Watch Alice, Sweet Alice For Free

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I remember the first time I heard about Communion (as it was called). I was ten at the time and it was the last review Barry Norman gave on an episode of his Film '76. The clip was the scene where Aunt Annie descends the stairs and is attacked. It was absolutely terrifying and very reminiscent of Psycho (which I was a big fan of). Unfortunately it took a few years to finally see it on video in the early 1980's but it was worth the wait. Not only was it similar to Psycho but it also reminded me very much of Don't Look Now, which of course influenced Alfred Sole. Too often the film is mentioned as a slasher but this is unfair. The violence in slasher films is usually gratuitous and included for the sake of it whereas in Communion, it is very much part of the story. The soundtrack is also an excellent addition to a fine film.

It's a little eerie and in the beginning looks like there's some potential. A lot of reviewers said it stuck with them, the only thing that sticks with me is the overacting. The killer, which is easy to figure out from about ten minutes into the movie, makes no sense! The motives are ludicrous. There are so many better eerie horror movies to watch. Anything by Alfred Hitchkok for example, at least he put in some thought and it made bloody sense.

I first saw this on a VHS. Revisited it recently on a DVD. The film is atmospheric n creepy, the killings r brutal n strong. There is psychological tension that makes it more of a giallo. The movie was decent inspite of its low budget. The acting was good. The killer is effective and creepy with the use of yellow raincoat and creepy mask, being an excellent stand out image and invoking a sense of dread whenever it appears on-screen. The warehouse scene really scared me. The twisting plot and suspense should be enough to get you caught up in it and keep you guessing. All in all its a decent murder mystery. The female who played the aunt kept on screaming. Is she in the hall of fame for scream queen?

This is one of those movie I pretty much bought blindly not being recommended by any person I knew. If I remember correctly it was one of the movies that Amazon suggested I might like. Reading upon a bit I took my chance. Re-watching the movie a few times I have finally decided to leave a review. This is one of those movies that get better with every viewing. I have also read the book that was published after the movie came out. Usually a movie is made after a book has some considerable success. I don't think the movie was that popular or known back in the seventies to warrant a written story nevertheless I'm happy they did so I could read it. The book doesn't elaborate much more on the actions that are shown in the movie however it does offer a nice insight on the backgrounds of the protagonists, their relationships, their past and their feelings. The movie is an excellent character portrait of a disturbed girl named Alice, clearly jealous of her younger sister Karen who is pretty much everyone's sweetheart. And Karen can do her first communion while Alice already being 12 still cannot. But what really goes on in Alice's head? She likes to collect weird stuff and put it in in her treasure chest in the basement. She plays tricks on people (usually on her sister and her fat neighbor Mr. Alphonso who lives in the apartment below and is also the landlord). But what she likes most is just to be on herself hiding behind a mask. When her sister Karen gets killed in church on her first communion with the killer wearing a mask just like Alice's favorite one, Alice becomes suspect number one. And the viewer will even suspect Alice more when after a fight with her aunt Annie, the woman gets stabbed with a knife again by the person wearing Alice's mask. When there is another murder the murderer reveals its face to the viewer, I certainly didn't expect that one the first time around. Great performances were there from Paula E. Sheppard as Alice who despite being 19 years old portrayed a believable 12 year old. Others were Alphonso DeNoble who looked perfect as the creepy and messy landlord and Mildred Clinton as the mysterious Mrs. Tredoni, housekeeper of the local church. Even though the first murder and the attempted murder on Alice's aunt still cause some people to wonder who is the culprit I do think there is enough evidence to believe it was always the same killer.