Salient. Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 42 No. 2. March 5 1979
Mutant Children
[unclear: Mutant] Children
The story is about babies that are born [unclear: is] hideous mutant monsters, who from the [unclear: loment] of their first rasping breath begin [unclear: sughtering] everyone they can lay their [unclear: laws] on, including their parents. In the [unclear: riot'] first ten minutes we learn all we need [unclear: to] know about It's Alive! from the father [unclear: if] the baby in that film, who has come to [unclear: arn] a new pair of prospective parents of [unclear: th] dinger they face. In a flashback, we see [unclear: is] child killed, but, we are told, it was only [unclear: he] first of many that are now being born [unclear: all] over the country. The authorities have [unclear: een] able to locate the abnormal [unclear: pregnanies] by means of blood tests, and have the [unclear: nwitting] parents-to-be under constant [unclear: irveillance], planning to destroy the [unclear: mutnts] at birth.
A small band of doctors and scientists [unclear: elieves] the children should not be killed, [unclear: nd] is prepared to fight to protect the [unclear: inints], in order to discover the reason for [unclear: bis] totally inexplicable phenomenon. This [unclear: arly] section of the film, necessary as it is [unclear: is] providing the context of the action, is [unclear: ither] slow — but it contains enough [unclear: elments] of foreboding to build an increasing tension as we wait for the birth.
Mummy's tummy, for example, is [unclear: ure] large, and it is remarked that the [unclear: aby] must be going to be very big; a [unclear: ute] pair of blue booties is displayed, and [unclear: we] somehow suspect they're not going to [unclear: uite] fit junior ........ Anyhow, once Mom's ontractions begin the fun really starts, [unclear: nd] we can sit back and watch the corpses [unclear: ale] up as the film moves confidently to its [unclear: dictable] conclusion.