Classic Horror: Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Unholy Communion

Released in 1976, Alice, Sweet Alice may not be one of the first films to come to mind when one mentions classic horror, but it has definitely found a place in the hearts of many horror fans. Often considered one of the final proto-slasher films before the likes of Jason, Freddy, and Michael Myers took to the big screen, Alice, Sweet Alice combines religion, jealousy, and a creepy mask and raincoat combo to give the viewer plenty of creep scares.

The film starts off by showing us the strained relationship of two young sisters, Alice and Karen Spages (Paula E. Sheppard and Brooke Shields in her film debut). It is quickly established that Karen is the favorite daughter of their mother, Catherine (Linda Miller), who is preparing for Karen’s first communion. We are also introduced to Father Tom (Rudolph Willrich), who is presented in a questionable manner. While he doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong or perverted, the film presents the character (and the local Catholic Church) as somewhat bizarre and a bit too touchy feely.

On the day of her first communion, Karen is savagely murdered by a mysterious person. The primary suspect? Alice. A series of stabbings, some fatal, some not, begin to occur and the police attempt to find the culprit. Alice is isolated from her mother and estranged father, Dom (Niles McMaster), but the attacks continue. Who is behind all of the violence? The answer is quite surprising and revealed fairly early in the film…..or is it? The ending is vague enough that there isn’t a definite answer by the time that the credits role.

The film features a cast primarily culled from the local theater scene in New York and New Jersey. Outside of Shields, none of the cast has made much of an impact in film or television with the exception of Alphonso DeNoble, who featured in a couple of other cult films, Night of the Zombies (1981) and Bloodsucking Freaks (1976). Zombies was released posthumously, as DeNoble passed away in 1978. Some of the cast caused trouble for director Alfred Sole, particularly Linda Miller, whom Sole called “a real nightmare.” Paula Sheppard did an amazing job as twelve year old Alice, especially considering the fact that she was nineteen at the time of filming. Her performance was very convincing, especially as the situation started spiraling out of control.

Many critics and viewers believed that the film was anti-Catholic. As someone who actually is Catholic, I understand why they would believe that, but I also credit Sole’s direction in making the entire film’s setting, especially the moments inside of the church, very unsettling. Yes, Sole was excommunicated from the Church due to another film that he previously made, but I see only vague hints at an anti-religious theme. Ultimately things are left pretty vague, so no one really knows what happened with Father Tom, the Church, or anyone else in the film. I’m intentionally leaving out certain characters, as it would spoil parts of the film.

I really liked Alice, Sweet Alice. It was atmospheric in an unsettling sort of way and just vague enough that you aren’t sure if the killer was really captured. I recommend checking the film out if you’re a fan of early slasher films and especially if you like your horror with a religious spin.

Thanks for reading my post. I’ll see you all again real soon!