Larry Cohen, cult exploitation director, dies aged 77

The director of the It’s Alive and Maniac Cop franchises also wrote scripts for TV and the Colin Farrell thriller Phone Booth

Larry Cohen, director of fondly remembered cult thrillers such as Black Caesar, It’s Alive and Q: The Winged Serpent, has died aged 77, it has been reported. Cohen was a key figure in exploitation movie circles in the 70s and 80s, as well as writing scripts and storylines for TV shows such as The Fugitive and Columbo, before staging a feature film comeback with the script for the Colin Farrell thriller Phone Booth in 2002.

The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro praised him as “a true iconoclast and independent”, while Baby Driver director Edgar Wright wrote on social media: “For so many fun high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets, for so many truly inspiring cult movies, I thank you Larry.”

Continue reading...