Well, I had heard about this movie's reputation of being weird, slightly disturbing and above all intriguing. Now that I finally had the change to see it, I must say it lives up to its reputation very well. The interesting premise on its own was one of the main reasons I wanted to watch this film. That and the fact that the movie was written and directed by Larry Cohen (of whom I had seen some enjoyable stuff already).
In New York a lot of strange (and quite shocking) incidents occur. A sniper on a rooftop starts randomly shooting people. A New York cop goes berserk in a street parade. A loving husband kills his wife and kids with a shotgun (...). When the perpetrators remorselessly confess about their crime, they all say "God told me to". A NYPD detective, with firm Catholic believes, tries to uncover the mystery.
As the story unfolds, things get weirder with every scene and at the end you can only conclude that the plot is way out there (with a solid ending, I might add). I won't spoil anything here by telling where it all leads to, but this movie is such a mixture of genres (horror/crime/drama/sci-fi), that it's bound to be intriguing. But GOD TOLD ME TO isn't without any flaws. The main problem is that the movie feels a bit muddled and confused (including a few plot holes that got me thinking...). Mainly because of Larry Cohen's messy story-telling and rattling coherence. I won't go into any details because of the danger of plot-spoiling, but on one occasion I was severely mislead concerning the motivations of detective Peter Nicholas. Now that might have had something to do with the sound-quality of the DVD-version I saw being pretty bad (several times I had to re-wind it to clearly hear what people were saying). But sill, Cohen doesn't give any clearly defined explanations throughout the movie. I'm not saying that there aren't any, but I for one will have to re-watch this movie because the story is so complex.
The movie looks pretty dated as it is from the mid 70's. Especially the fashion and clothes shown in it can cause some people to chuckle (Deborah Raffin's over-sized glasses!). As for the filming style: a lot of typical 70's hand-held camera shots are used. In some scenes you can feel and see Larry Cohen's blaxploitation-roots being present. But as the movie progresses you forget those dated elements and become intrigued. There are even some good-looking special effects and some pretty ingenious use of lighting and filters (for example, in the scenes with the mysterious Bernard Phillips). But on the other side the blood used in this film is of that typical orange colored 70's-style type.
On a last note, the acting is certainly above average. Tony Lo Bianco portrays perfectly the changes detective Nicholas goes through. And I liked seeing Sandy Dennis playing his ex-wife. Now her name didn't ring a bell, but I instantly remembered her much younger face in GOD TOLD ME TO as that from the over-religious Aunt Lucy in Robert Englund's 976 EVIL from 1989. She was great in that flick. And then, of course, there's the brief appearance, perfectly cast, by creepy and darkly charismatic cult-actor Richard Lynch as Bernard Phillips, the homicidal messiah with a mission.
I think you get the picture now, no? GOD TOLD ME TO isn't for everyone. But if you wanna see a 70's movie that's weird, odd, terrifying and complex (or if you're a fan of Larry Cohen), then search for and find this critically acclaimed cult classic.
In New York a lot of strange (and quite shocking) incidents occur. A sniper on a rooftop starts randomly shooting people. A New York cop goes berserk in a street parade. A loving husband kills his wife and kids with a shotgun (...). When the perpetrators remorselessly confess about their crime, they all say "God told me to". A NYPD detective, with firm Catholic believes, tries to uncover the mystery.
As the story unfolds, things get weirder with every scene and at the end you can only conclude that the plot is way out there (with a solid ending, I might add). I won't spoil anything here by telling where it all leads to, but this movie is such a mixture of genres (horror/crime/drama/sci-fi), that it's bound to be intriguing. But GOD TOLD ME TO isn't without any flaws. The main problem is that the movie feels a bit muddled and confused (including a few plot holes that got me thinking...). Mainly because of Larry Cohen's messy story-telling and rattling coherence. I won't go into any details because of the danger of plot-spoiling, but on one occasion I was severely mislead concerning the motivations of detective Peter Nicholas. Now that might have had something to do with the sound-quality of the DVD-version I saw being pretty bad (several times I had to re-wind it to clearly hear what people were saying). But sill, Cohen doesn't give any clearly defined explanations throughout the movie. I'm not saying that there aren't any, but I for one will have to re-watch this movie because the story is so complex.
The movie looks pretty dated as it is from the mid 70's. Especially the fashion and clothes shown in it can cause some people to chuckle (Deborah Raffin's over-sized glasses!). As for the filming style: a lot of typical 70's hand-held camera shots are used. In some scenes you can feel and see Larry Cohen's blaxploitation-roots being present. But as the movie progresses you forget those dated elements and become intrigued. There are even some good-looking special effects and some pretty ingenious use of lighting and filters (for example, in the scenes with the mysterious Bernard Phillips). But on the other side the blood used in this film is of that typical orange colored 70's-style type.
On a last note, the acting is certainly above average. Tony Lo Bianco portrays perfectly the changes detective Nicholas goes through. And I liked seeing Sandy Dennis playing his ex-wife. Now her name didn't ring a bell, but I instantly remembered her much younger face in GOD TOLD ME TO as that from the over-religious Aunt Lucy in Robert Englund's 976 EVIL from 1989. She was great in that flick. And then, of course, there's the brief appearance, perfectly cast, by creepy and darkly charismatic cult-actor Richard Lynch as Bernard Phillips, the homicidal messiah with a mission.
I think you get the picture now, no? GOD TOLD ME TO isn't for everyone. But if you wanna see a 70's movie that's weird, odd, terrifying and complex (or if you're a fan of Larry Cohen), then search for and find this critically acclaimed cult classic.