There are a lot of crazy people out there that use God as a reason to cause mayhem and violence. Larry Cohen’s 1976 movie God Told Me To (released as Demon in the UK) explores this scenario, but with an added twist (one which I will try ever so hard not to spoil). Released previously on both DVD and Blu-ray from Blue Underground, the company has been in the process of updating its past releases to 4K UHD, and so far the results of each release have been fantastic. Does God Told Me To continue that trend? Read on to find out…
The film opens with a shooter perched high up on a water tower picking off random strangers. Detective Peter J. Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) confronts the shooter to ask him why he is doing this and the man says “God told me to” and proceeds to jump from the tower to his death. A one-off shooting involving a man saying God was whispering in his ear wouldn’t be so bad, especially given the fact that a lot of people tend to blame higher powers for their mental issues (in fact, one retired cop in the movie says women are constantly saying God got them pregnant when it was their Stepfather or Uncle. Sorry sir, but that’s called rape, and victim blaming is not a good look.) However, this isn’t one random event, as several more people start murdering in the name of a higher power. Peter figures out that a mysterious long-haired man (played creepily by Richard Lynch) has been seen hanging around the killers just before they go mad, and he figures this man has a hold over these people and he proceeds to hunt him down. When he finally catches up to him, he finds out the truth isn’t so black and white and his forgotten past holds a lot of the answers.
There is obviously a lot more to the story than my feeble attempt at my plot summary above, but as always on here, I strive to not spoil a movie, even if it means my reviews have to suffer (that’s right, I’m blaming my shitty reviews on you my Reliable Reader.) Larry Cohen films have always been hit or miss with me. I really enjoyed Hell Up in Harlem and The Stuff, but wasn’t a big fan of his It’s Alive trilogy. Thankfully, God Told Me To ranks as one of his better efforts. It’s part police procedural and part what the fuck is going on, and I really got a kick out of it. Sure, I was slightly stoned out of my gourd and had a hard time following the plot, but after a bit more research into the film, once the credits rolled, I began to understand exactly what Mr. Cohen was going for with this flick. Plus, seeing Richard Lynch with a side pussy is definitely one for the books. If I was to sling any negatives at the film, it would mainly be the lack of explanation as to why this higher power is telling strangers to kill random people. Maybe I missed that part (again, slightly stoned).
4K UHD/Blu-ray
Let me guess, you see yourself with multiple copies of God Told Me To sitting on your shelf, and you’re thinking to yourself do I really need another copy? Well, I’m sorry to report, but yes you do. The 4K UHD release looks fantastic, with a nice even film grain that never comes across as chunky or even worse, completely missing. The HDR helps make the colours pop, especially near the end of the film when the movie goes into bright, glowy overdrive. There is a bit of dirt and speckles that pop up here and there, but not once did I find myself thinking this looks bad. Blue Underground has done a great job, yet again.
As for the audio side of things, we are offered up multiple different choices. We have the Dolby Atmos track, but with my current setup, I was not able to partake in its delights. Thankfully, for us poor folk, we have a choice between 5.1 DTS-HD and 1.0 DTS-HD (also French Dolby Digital 2.0 for all you Acadians out there). They do the job well, but I did find myself slowly cranking up the volume to hear the dialogue. No other issues, though.
Also included is a Blu-ray, and you might be thinking that this is probably just the same Blu-ray that was released in 2015, but you should be utterly ashamed of yourself, because this is a whole new Blu baby. The Blu-ray uses the new 4K transfer and the differences are quite noticeable. In fact, we did a screenshot comparison between the two and you can view that here: SCREENSHOT COMPARISONS: GOD TOLD ME TO | BLUE UNDERGROUND BLU-RAY (2022) VS BLUE UNDERGROUND BLU-RAY (2015)
Extra features on the UHD include two audio commentaries, trailers, and TV spots. The majority of the features have been placed on the Blu-ray, with everything that was included on the UHD, plus all the past featurettes previously released. If you are expecting new features, you might be disappointed, but we do get a new audio commentary with Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth.
Extra Features
Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- NEW 4K restoration from the original uncensored negative, with DolbyVision HDR
- Dolby Atmos audio
- Audio Commentary #1 with Writer/Producer/Director Larry Cohen
- NEW Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- NEW 4K restoration from the original uncensored negative, with DolbyVision HDR
- Dolby Atmos audio
- Audio Commentary #1 with Writer/Producer/Director Larry Cohen
- NEW Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth
- Heaven & Hell On Earth – Interview with Star Tony Lo Bianco (1080p; 11:31)
- Bloody Good Times – Interview with Special Effects Artist Steve Neill (1080p; 9:12)
- God Told Me To Bone – New Beverly Q&A with Larry Cohen (480i; 21:21)
- Lincoln Center Q&A with Larry Cohen (480i; 8:08)
- God Told Me To Theatrical Trailer (2160p UHD, 1080p Blu-ray; 1:04)
- God Told Me To TV Spots (1080p; 0:33; 0:33; 0:33; 0:33; 0:33)
- Demon Theatrical Trailer (2160p UHD, 1080p Blu-ray; 1:06)
- Demon TV Spots (1080p; 0:33; 0:33)
- Poster & Still Gallery (chapter breaks; 0:57)
Verdict
God Told Me To is an interesting look at our beliefs, dressed up as a police procedural, with lots of violence and Richard Lynch as a long-haired oddity. The 4K UHD looks great, provides a new commentary, and all previous features have been ported over to the included Blu-ray, so you really can’t go wrong in upgrading. I definitely recommend picking up God Told Me To.
