Snake-666

Following the murder of her sister (played by a young Brooke Shields) twelve-year-old Alice Spages becomes the suspect in the ensuing investigation.

'Alice, Sweet Alice' is a heavily atmospheric part-slasher, part-psychological drama which successful maintains a disturbing undercurrent despite minor shortcomings in the technical department. The story is markedly if not abundantly complex despite a semblance of simplicity and the hastened pace in the final act elevates the tension and serves to give the film a distinctive, almost unique flavour. It is therefore unfortunate that the rather clumsy mishandling of pace at times detracts from the experience. However, in spite of this flaw the exhilarating, tense and powerful final stages of the movie greatly compensate for previous failings. Unfortunately, the most glaring failing with the film is the mediocre-to-inept acting abilities of the majority of the cast with Jane Lowry giving a particularly obnoxious, hammed and hard to tolerate performance (incidentally, Ms. Lowry would only appear in one further movie) and central performers Linda Milla, Paula Sheppard and Niles McAster providing only a minor guise of acting competence.

Perhaps the most accomplished aspect of this low-budget chiller can be found in Stephen Lawrence's masterfully ambivalent score which fuses the enchanting with the malevolent and the tepid with the zealous. The proficient, if not quite polished cinematography and presentation of director Alfred Sole readily coalesces with the haunting soundtrack to set the tone and ambiance of the movie in order to provide a great deal of thrills and chills as the captivating story unfolds. The atmosphere is heavy, brooding and inspires feelings of alarm and anxiety as the macabre imagery goads the senses and the grizzly occurrences provoke suitable revulsion which later become pure uncomfortable apprehension when the plot evolves to its conclusion. Alfred Sole's use of coincidence and camera-trickery aid in causing confusion and manipulating the thoughts and feelings of the audience, casting blame and doubt and leading to question after question. While the eventual climax seems forced and awkward it is not without power and is certainly unexpected. The various sub-plots assist in provoking strong emotional responses and even when all is said and done there is a lingering sense of discomfort as one considers just what has transpired.

It is perhaps impossible to ignore the all-too-glaring faults of this film but considering the budget will perhaps lessen negative feelings towards such faults. The overall film is strong and an admirable example of the essence of Seventies American horror film-making. Stylistically potent if lacking the elegance of similar movies and with a plot-driven approach, 'Alice, Sweet Alice' is recommended viewing for the horror fan.

Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli) is an alcoholic, sadistic and despicable has-been writer, whom has recently lost his mother, regularly abuses and humiliates his wife Irina (Anita Strindberg) and engages in illicit relationships at any given opportunity. When one of his mistresses is found brutally murdered the suspicions of both the police and his wife fall on Oliviero whose problems are confounded by the arrival of Floriana (Edwige Fenech), his young and beautiful niece with an unclear agenda.

Following on from the success of his earlier gialli with the name being a reference to 'The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)', director Sergio Martino presents this sleazy, violent and thoroughly nasty film which experiments with new ideas and style while remaining true to the elements of his previous work that yielded such positive results. The story is awash with complexity and subtext, lacking the famed ambiguity of some similar films yet with a unique and pronounced outlandishness that serves to augment the resplendent qualities by providing distraction from the more orthodox traits of the story. Perhaps unusually for the genre, characterisation is fundamental as each character becomes progressively defined and both their motivations and psychological status come to be analysed and as such this aspect is as integral to the film as any other. Themes such as misogynism, sadomasochism, the treatment of sex as a weapon, voyeurism and most notably a trenchant concentration on the Oedipus-complex add substance and depth to the characters and story in an area of cinema often criticised for not having such and even the motivations of an ominous cat fittingly named Satan become important as the events unfurl. The narrative moves at a slow, deliberate pace, perpetually ripening, twisting and turning, leading us to believe one thing before proving the untruth and even changing genres to a point. All of this builds up to a rapid chain of events towards the end that seek to overturn everything we already know and this leads to a mostly satisfying, if somewhat predictable, climax.

