3. Alice Sweet Alice (Communion/ Holy Terror) (1976)
This film has the distinction of being the first decent film ever shown on the Horror Film Channel. I remember it clearly. Twas back in.... Alice Sweet Alice has had three cinema releases under three different names - mainly to cash in on the fact that Brooke Shields stars in the movie. It is a terrific little horror film, and if you haven't managed to watch it yet, it is well worth viewing. It is a tale of two sisters - 9 year old Karen (Brooke Shields) and 12 year old Alice (Paula Sheppard). Karen is going for her first Communion and receives a special crucifix from the priest. Alice is jealous and steals Karen's doll while wearing a creepy mask. Unfortunately Karen is killed during the Communion service. Karen's father arrives in town to investigate the murder. Karen's mother Catherine has her sister Annie move in to help her cope with the grief. Alice and Annie hate each other. Annie is attacked by a figure in a yellow raincoat and mask. She blames Alice who is subsequently sent to a mental institution. However stabbings are still occurring, is it our new suspect Mrs Tredoni or was it Alice all along? The 1970s were a charmed decade for horror films, and Alice, Sweet Alice belongs in the hallowed cannon of brilliant 1970s horror films. The Catholic church setting gives it an almost gothic atmosphere and the film is creepy and chilling. The thought of a beautiful young girl being killed in a church on her First Communion is quite shocking and Paula Sheppard as Alice gives one heck of a performance as the strange, morbidly jealous potential killer. There is not a single extraneous scene in the movie - it is tightly shot and everything is completely meaningful. I won't spoil the ending for you, but if you catch this little jewel, you will be completely under its spell.