Touches You

Sadly Over-hyped

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I am 33 years old and I think this is the first time in my life that I have ever watched a movie twice in a row on the same night. As I watched the film for the first time, each scene had me thrown off and confused, but fully intrigued. The movie continuously stepped into territory I could never have expected it to, once past the first 20 minutes. I had a hard time keeping up with how each of the characters were relevant to what was happening, and often to what was happening in general, but never to the film's error - the progression of the plot is just that far out there that it's a lot for anyone to take in the first time. I knew immediately as I reached the second half of the movie that I would need to give it another viewing. Everything about this movie is...mystical - what begins as a very simple reality-based concept blossoms into an eerie flower so bonkers it must be experienced to be explained.I expected this to play like most of Cohen's movies I've seen: a rather serious concept but full of laughs induced by witty satire, but this movie is different...there's not much to laugh about here! What it does offer is seriously ambitious, daring filmmaking. It's a slow-creeping disease that you'll want to get. The film eventually offers some visually stylistic choices that I feel are unlike anything else I have ever seen. I'm largely a fan of the cast as it is very versatile and unique. Most every actor in the film has the ability to take the absurd and keep it anchored in the realm of believability for the viewer. Psychologically, the movie has so many layers - there are so many different elements to think about!Looking at the movie as a whole, the ONLY movie that I could say it is even REMOTELY similar to in any way is Nicolas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW from 1973, another film I am a huge fan of. Mix in elements of early Cronenberg, at times Dario Argento's "Mother trilogy", and all the elements that make Larry Cohen films his own - and you start to get a loose idea of what kind of film you are dealing with here.It's completely one of a kind, completely insane, and after watching this and Bone (his debut film from 1972) for the first time I am officially ushering Larry Cohen into my personal category of the great film directors of our time. I grew up loving b-horror masterpiece THE STUFF (1985) but had no idea what else his catalogue would have to offer! I am so excited to explore the rest! Black Caeser, It's Alive, Q, etc...

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.

Some extraordinary talent, actors and director and producers, have worked mostly very well together to present a strange story.However, there are some script holes that detract from what is a strange combination of science fiction and murder and pseudo-religious fantasy.Ultimately it is rather disappointing, the ante-climax and ending just not well fitting into the rest of the story.Director Larry Cohen showed mastery, in camera angles, and variations of shots, and in getting superb and superior performances from some of the finest actors ever assembled into one cast.Writer Larry Cohen ... well, he's not so good as director Larry Cohen. His plot just had too many elements that did not hold together.I recommend this film for people with enough curiosity to put up with the incompatibility of those elements and with an interest in superior production values and magnificent acting.

"God Told Me To" is a typically offbeat and individualistic effort from the legendary independent filmmaker Larry Cohen. While its screenplay (by Cohen himself) is ultimately rather muddled, it's still utterly fascinating in its own loopy way. Tony Lo Bianco ("The Honeymoon Killers", "The French Connection") stars as Peter J. Nicholas, a NYPD detective who's also a repressed Catholic. Peter is on the case(s) of ordinary NYC citizens who are all of a sudden going insane and going on violent murder sprees. And they all end up saying the same thing: "God Told Me To". In his ensuing investigation, Peter discovers the existence of an extremely strange, Messiah type character named Bernard Phillips (the late, great screen heavy Richard Lynch), and ultimately the fact that his own story isn't far removed from Phillips's own.This may not be an entirely successful film, but give Cohen credit for being so ambitious. He incorporates religion, UFO abductions, and police thrillers into a highly provocative mixture. He populates the cast with some top notch players: Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Sam Levene, and Mike Kellin, with a role for his longtime collaborator, actor James Dixon. It's particularly fun to see the memorably quirky comedian Andy Kaufman in a straight role, as a uniformed officer who becomes unhinged at the St. Patrick's Day parade. Lo Bianco is remarkably sincere and effective in a role originally intended for Robert Forster. Lynch is spooky in a role confined to two major scenes, and these scenes are extremely atmospheric.The camera work is excellent (especially those overhead shots), and Frank Cordell supplies a wonderfully ominous music score. Cordell was brought in to replace Bernard Herrmann, who died after seeing a cut of the film without music; the film is dedicated to Herrmann.Those people who think they've seen everything are advised to give "God Told Me To" a try. Once it's over, its effect is not something one can easily shake.Eight out of 10.