blumdeluxe I'm certainly not one of the people who are convinced that movies in the past were generally better but "Alice sweet Alice" freezes the spirit of a time you can't imitate nowadays. It revolves around a dead girl at a communion and whether or not her strange sister could be responsible for her murder.What I like most about this film is that it constantly lays out wrong hints and manages to surprise you anytime you think to have the case settled. The characters aren't one-dimensional and interesting enough to carry the plot, that sometimes may be a bit forced.And that is the one point of critique that I have. While some of the action depicted is perfectly plausible, other aspects don't seem to make much sense. Why would the murder want to attempt the murder in the end? There's no obvious connection, let go need for that and it doesn't fit into the line of motivation.Apart from that I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It is not perfect, it is not changing the game but it is certainly above average for me.

paulyboy-62474 Over the weekend I attended the Horrorathon at the Hi-Way drive in. The first two films Evil Dead, and The House by the Cemetery were great. I was really looking forward to Alice, Sweet, Alice. The entire film is quite disturbing. The score is very dark and moody, and the film uses religious imagery in a very morbid way. At the church school that they attend, all of the girls wear yellow raincoats which makes it seem that Alice could be the killer. Not more than 10 minutes into the movie, Alice's sister Karen is stuffed into a church pew on her first communion and set on fire. The scene is extremely dark, and the suspense that's built on whether or not Alice is her killer plays out through the movie. It was really awesome seeing this on 35 mm film at midnight in the woods. I can see this movie being very controversial for the time when it was released. Once we find out that the masked killer is actually the house keeper of the church it really made me feel like there was a message about organized religion. In Mrs. Tredoni using her religion to despise Alice because she was born before her parents were married, calling her mother a whore at the altar, and stabbing the priest in the throat after being denied communion really made the point in saying that not all who are "holy" are good people. Overall, I enjoyed this movie a lot. There wasn't a ton of character development. The camera work was really good, especially the scene where Mrs. Tredoni pushes Dominic to his death after he swallows her crucifix.

gavin6942 After a young girl (Brooke Shields) is brutally murdered during her first communion, her strange and withdrawn older sister (Paula E. Sheppard) becomes the main suspect.There are some odd rumors circulating about this film. Allegedly, Bill Lustig worked as a second-unit director, but there seems very little to confirm that. Also, this was alleged to be an attack on the Catholic Church in response to the director getting excommunicated for his involvement in pornography. These aspects appear to be true, or at least director Alfred Sole claims them to be. Apparently a bishop's house was in the adult film, "Deep Sleep", and this was upsetting. Sole was even indicted on federal obscenity charges.What is absolutely true is that this film is criminally underrated. An amazing plot (not unlike the giallo films of the 60s and 70s), a great mystery, a cool killer with a creepy mask (inspired in part by the raincoat in Nic Roeg's "Don't Look Now" and in part by "The Sad Seed"), and solid direction and acting from top to bottom.Even more interestingly, this film was released in 1976, and is obviously a slasher film. This puts it before "Halloween", after "Black Christmas", and well before the slasher boom of the 1980s. The style and plot elements are very much ahead of its time in that respect.As of 2016, the film is expected to be remade by Dante Tomaselli, who happens to be Alfred Sole's cousin. If nothing else, the new film (if it happens) will shine more light on the original.

Bill Hollister The 70s, more than any other decade produced many what I would call "socially conscious horror movies" or message films. Alice Sweet Alice is no exception.Karen (Brooke Shields in an early role) plays Karen, a young girl who is about to receive her first communion.She is the darling, apple of her mother's eye and can do no wrong. Karen has an older sister, Alice (Paula Sheppard), who likes to go around in her yellow rain slicker scaring people,cursing, and giving them the evil eye. During Karen's communion, someone kills her and all suspicion falls on the outcast, Alice. Someone wearing a yellow rain slicker and plastic doll mask begins killing people in the town. Some suspect Alice, but is it really her?The remainder of the film focuses on Alice. Many people may have very mixed emotions about her. Are we supposed to like and care about her? She does come across as a bit bratty, foul mouthed and "off" but we can cut her some slack because she also has to deal with her emotionally detached mother (Linda Miller)not to mention the obese landlord, Mr. Alphonso. I,personally really like the Alice character.Paula Sheppard, who plays the role, does an excellent job. She looks like a normal 12 year old girl one moment, and a deranged psychopath the next. Her eyes and facial expressions speak volumes about what she is thinking. Sheppard was actually 19 at the time of filming and sadly would only appear in one other movie, the ultra weird Liquid Sky. A word or two must be said about Mr. Alphonso. He is quite unlike any other character you will see in a movie,horror or otherwise. He is bald,always wears a stained white tank top, weighs close to 400 pounds and eats cat food. There are also a few not so subtle hints that he dabbles in pedophilia. Alice has a few run ins with Mr. Alphonse.He is, in my opinion,one of the most disturbing characters ever in a movie.Alice Sweet Alice was directed by Alfred Sole who would later direct one of my favorite horror spoofs, Pandemonium. I do not know much about Sole or his upbringing but one senses that there is a bit of self referencing in this movie.It seems to be a very personal film for Sole and the fact that he grew up in the same state (New Jersey)where the film is set adds to this feeling.Catholicism plays an important role in movie. Many of the characters attend the same church that Karen was killed in. Every character in Alice Sweet Alice has emotional baggage and are often unhappy with their lives. Guilt combined with a dreary late season setting make the movie very pessimistic in its atmosphere. If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted horror movie, this is not the one to watch.The killer's identity and motive may become obvious to some as the movie progresses but it takes nothing away from the overall effectiveness of the film. Although filmed and set in the United States, it looks and feels more like a giallo, which at the time was more prevalent than the slasher movie.Overall I would give Alice Sweet Alice 8/10 plastic doll masks. It is available on DVD and comes well recommended from this reviewer. Just don't let Mr. Alphonso catch you sneaking around his apartment door.