filming and a personality clash with Cohen. Lo Bianco gives a terrific performance, his best in my opinion after 'The Honeymoon Killers'. The movie features a strong supporting cast: Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, screen veterans Sylvia Sidney and Sam Levene, plus cult favourite Richard Lynch ('Scarecrow', 'Open Season', 'The Ninth Configuration'), and even the movie debut of the enigmatic comedian Andy Kaufman. 'God Told Me To' is one of the 1970s most underrated horror/exploitation movies. Any fan of the genre must, I repeat MUST, see it!