October 19, 2007

Alice, Sweet Alice (Sole, 1976)


"If you survive this night... Nothing will scare you again."

The rust around the edges of Alfred Sole's Alice, Sweet Alice (no doubt a function of its low budget) does nothing to hinder its power to disturb. If anything, Sole's 1976 oddity benefits from the lack of polish. Every element - the characters (both good and bad), the sets, the overcast New Jersey environs, the subversive employment of Catholic iconography - feels covered in an imperishable patina of grime and depravity. By the time the film arrives at its unsettling conclusion, you'll probably feel that way too.

Film Rating: B/B-
Scare Factor: B-

View Date: 10/18
Shocktober Horror Film Count: #13

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