5 out of 5

Director: Larry Cohen

This is five stars for Larry Cohen fans (or low-budget Bizarro fans), but more honestly probably 3 or 4 stars for casual viewers. “God Told Me To” is a pretty direct thriller, starting off with a sniper shooting random people on Madison Ave in NY. When apprehended, the killer says that “God Told (him) To” kill. Soon other murders are popping up, with similar motivations. Cop Tony Lo Bianco is trying to investigate these murders, and soon it’s involving mentions of an odd, long-haired yahoo and a ring of powerful, rich people which might be some type of cult… “God Told Me To” is absolutely B in presentation (a hallmark of Cohen) but it steps above the genre by keeping it serious and not trying for anything too above and beyond the call of its budget. There are some shoddy moments, and your feeling on the way right field turn of the plot will either make it or break it for you (I initially hated it, now I love it), but there’s no doubt that this was a pretty determined effort. And, frankly, it becomes more solid the more you rewatch it, and the more you learn about how it was made (please listen to the commentary…). That last shot still creeps me out.