Alice, Sweet Alice
a.k.a. Communion / Holy Terror
1976 · Directed by Alfred Sole · USA
Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) is a Catholic-imbued psychological slasher directed by Alfred Sole. When Karen (Brooke Shields) is murdered at her first holy communion, suspicion falls on her precociously cruel older sister, Alice (Paula Sheppard). An investigating detective, reading Alice’s school report, remarks: “This kid is nuts.”
Alice lives in a run-down apartment block and routinely taunts the landlord, sleazy Mr Alphonso, with jibes of “fatso” and “your apartment smells of cat piss.”
After a brutal knife attack on Alice’s Aunt Annie by an assailant wearing a yellow school coat and mask, the poor girl is carted off to stay in a mental institution for a psychological assessment. The child psychiatrist reads out her conclusions on Alice: “Strong indications of a schizoid personality. Subject capable of extremely violent action.”
There are flashes of Psycho-esque violence, and Sole keeps the direction tight, often using heavy rain to give an even bleaker outlook on the run-down neighbourhood. The Catholic church features heavily, with family friend and local priest Father Tom looking inward at what troubles Alice and her growing resentment towards her family. A reveal thirty minutes from the end sets the gears in motion on the who and why of people being strangled, bludgeoned and stabbed, and you’re left wondering where it will go next.
Paula Sheppard is particularly good as Alice and only made one more film before leaving acting for good. She leaves an indelible mark in her debut, and Alice, Sweet Alice is a genuine gem in the American slasher canon.
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Trailer
From the score
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Stephen Lawrence – Main Title (Alice, Sweet Alice)