It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)

The mutant babies have been placed by court order on a deserted island. Appalled by the cycnicism and exploitation of the children by the legal system and the media, the man responsible for... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Cohen

Writers:

Larry Cohen, Larry Cohen (based on characters created by)

Stars:

Michael Moriarty, Karen Black, Laurene Landon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Moriarty	...	Stephen Jarvis
Karen Black	...	Ellen Jarvis
Laurene Landon	...	Sally
James Dixon	...	Lt. Perkins
Gerrit Graham	...	Ralston
Macdonald Carey	...	Judge Watson
Neal Israel	...	Dr. Brewster (as Neal Isreal)
Art Lund	...	Dr. Swenson
Ann Dane	...	Dr. Morrell
William Watson	...	Cabot
C.L. Sussex	...	Hunter
Patch Mackenzie	...	Robbins
Rick Garia	...	Tony
Carlos Palomino	...	First Cuban
Tony Abatemarco	...	Second Cuban

Storyline

The mutant babies have been placed by court order on a deserted island. Appalled by the cycnicism and exploitation of the children by the legal system and the media, the man responsible for them leads an expedition to the island to free them.

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Plot Keywords:

island | baby | mutant baby | mutant | remorse | 

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Taglines:

Jarvis baby on board.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cohen wanted to make sure audiences know that the stop-motion animated baby is not CG and that it is instead stop-motion.

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Goofs

Cabot's helicopter has a different paint job than the unconvincing model of the helicopter which explodes after it takes off from the island.

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Quotes

Stephen Jarvis: You guys are taking a hell of a risk.
Second Cuban: they wouldn't pay any attention to us what we have to say.
First Cuban: We're commies.
Second Cuban: You're Just a lunatic.
Stephen Jarvis: should I tell them how I got here?
First Cuban: They wouldn't believe that.
Stephen Jarvis: Why are you doing this?
Second Cuban: Haven't you heard? We're human beings.
Stephen Jarvis: you know some people might want to know about that
First Cuban: No they wouldn't.
[...]

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Connections

References Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (1963)

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Soundtracks

If I Told You
Written by David Shapiro and Lauri Riley
Performed by David Shapiro
© 1986 Seven Stones Songs

User Reviews

Unusually comical

A father fights for the right for his mutant child to live, the court grants that and his child plus another 4 are sent to an island to live.

It was Warners Brothers idea for a third It's Alive film, which would be shot back to back with Return to Salem's Lot. It was meant to be release straight to video with RTSL, but it got a limited theatrical release.

This film had a little bit more money than that of the 2 previous films, but this time around the film is an over the top black comedy compared to the bleak and serious tone of the first two films, which had subtle humour.

This film was far less effective in the horror and atmospheric department, but not the laughs and it's been more action packed than the previous films. Though it is a stupid and lightweight film, it was still quite fresh (with a different take on the Alive films) and enjoyable to watch… that's if you're in the right frame of mood.

Cohan has a knack of casting the right people, with reasonable performances or you can call them hammy from Karen Black playing the mother to one of the babies and James Dixon (only one in all 3) as Detective Perkins and the standout performance and scene stealer would have to be Michael Moriarty as the father. He brings a strong central character that has a weird sense of humour and goes suddenly bananas with his lunatic behaviour when the film goes along.

Not only is the casting good, but also the script is full of wit and satirical comments (like the other 2 films) on American and Cuban relations, people's emotions, Aids and the media. The pace of the film is perfect and Daniel Pearl (The Texas chainsaw massacre) brings another element with his cinematography and lighting. The score is alright and the same for the atmosphere. The effects are pretty lame, with stop motion, puppets and people in rubber costumes. Too much of the creatures are shown, making it laughable (especially the grown-up versions of the babies), but that's what makes this fun viewing.

The film seems to lose itself and becomes incredibly stupid when the grown up mutant's decide to leave the island and head back to the mainland. Some of those scenes and its humour is totally cringe-worthy, but for what its worth… It's nothing but over the top cheese, it's not great but otherwise quite amusing.

3/5

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larco Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 91 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1