'Vice' is also a stylistic treat. Martino collaborates with cinematographer, Giancarlo Ferrando and composer Bruno Nicolai and the three ensure that the visual and audible elements of the film are near perfect. The beauty of the film is predominantly founded upon the malevolent aspects of the storyline. The chronic use of darkness and shadow help to create a mesmerising yet distinctly intimidating and alarming atmosphere invoking uncomfortable feelings of trepidation while the tension and suspense is allowed to build to boiling point. Violence is filmed in such a way that the loathsome nature of the act is harnessed with erratic camera-work and quick splices of cruelty, while the bloody aftermaths are displayed to full, gruesome effect. Sex is treated ostensibly and despite a poetic presentation there is often an unquestionably vile and repugnant aura to the act which becomes more discernible as events progress. One particular stylistic flourish sees a quick insertion of the menacing cat's eyes during scenes, becoming more frequent to the end and perhaps used symbolically to represent the mental breakdowns of the characters and the relationship breakdown between Oliviero and Irina. Furthermore, these quick flashes of menace coupled with several darkened sequences involving the snarling and vicious cat add a disorienting effect and engender yet more discomfort from the viewer. The subtle use of the soundtrack, which mostly comprises soft, unostentatiously elegant music blends with the visuals in a pleasing manner and helps to control the ambiance unobtrusively.

The somewhat predictable conclusion is perhaps the most glaring shortcoming. Those who have seen Martino's earlier gialli may regard one particular aspect of the end as indicative of being formulaic while those who recognise the principal influence for the story will be less surprised at the eventual outcome. These are minor complaints but worthy of note. Vice could also be criticised for being a character-driven film that leaves several key questions unanswered. One could theorise as to why this is but perhaps the most likely explanation is that Martino wished for there to remain an element of mystery. Whether this is welcome or unwelcome will no doubt depend on the subjectivity of the audience. Criticisms aside, 'Vice' is fine film-making and certainly ranks amongst the genres elite as Sergio Martino once again excels.

Detailing the supposed true events of the haunting of a family be a violent, supernatural entity in 19th Century United States, 'An American Haunting' follows the story of the Bell family whose lives are disrupted by this malevolent being.

It has often been said that the two most important elements to great horror are mystery and suspense and while 'An American Haunting' may fall outside of the remit of true greatness it certainly succeeds in offering up more mystery and suspense than nigh-on any other film of its era. Here we have a constantly progressive and evolving cinematic work that utilises these traditional elements of horror to evoke the purest feelings of trepidation, and at times, outright distress. The way in which the subject is handled shows an unequivocal savvy and appreciations for the nuances of horror as director, Courtney Solomon, cunningly opts to slowly but surely increase the intensity of the horror portrayed within the film until the production becomes more of an exercise in endurance for the viewer as much as the characters and through this hell that Solomon clearly wishes to inflict upon us we perhaps become more sympathetic towards the Bell family and the torment through which they must suffer in much the same way that one may sympathise with the plight of Reagan and Chris in the similarly themed, 'The Exorcist (1973)'.

These traditional methods of inducing uneasiness are blended with more contemporary methods of capturing them. Cinematographer, Adrian Biddle (who had previously worked as the Director of Photography on James Cameron's 'Aliens (1986)'), truly compliments Solomon's storytelling with some splendid sweeping shots reminiscent of 'Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)', highly-stylised colour distorted images as popularised in 'Natural Born Killers (1994)' and featured prominently in the recent 'House of 1000 Corpses (2003)' as well as what may well be a nod to the pioneering film-making of Sam Raimi in 'The Evil Dead (1981)'. Perhaps because of this there is an inherent beauty about 'An American Haunting' that sporadically shines through before being savagely torn apart by the ferocious, supernatural assaults inflicted upon the Bell family and undoubtedly this helps to enhance the terror of the movie even more. Further to this, the superlative use of sound, whether it is from the soundtrack or from within the world we are presented with, embellishes the quality of the film further, reinforcing the dread and provoking further, visceral reaction from virtually each noise.

Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek were perfectly cast as the heads of the Bell family while the young Rachel Hurd-Wood is exceptional in her role as the daughter. In all, the acting throughout from the minimalist cast is of a high-standard with only a few (noticeable) instances of hammed-up acting. This is a minor flaw, however, and rarely detracts from the movie. On the other hand, despite praise for the progressive nature it does seem appropriate to also criticise what feels like repetition that eventually sinks in towards the end and the movie does struggle to justify what is actually a rather short run-time. Complaints aside this may well be the best American horror film for five years.