God Told Me To

Directed by Larry Cohen, God Told Me To follows New York City detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco) as he investigates a series of murders committed by a seemingly random assortment of perpetrators – with complications ensuing as it becomes clear said perpetrators were acting on orders from a higher power. It’s compelling subject matter that’s employed to perpetually (and pervasively) hit-and-miss effect by Cohen, as the filmmaker, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a sluggish endeavor that boasts, at its core, a competent yet entirely unsympathetic lead performance – with the movie’s arms-length atmosphere compounded by Cohen’s less-than-polished sensibilities and a second half that meanders to a palpable degree. There’s little doubt, then, that God Told Me To‘s extremely mild success is due to a few compelling periphery performances, including Richard Lynch’s memorable turn as a mysterious figure, and one or two standout sequences, with the latter certainly exemplified by a stirring, engrossing interlude wherein a man calmly (and chillingly) discusses the murder of his wife and young daughter. (There’s also a terrific scene with Sylvia Sidney as a mysterious woman from Peter’s past.) By the time the impressively off-the-wall climax rolls around, God Told Me To has definitively cemented its place as a relentlessly erratic endeavor that is, if nothing else, watchable from start to finish.

**1/2 out of ****