God Told Me To

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Year:	1976
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Larry Cohen
Genre:	The Apocalypse is nigh
Starring:	Tony Lo Bianco, Deborah Raffin
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075930/
Tagline:	Don't let it control you!
Favourite line:	"Sacrifices to your God are nothing new."

Master of the exploitation movie, Larry 'It's Alive,' 'The Stuff,' 'Q: The Winged Serpent' Cohen here takes us on a nightmarish journey towards the Apocalypse.

The plot:
A New York Detective, Peter Nicholas, attempts to talk down a sniper from the rooftop of a building. When Nicholas asks him why he wanted to shoot people, the sniper informs him that "God Told Him To," just before plunging headlong off the building to his death.
So begins a sequence of similar incidents that Nicholas investigates, each time the culprit claiming that "God Told Them To.
Drawn inexorably towards a shocking conclusion, is Detective Nicholas somehow involved?
And who is the strange, blond man, shining with angelic light that people keep witnessing?

It's odd, that's for sure, straddling the line between several genres.
There's a clear thriller influence, as well as horror and a healthy dose of theology thrown in, too.
The acting, for the type of movie, is more than acceptable and, being penned by Cohen, the script is way above the standard you would expect.
With a nice line in irreverence, and a splendidly seedy, grainy feel to the film stock used, this is a rock solid 70's exploitation classic that even the mighty Christopher Nolan invoked for the St. Patrick's Day massacre in The Dark Knight.
A genuine cult classic.