ALICE,
SWEET ALICE (a.k.a. Communion) (1976)
Starring
Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula E. Sheppard, Niles McMaster,
Jane Lowery, Rudolph Willrich, Michael Harstark, Alphonso DeNoble,
Brooke Shields, Louisa Horton, (“Miss”) Lillian Roth. Directed by
Alfred Sole. (107 min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM ARROW VIDEO
Review
by Josey, the Sudden Cat😽
And
now, another Great Moment in False Advertising…
Back
in ‘81, a little film called Holy Terror was unleashed with
a trailer touting none-other than Brooke Shields as a knife-wielding
psycho who was “too old to play with boys and
too young to play with men, so Alice began to play with death!”
At the time, adolescent sex comedies like Endless Love and The
Blue Lagoon (of course they're comedies) had made her a star.
What teenage boy wouldn’t want to watch this soft-core siren
add a little murder to the mix? So me and a few buddies packed into
my car and headed to the drive-in, ready for a sexy slayfest.
Soon, however, I felt like one of those Looney
Tunes characters whose head turns into a sucker. Ms. Shields was not
the star or the killer. Hell, her name wasn’t even
Alice. In fact, I didn’t immediately recognize her as the 10-year
old-little girl who’s murdered in the first few minutes. Though the
movie was still enjoyable, with several graphically-nasty death
scenes that were part of every teenage diet, I felt duped.
 |
| The author attends the premiere of Holy Terror. |
Back
then, we kids didn’t read reviews or jump online to research a
movie’s background. We naively trusted trailers to be on-the-level.
So I had no idea that Holy Terror was first-released in 1976
as Communion, then later Alice, Sweet Alice (which it’s
commonly known as today). Now older and wiser, I get it. If my
grassroots opus was virtually ignored, then one of its actors
blossomed into an object of juvenile lust, I’d have done the same
thing. Nor would I have been the first one to engage in such
questionable marketing tactics.
But
unlike other horror films to later capitalize on an actor’s stardom
(such as The Burning or He Knows You’re Alone),
Alice, Sweet Alice is actually good enough without the ruse.
Despite some questionable performances – including Shields’ -
it’s stylishly filmed, well-plotted and atmospheric. More
importantly, it has held up pretty well from an aesthetic
stand-point. While the violence may not seem all that extreme
today, it remains pretty potent and the killer's translucent mask is still really fucking creepy.
 |
| A good samaritan tries to keep Endless Love from ever happening. |
In
the essay included in this disc’s supplementary booklet,
writer-director Alfred Sole claims he wasn't inspired by Italian
giallo films and that he’d never even seen one. Uh-huh. If that’s
true, then the fact that Alice, Sweet Alice looks, sounds and
smells just like classic giallo is one hell of a coincidence.
The editing style, overall tone and even the murder sequences
obviously reflect considerable inspiration from overseas. Like the
most notable examples from the genre, particularly Dario Argento’s
early work, Alice, Sweet Alice is not-so-much a horror movie
as it is a horrific mystery. And that’s okay because Mr. Sole
learned his lessons well. Not bad for a guy whose only other
directing credit at the time was a porno.
Speaking
of which, Sole’s backstory is as interesting as the film itself,
both of which are explored in this Blu-ray’s generous selection of
bonus features. For added nostalgia, also included is Holy Terror,
the version I was tricked into seeing back in ‘81, as many horror
fans of a certain age undoubtedly were. All-in-all, this release from
Arrow Video is a nicely-packaged trip down memory lane.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
HOLY
TERROR – Alternate cut of the film, with Shields getting top billing and a few editing changes.
"FIRST
COMMUNION: ALFRED SOLE REMEMBERS ALICE, SWEET ALICE”
- The director discusses the film and his career leading up to
it. He’s refreshingly frank, especially when talking about what a
dick his cinematographer was. Quite entertaining.
"ALICE
ON MY MIND” - Interview with composer Stephen Lawrence.
"IN
THE NAME OF THE FATHER” - Interview with actor Niles McMaster,
who plays Karen & Alice’s estranged dad.
"SWEET
MEMORIES: DANTE TOMASELLI ON ALICE, SWEET ALICE”
- An interview with Sole’s nephew (a director himself), who was
6 years old at the time. His named seemed familiar, so when I looked
him up on iMDB, I noticed he had directed a few obscurities I once
reviewed for another website.
"LOST
CHILDHOOD: THE LOCATIONS OF ALICE, SWEET ALICE”
- Author Michael Gingold shows us what various locations look
like today.
TRAILER
& TV SPOTS – Including the unbelievably
misleading Holy Terror trailer (“Brooke Shields as you’ve never
seen her before!”).
2
AUDIO COMMENTARIES – A new one by Richard Harland Smith and a
vintage one by Alfred Sole and writer M. Edward Salier.
ALTERNATE
OPENING TITLES – After being retitled Alice, Sweet Alice.
DELETED
SCENES
IMAGE
GALLERY
ORIGINAL
SCREENPLAY (BD-ROM)
TWO-SIDED
POSTER – One side features the new cover art, the other is an
amusing fake ad for the “Alice, Sweet Alice Killer Kit.”
SUPPLEMENTAL
BOOKLET – Includes stills, cast/crew credits,
restoration/production credits and a retrospective essay by Michael
Blyth.
REVERSIBLE
COVER – Featuring new and original artwork (we’re partial to
the new one).
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.
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