For this year’s 31 Nights of Horror Challenge, the Day 24 prompt was Slasher. What is horror without a good slasher film? Heck, there are decades-long franchises built on the sub-genre. I wanted to pick something that I have never seen before and chose Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) starring Brooke Sheilds in her first role although she isn’t in the movie for long. This is a weird, twisted tale that was a bit uncomfortable to watch.
#31nightsofhorrorchallenge Slasher: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)
Storyline
Alice Spages is a withdrawn 12-year-old girl who lives with her younger sister Karen and their mother Catherine. Karen gets most of their mother’s attention, and Alice is often left out of the spotlight. When Karen is found brutally murdered in a church before her first holy communion, Alice is thrust into the spotlight of suspicion, but is a 12-year-old girl really capable of such savagery? As more people die at the hands of a merciless killer, Alice’s family and the police don’t know what to believe.
Our Thoughts on Alice, Sweet Alice
A young girl is murdered right before her first communion, and everyone in the town thinks her jealous sister is to blame as more dead bodies start to turn up.
Filled with atmosphere, melodrama, and a flair for the macabre, Alfred Sole’s Alice, Sweet Alice is a triumph of low-budget horror filmmaking. Given very little money, Sole and his team work extra hard to squeeze as much production value out of their film as possible. A twisting, turning script that keeps you on your toes also helps immeasurably.
5.5 out of 10
Trivia
At the time, Alphonso DeNoble, who played the Spages’ fat pervert landlord, wasn’t a professional actor. He was working as a bouncer at a bar, and director Alfred Sole persuaded him to play the role. Before his death in 1978, he got acting jobs in two other low-budget horror films.
