There are tons of horror films, especially from the 70’s and early 80’s, that are completely unknown to me. As much digging around and research that I do, great titles will always elude me. Thanks to some awesome studios and distributors like Blue Underground, I finally get to not only hear about some of these lost gems, but I also get to sit down and watch them, fully remastered in High Definition. The latest that I’ve added to my collection is Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To.
When a gunman perched atop a tower goes berserk and kills innocent people in a sniping frenzy, detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) is called to the scene and is the last officer to speak to him, asking why he performed this seemingly random act of violence. His answer? “God told me to.” Soon after, more heinous crimes are committed with the same reason being uttered right before the perpetrators are put away. Nicholas must find the connection between all of these acts and put an end to it all.
I didn’t know what to expect when pressing ‘play’ on this 1975 horror flick, but surprisingly, there was a lot of action rather immediately. Within minutes of the opening credits, a crazed gunman was sniping people left and right, bodies flopping everywhere. A few scenes go by with a little character development and another random crime is reported. Some more development and bam, one of the more disturbing scenes of the film is being played out before me: A rather content man is describing to Tony Lo Bianco’s character exactly how he murdered his entire family. The way this guy was just sitting there, calmly, replaying the events as if he was talking about an everyday occurrence really made me uncomfortable. This is exactly what horror fans want — a film that makes you uncomfortable in the most unsuspecting ways.
God Told Me To is different than a lot of the horror films I’ve seen in the past. With a mix of religious and scientific topics, writer/producer/director Cohen was able to bring an eclectic mix to the genre. I thought this was pulled off perfectly and I the ideas of immaculate conception and alien abduction blended together beautifully.
While this film isn’t quite as gory as some fans might hope, it still manages to get across a point of great terror. With scenes like the one I described above and others that I don’t want to shed too much light on, as to not spoil the film, really make this one for the books and certainly a cult classic. The acting was great throughout with some strong performances by the likes of Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Richard Lynch, and many more.
Blue Underground has done an outstanding job putting this release together. To accompany the gorgeous hi-def picture and sound, BU has included some great bonus features including interviews with the film’s cast and crew, providing some interesting insight to the making of the film. Be sure to pick up a copy of God Told Me To on Blu-ray, officially available today.
I give this film and release 4 glowing mysterious figures out of 5.
