‘If you survive this night… nothing will ever scare you again.’
Alice, Sweet Alice is a 1976 mystery slasher horror film directed by Alfred Sole (Tanya’s Island, Pandemonium) from a screenplay co-written with Rosemary Ritvo.
The Harristown Funding production stars Linda Miller, Paula Sheppard, Brooke Shields and Mildred Clinton.
Filmed as Communion, the film was released theatrically under different titles: first as Communion in November 1976; as The Mask Murders in 1977; as Alice, Sweet Alice (now the title it is best known as) in 1978; and as Holy Terror in 1981.
A remake was reportedly planned for many years, to be directed by Dante Tomaselli and co-scripted by Fangoria magazine managing editor Michael Gingold. However, this is a project thankfully in development Hell.
Plot:
Paterson, New Jersey: the early 1960s. Catherine Spages (Linda Miller) is visiting Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich) with her two daughters, who both attend St. Michael’s Parish Girls’ School: nine-year-old Karen (Brooke Shields) and twelve-year-old Alice (Paula Sheppard).
Karen is preparing for her First Communion and Father Tom gives her his mother’s crucifix as a gift. A jealous Alice puts on a creepy, translucent grinning mask, frightening Mrs Tredoni (Mildred Clinton), Father Tom’s housekeeper.
Later, Alice steals Karen’s porcelain doll and lures her into an abandoned building with it. She jumps out and scares Karen with the grinning mask and locks her in a room. When she lets her out she tells her that if anyone finds out, she’ll never see the doll again.
On the day of the First Communion, Karen is attacked and strangled to death, by a person in a translucent mask and yellow. Her body is dragged away by her right arm and dumped into a bench compartment, which is set on fire with a candle but not before ripping the crucifix from her neck. Smoke begins to fill the church.
Meanwhile, Alice enters the church, carrying her shiny yellow raincoat. She kneels in Karen’s place to receive communion when a scream is heard. A curious nun had entered the back room where the confessionals are located and found Karen’s body. People run in, horrified…
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Reviews:
“With superbly insolent skill, Sole plays the Hitchcock game to the hilt as the diminutive figure of the killer in a hooded yellow oilskin and flesh-pink mask pursues its path of vengeance, while red herrings multiply…” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror
“Crammed with surprises and offbeat touches, this can be a disorientating experience on first viewing but yields countless rewards along the way. Even minor characters are memorably sketched, particularly Alice’s ridiculously obese neighbour, Mr Alphonso…” Nathaniel Thompson, DVD Delirium Volume 1
“Compelling, and not entirely predictable, Sole’s first (and only truly worthwhile) effort is driven by strong anti-Catholic messages (á la Pete Walker) and—even more pertinent—littered with unflinchingly disturbing scenes of violence that are reminiscent of [Dario] Argento’s earlier handling of brutality.” Scott Aaron Stine, The Gorehound’s Guide to Splatter Films of the 1960s and 1970s book
“… doesn’t shy away from depicting tremendous violence towards a child (one of the major taboos). Karen’s murder is a tremendously upsetting scene made all the more disturbing by the religious imagery. Her crucifix is ripped from her neck in her final moments and her dead body is stuffed into a pew and then lit on fire. As horrifyingly brutal as the action is, it’s shot beautifully.’ Miss Sardonicus
“Like Schizo, Alice, Sweet, Alice distinguishes itself mostly in the sheer breadth and graphic nature of its bloody violence. There are some sudden and surprise attacks, as well as the obligatory “revelations” sequence at the end but today the film looks hackneyed despite the moments of horror…” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1970s
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“Director Alfred Soles’ use of middle-class New Jersey locations recalls the better work of George Romero, and he fills the screen with realistic grotesques […] Despite a modest budget it has aged better than many more expensive productions of the same era. The ending’s terrific.” Mike Mayo, The Horror Show Guide
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” … I was satisfied with it’s twist ending and some over the top Joan Crawford level acting from Alice’s aunt Annie. It’s a bit deeper than your usual slasher fare with the addition of strange sexual undertones between Alice and the overweight eyebrow challenged neighbor Mr Alphonso, Alice’s disturbing shrine to her sister, and the housekeeper’s obsession with Father Tom.” I Love Hot Dogs
“Paula Sheppard gives a fantastic performance as Alice. The fear and horror of the film are augmented by the omnipresent Catholic imagery. This is thinking person’s horror, with a dash of blood and mystery, and a tense, suspenseful accomplishment.” Adam Lukeman, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen
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” …far more than a sterile exercise in suspense: Communion constantly keeps the audience on its toes with a wealth of incidental detail, excellent set pieces and technical versatility.” Time Out Film Guide
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