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“Don’t ask who I am or how I know, but there’s going to be another of those killings today.” Yes, another of those killings. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they pay tribute to the late Larry Cohen and discuss what is possibly his most underrated film, God Told Me To.
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 96 – God Told Me To (1976)
A New York detective investigates a series of murders committed by random New Yorkers who claim that “God told them to.”
Imdb
- Director: Larry Cohen
- Writer: Larry Cohen (original screenplay)
- Cast:
- Tony Lo Bianco as Det. Lt. Peter J. Nicholas
- Deborah Raffin as Casey Forster
- Sandy Dennis as Martha Nicholas
- Sylvia Sidney as Elizabeth Mullin
- Mike Kellin as Deputy Police Commissioner
- Richard Lynch as Bernard Phillips
- Sammy Williams as Harold Gorman
- Andy Kaufman as Police Officer
Larry Cohen, a legitimate genre legend, passed away on March 23, 2019. With Decades of Horror having already covered three Larry Cohen films – It’s Alive, The Stuff, and Q: The Winged Serpent – the 1970s’ Grue Crew decided to remember him by delving into God Told Me To (1976).
Bill calls God Told Me To the “Larry Cohen-est” of all the Larry Cohen films and commends Cohen’s all-or-nothing philosophy of filmmaking while tackling the ideas included in this film on a low budget. To Doc, God Told Me To delivers Cohen’s best representation of the New York of the 1970s and delights in his use of stock footage from Space 1999. Andy Kaufman’s role in the film. Jeff reminds everyone of another Mike Kellen role in a legendary 1980s horror film and is again stunned by the “vagina-thing” that makes multiple appearances. Chad’s history with God Told Me To began with a lot of false starts until he eventually discovered the twist within the story and how it parallelled the public interest in Erich Von Daniken’s Chariots of the God.
As you’ve probably noticed, the Grue Crew loves Larry Cohen and loves God Told Me To more every time they watch it. God Told Me To is currently available on Shudder so check it out!
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.