AKA Demon; God Told Me to Kill
DIRECTED BY: Larry Cohen
FEATURING: Tony Lo Bianco, Richard Lynch, Andy Kaufman, Deborah Raffin, Sandy Dennis, Sylvia Sidney, Sam Levene, and Mike Kellin
PLOT: A rash of murders are committed by people who all give “God told me to do it” as
their only motive. A New York City police detective must find out why.
WHY IT SHOULD MAKE THE LIST: A conventionally produced movie, God Told Me To has a bizarre story featuring some very strange characters, including an extraterrestrial man with a face that nobody can see clearly and a vagina in his ribcage.
COMMENTS: In this complex occult/sci-fi thriller, Tony Lo Bianco (The French Connection, The 7-Ups) plays police Lieutenant Nicholas, who unravels a mysterious spree of killings committed by fellow New Yorkers from all walks of life. Each claim that God compelled them to commit the crimes. Many kill themselves or die after immediately after making the the revelation, complicating Nicholas’ job.
The film opens with a sniper perched on a rooftop water tower. After he shoots random people in the street, Nicholas climbs up to talk to him and the man jumps to his death. Nicholas is contacted by a representative of a sinister cult who seems to understand what is behind the crimes. While the cop tries to track down the cult members, the investigation takes him on a twisted journey into the past, including, to his surprise, his own past as he strives to solve this dark and obfuscated mystery. Nothing is as it appears to be. As he soon discovers, Lt. Nicholas is also not who or what he seems to be either.
When he attempts to unravel the puzzle behind the killings, Nicholas must investigate his own birth as well as other strange phenomenon from bygone years. The answer to the riddle is morbidly fascinating. God Told Me To is one of those unique, non-formulaic 1970′s films that just aren’t made anymore.
The enigmatic Richard Lynch (The 7-Ups, Bad Dreams) has one of his most interesting and bizarre roles ever in this exciting and odd film. The piece features an early, rare cinematic appearance by Andy Kaufman in a non comedic role.
“This cult-fave Larry Cohen epic, features his trademark NYC locations, vividly drawn characters, realistically handled situations and dialogue, and one hell of a weird premise.”—VideoHound’s Complete Guide to Cult Flicks and Trash Pics
This is one of those films I really need to watch again. As I recall, it could be weird enough to make the list, but I would say it’s on the borderline. A true cult film, generally well-respected now, but critics hated it on release: Roger Ebert gave it one star and called it “the most confused feature-length film I’ve ever seen.”