Larry Cohen

		Birthdate: 15 Jul 1938 Birthplace: New York City, New York, US Low-budget auteur whose exploitative pictures are a notch above the typical genre fare. Growing up in New York City, Cohen learned rudimentary filmmaking techniques at the City College Film Institute. He broke into the movie business as a screenwriter, first on TV Westerns and later on the likes of I Deal in Danger (1966) and Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969). In the early 1970s, he took up directing, cranking out pictures that were heavy on social consciousness and laced with irony. His Black Caesar (1973) was one of the most successful "blaxploitation" films; the same year's Bone examined racial attitudes and stereotyping among middle-class whites. Cohen turned his attention to the horror genre with It's Alive! (1974), a story about a monsterish mutant baby deformed by environmental pollution. This loopy picture was successful enough to spawn two sequels, It Lives Again (1978) and It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987). Cohen's work, not always easy to classify in spite of recognizable genre trappings, is characterized by taut action and ambitious philosophical concerns. For example, his Demon (aka God Told Me To 1977) dealt with nothing less than a possible Messiah from outer space, while The Stuff (1985) was as much a critique of unbridled consumerism as horror picture. He also had the distinction of directing Bette Davis in her final film, on which she worked just one week, Wicked Stepmother (1989). Cohen's screenwriting talents and budgetary efficiency have brought him work on larger-scale studio projects, notably I, The Jury (1982), on which he was replaced as director), Best Seller (1987), and Maniac Cop (1988). He wrote the screenplay for 1993's mainstream thriller Guilty as Sin.
Dario Argento | Mario Bava | Tod Browning | John Carl Buechler | John Carpenter | Larry Cohen Roger Corman | Wes Craven | David Cronenberg | Sean S. Cunningham | Joe Dante | Terence Fisher Mick Garris | Alan Gibson | Anthony Hickox | Tom Holland | Tobe Hooper | Peter Jackson John Landis | William Lustig | Steve Miner | Sam Raimi | George A. Romero

1996	Original Gangstas
1994	As Good As Dead
1990	The Ambulance
1989	Wicked Stepmother
1987	Deadly Illusion
1987	It's Alive III: Island Of The Alive
1987	A Return To Salem's Lot
1985	The Stuff
1984	Perfect Strangers
1984	Special Effects
1982	Q
1981	Full Moon High
1981	See China And Die
1978	It Lives Again
1977	God Told Me To
1977	The Private Files Of J. Edgar Hoover
1974	It's Alive!
1973	Black Caesar
1973	Hell Up In Harlem
1972	Bone

Ratings Key
	GENERAL AUDIENCES: All ages admitted.
	PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED: Some material may not be suitable for children.
	PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
	RESTRICTED: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
	NO ONE 17 YEARS OR YOUNGER ADMITTED.
	NOT RATED: The film has not been rated by the MPAA.
	TO BE ANNOUNCED: The film is currently in production or planning.
	TV SERIES or MOVIE: Project made for TV. Individual episode titles (if known) will be given in blue.
	STUDENT FILM: The film was a project in college/film school and is not available to the public.

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