GOD TOLD ME TO

Random acts of urban violence, religious mania, a genre-mashing plot that's part police procedural, part horror movie and part science fiction – GOD TOLD ME TO is proof that writer-director Larry Cohen has long been ahead of the curve. The 1976 classic sees New York City detective Peter Nicholas (Tony Lo Bianco, THE HONEYMOON KILLERS, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) discover a link between a rash of seemingly unrelated acts of random violence. A sniper blows away pedestrians on a busy street, a police officer opens fire on parade-goers, and a seemingly normal father murders his wife and child – in each case, the killer gives a four-word explanation for the crime: “God told me to.”

With panic erupting in the streets, Peter's investigation leads to – among other things – cultists, an alien abduction, a glowing religious figure, mind control, body horror that out-Cronenbergs Cronenberg, and an appearance by the late, great Richard Lynch (INVASION U.S.A., Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN). This is Cohen at his craziest and most creative.

The filmmaker will be joining Fantasia this year to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, and we proudly present GOD TOLD ME TO on 35mm as part of a retrospective of his work. If you're a fan of Cohen, you won't want to miss this rare opportunity to see one of his greatest works projected on the big screen. And if you're unfamiliar with the maverick filmmaker, this is the ideal place to start. You don't need God to tell you: be there!