By. DR. BENNY GRAVES
Starring Linda Miller, Mildred Clinton, Paula Sheppard and Brooke Shields
Written by Rosemary Ritvo and Alfred Sole
Directed by Alfred Sole
Released on Blu-ray and 4K by Arrow Video
It is a deeply naive notion, but it could be said that religion can be a positive thing. In creating direction for individuals, there are tenets of certain faiths that preach kindness and equality to all living beings. A person could look selectively at religious texts as a loose code of conduct and better themselves through those writings. This idea would, of course, require some serious blinders when it comes to antiquated (and therefore often dangerous) ideologies and a comprehensive history of religion being weaponized for what with confidence can be called pure evil. (Do you really need a citation here?) It doesn’t help that in a scientifically advanced modern age where everyone carries a supercomputer in their pocket, the rivalry between competing religions is still a strong motive for perpetuating the cruelty of man.
ALICE, SWEET ALICE is not naive about the evils that lie beneath the adornments of religion. With a surgeon’s precision, this movie knows exactly where to incise with the scalpel blade, dissecting the festering horrors metastasizing within the unblemished body of Christ. Alice Spages is a hurt child living in a cruel world. Jealous of her sibling and abandoned by her father, Alice finds solace in acts of rebellion. She terrorizes her younger sister Karen (a pre-fame Brooke Shields) wearing a Halloween mask (a now iconic design that still manages to unnerve) and finds sanctuary in a hallway utility closet where she keeps a collection of trinkets that range from stolen toys to a jar of roaches. All attention has been focused on Karen and her upcoming first communion. However, before the eucharist can be placed on her tongue, Karen is strangled in the church and her body set aflame. A figure in a strange mask and yellow rain slicker is responsible and all eyes finally turn to Alice.
Considered by many to be an example of an American giallo, ALICE, SWEET ALICE certainly has the trappings: a uniquely masked killer, red herrings and flashes of ultra-violence all play a part. What adds a whole new level to the proceedings are the deeply embedded religious elements. The murder of Karen occurs in the church, a grisly death that defiles a sanctuary in that very moment being used as a place of rebirth. Alice’s mother is attempting to be a good parent while clearly having feelings for Father Tom, a priest who doesn’t seem disinterested despite his supposed dedication only to God. Also fond of Tom is his housekeeper Mrs. Tredoni, a seemingly pious woman who nonetheless harbors resentment for the care she must also provide to an ailing monsignor. Director Alfred Sole shoots the aesthetics of Catholicism with a disturbing gravitas suggesting a horror borne from the fear of sin. Without giving away too much, the film ends in another communion, this one (if possible) more blasphemous and traumatic than the first. Special mention should be given to the character of Mr. Alphonso (Alphonso DeNoble giving a skin crawling performance), the landlord for the building that Alice lives in. Suffice to say, I consider him one of the most evil characters John Waters never wrote.
I revisit ALICE, SWEET ALICE every so often, but it has to be a special occasion. This is a movie that conjures the type of dread associated with religion that is only rivaled in films like The Exorcist. With that in mind, there is no supernatural element and that somehow elevates it to what many would call a higher level of sin (its status as a video nasty in the UK and its controversy in Ireland certainly attest to this). It is a masterwork of a horror whodunit and a must own (Arrow did a sensational Blu-ray release and there’s a 4K dropping on February 11th). So, kneel before the altar and extend your tongue, this eucharist is not to sanctify … it’s to terrify.
Death to false horror,
Dr. Benny Graves
