When a sniper guns down 14 pedestrians at random on the streets of New York City, cop with a troubled personal life, Peter Nicholas, is up for the job of reasoning with him. Though he doesn’t manage to talk him down from his killing spot atop the water tower, he does elicit a reason from him before he throws himself to his death. As Nicholas investigates further killings across the city it becomes apparent that something connects them all; the killer’s dying confessions reveal that “God told me to.” As the investigation takes shape, the common ground for each killer is having met an elusive long-haired stranger shortly before their crimes, but who is this ubiquitous being and what will Detective Nicholas’s connection to them be? Find out in Larry Cohen’s genre-busting cult classic.

New York City in the 70’s had a tendency to be portrayed in the movies and the seemingly endless cop shows of the same era as the perfect site of public paranoia; a sprawling concrete metropolis breeding suspicion and uncertainty where anything could be possible, and usually was, egged on by the media to fuel the almost palpable air of unrest that floated around the dirty streets. Writer/director Larry Cohen’s God Told Me To is certainly no exception and exploits this feeling well with his bizarre mix of the strange and the serious in this detective/mystery/horror/sci-fi hybrid that is as compelling as it is peculiar.

God Told Me To, despite being a mixed bag generically, belongs for the most part, particularly tonally, to the detective/mystery genres. With the opening scenes of a nauseatingly claustrophobic New York, our troubled detective has to act fast when a sniper opens fire, causing hysteria in the streets below. Reminiscent of the earlier Dirty Harry, God Told Me To uses the detective figure as an urban hero, combating one of the city’s most feared attackers; the sniper. This kind of crime perfectly utilises the self-perpetuating urban fear; a crime which preys on the city but which the city conversely and simultaneously conceals in safety. And if you are thinking there’s nothing too strange or unusual about this, well then you’d be right, but it is as the investigation gets underway that we gain the bizarre turn that has earned Cohen (Q The Winged Serpent and It’s Alive!) his rightful cult status.

Indeed, it’s only as the story develops that the bizarre horror/sci-fi elements begin to enter the arena. As we learn more about the tangled personal life of our hero, of his devout Catholicism, the parallel mystery similarly unravels. But don’t be fooled by Cohen’s crazy generic mix for it masks some grave undertones. There are some serious and still very relevant ideas about religion at play here, which helps to make this film timeless. Cohen presents some surprisingly open ideas about religion which won’t be to everyone’s taste; “You got all the blessing’s who needs religion?!” points to a false and almost greedy human search in desperation for a higher power which, as Cohen rather aptly presents, won’t necessarily be a good one.

Whilst there is some bloodshed in this film it is more a horror of ideas with some creepy and genuinely unpleasant and difficult scenes made only the more so as it is so plausible. As we discover that religion has a hand in the city hiding something more deadly, invested with the power of destruction more precise than a sniper, it is truly chilling. It is an idea even more relevant now than when Cohen wrote it; that the more modernised society becomes the more we search for some lost meaning and the more we open ourselves up to religion, fanaticism and the need to feel the presence of a deity to restore the human purpose (it is no accident that the sniper opens fire above the icon of modern American consumerism that is Bloomingdales). But fear not, if this all sounds a little heavy you can still relax and enjoy the bizarre story, direction and generic mix that make it peculiarly entertaining as this, after all, is what makes this a Cohen Classic; a strange film with intelligent undertones, and who can say fairer than that?

Part warning for modern society, part bizarre generic mix, but all-round Cult Classic.

Trailer and clips for Babylon, directed by Franco Rosso (Dread Beat an' Blood), co-written (with Rosso) by Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia; Defence Of The Realm; For Queen And Country), photographed by two-time Oscar winner Chris Menges (The Mission; The Killing Fields) and starring celebrated reggae star and Aswad frontman Brinsley Forde (Here Come The Double Deckers), Karl Howman (Brush Strokes; Mulberry) and Trevor Laird (Doctor Who; Quadrophenia).

The film is available on DVD from Italian distributor Raro Video and UK based Icon Home Entertainment.

One of the most highly regarded cult British films of the 1980s, Babylon comes to DVD for the first time ever in the UK this October courtesy of Icon Home Entertainment, boasting fully restored and remastered image and audio (personally overseen by Chris Menges) plus Audio Commentaries, Interviews and feature on the restoration.

Directed by Franco Rosso (Dread Beat an' Blood), co-written (with Rosso) by Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia; Defence Of The Realm; For Queen And Country), photographed by two-time Oscar winner Chris Menges (The Mission; The Killing Fields) and starring celebrated reggae star and Aswad frontman Brinsley Forde (Here Come The Double Deckers), Karl Howman (Brush Strokes; Mulberry) and Trevor Laird (Doctor Who; Quadrophenia), Babylon is a raw and incendiary film employing an effective mix of music and social commentary to recount the everyday experiences of a small group of working class black youths living in South London in the early 1980s.

Mechanic and part-time sound system ‘toaster' Blue (Brinsley Forde) and his Ital Lion crew are looking forward to their forthcoming reggae sound clash competition with rival outfit Jah Shaka. But as the event approaches, Blue's personal life begins to unravel. First he's fired from his job by his racist boss (played by Mel Smith) and then he begins to suspect his girlfriend is cheating on him. A further series of unpleasant racist incidents - including Blue being chased, brutally beaten and arrested by a group of plain-clothes policemen - culminates in Ital Lion's lock-up garage being broken into and their sound equipment being destroyed. Increasingly angered and alienated by what he perceives to be society's rejection of his race and his culture, Blue is compelled to respond by fighting fire with fire.

Driven by a musical score composed and arranged by legendary reggae guitarist, former member of Matumbi and record producer (The Thompson Twins, Madness) Dennis Bovell, with additional songs by Yabby U, I-Roy and Aswad, Babylon is a brilliant, breathlessly energetic, neo-realist snapshot of what it was like to be young, poor and black in early 1980s Britain, Babylon remains as socially relevant today as it was almost 30 years ago.

Babylon - Trailer

Serge (Gainsbourg) is a hip and successful film director who leaves his pregnant wife to attend the annual advertising awards festival in Venice, and enters into a passionate affair with a young British woman (Jane Birkin). This sexy satire formed the background for one of the swinging sixties' most famous real-life romances. During the rehearsals for Pierre Grimblat's "Slogan", Serge Gainsbourg met the woman who would forever change his professional and personal life: Jane Birkin. They sang together for the first time on the film's theme-song, "The Slogan Song". After which, they recorded their version of "Je t'aime moi non plus". The song became a huge success and set the 70's on fire. Together, they lived out one of the most beautiful love stories ever. Featuring music by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

The Two Disc Special Edition features Bonus Disc including new and vintage interviews with Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin and Director Pierre Grimblat, Interview with French writer, Commentator Frederic Beigbeder plus original 60s/70s TV commercials directed by Pierre Grimblat.

View the original Frech Trailer for Slogan 

Cult Epics has relased the film as a single disc edition DVD for those that just want to catch this French Classic and a two disc edition for collectors.

SJ Cult Movies Forum's "Snoog" tells you what he watched last night and more at his Revolving Video blog. I believe it takes it's name from the old school video store that he used to frequent back in the day.

Toronto After Dark 2008 Festival Preview Trailer featuring scenes from the *first eight announced feature titles

* Repo! The Genetic Opera, Red , Let The Right One In , Idiots and Angels, Tokyo Gore Police, Mirageman, Trailer Park Of Terror , Who is KK Downey?

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