DVD Corner

Alice, Sweet Alice 4K UHD Review

“Alice, Sweet Alice” is an uneven slasher.

Penned by Rosemary Ritvo and Alfred Sole, 1976’s “Alice, Sweet Alice” is a psychological slasher film that revolves around a divorced mother (Catherine) and her 2 daughters (Alice and Karen) who attend a Catholic school. Something is off about Karen though as she seems to harbor jealousy, play weird games and spend time in a rather creepy hideout. On the day of Karen’s communion, all hell breaks loose when Karen is murdered by a masked individual. All signs seem to point to the unstable Alice being the one responsible, but is she really the killer? Wanting to get to the bottom of this disturbing murder case, the police investigate alongside the children’s father Dom. Eventually the shocking truth comes out about who the killer really is.

Directed by Alfred Sole, “Alice, Sweet Alice” certainly wears its influences on its sleeve. There’s a great deal of “Don’t Look Now” (complete with raincoat), Alfred Hitchcock, and Dario Argento mixed into this psychological slasher. Thematically, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into here as the plot explores family, sin, religious fanaticism, trauma, and violence. As the story unfolds, the whodunit mystery sadly grows stagnant even when the climax rolls around. There’s a whole lot of potential with this grizzly slasher, but it loses its way with some frankly strange overacting (see Linda Miller, Paula Sheppard and Alphonso DeNoble), an early reveal of the killer, and clumsy pacing that ruins the tension and sense of dread that the film could and should have had.

‘Alice’ is perhaps most notable for being the debut feature for Brooke Shields. Her part is decidedly short, but that seems to be the most notable aspect about it from a historical standpoint outside of it being a rather early pre-”Halloween” and “Black Christmas” slasher.  

Note: This 4K disc contains 3 versions- “Communion” (original version), “Alice, Sweet Alice” (theatrical version) and “Holy Terror” (re-release version).

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.85:1 2160p. How does it look? Expect a nice 4K restoration of the original theatrical version from the original camera negative. The exterior scenes look particularly crisp here. All 3 versions are presented in 4K here as well.

Audio Track: LPCM Mono. How does it sound? An adequate but soft Uncompressed Mono track.

Extras
* 2 commentary tracks. One by Alfred Sole, William Lustig and Edward Salier and a new one by Richard Harland Smith.
* Re-release trailer and UK TV spot.
* Image gallery and screenplay
* separate interviews with director Alfred Sole, actor Niles McMaster, composer Stephen Lawrence,
* 2 deleted scenes
* 3 version comparisons.
* “Lost Childhood: The Locations Of Alice, Sweet Alice”- Michael Gingold tours filming locations.
* “Sweet Memories”- An interview with Alfred Sole’s cousin Dante Tomaselli.

February 3, 2025 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | 70's Movie, Alice Sweet Alice 4K UHD Review, Arrow Video, Brooke Shields, Slasher