God made you do what?!

King Cohen is a documentary that’s both inspiring and captivating!

This documentary gives the viewer an inside look at Larry Cohen’s success as a writer, producer, and director. Interviews with Cohen, his family, and friends offer insight to his personality and they give us a better understanding of how his life was while trying to achieve his goals, first as a writer, then as a producer and finally, as a director, they call him the triple threat.

In this film, Mitchell provides an alluring study of one of the horror genre’s most peculiar creators. Cohen might perhaps be best known these days for his otherworldly entertaining horror flicks like “It’s Alive”, “Q: The Winged Serpent” and “The Stuff”, “God Made Me Do It”. Considering that some of these films were small budget films and a lot of the filmmaking was what they call it “guerrilla filmmaking”. Guerrilla filmmaking refers to a form of independent filmmaking characterized by low budgets, skeleton crews, and simple props using whatever is available. Often scenes are shot quickly in real locations without any warning, and without obtaining filming permits. One of the films that are shown in the documentary is “Black Caesar” (Hell Up In Harlem). This film was shot in NY without permits in real locations so the reactions of the people walking around and interacting with the actor are very real and very genuine and this style of film captivates audiences. Cohen was a very unique entrepreneur but he remained humble. His tendency to hire older collaborators to work with him on his movies didn’t just make financial sense “they were out of work or semi-retired, and therefore cheap”, but also borne out of his genuine respect for their abilities. King Cohen shows gives us all the intimate details of a guy who simply loved film and movies. Cohen’s work brings a variety of audiences, with his thrilling, funny, strange horror films. This documentary is a celebration of a significant independent filmmaker who doesn’t need permission to create a masterpiece. I would recommend watching this just so you can get a closer look into the mind of Larry Cohen.

-Gloria Skulls