“Alice, Sweet Alice,” was a 1976 film initially titled “Communion.” It was released in the United States under its working title during its first theatrical run. Then, in 1977 the movie was acquired by Allied Artists Pictures. Allied changed the title to “Alice, Sweet Alice”. They wanted audiences to think it was not religious. The movie continued a theatrical run. It was re-released theatrically in the U.S. in 1977 (as mentioned) and again in 1981 under the name “Holy Terror.” Both theatrical re-releases came as slightly edited versions. 

The film was directed and co-written by Alfred Sole. He is best known for this film. It is known by its various titles. He is also known for directing the films “Tanya’s Island” (1980) and “Pandemonium” (1982). As mentioned, Sole co-wrote the film’s screenplay with Rosemary Ritvo.

The story centers around a young girl named “Alice” (Paula E. Sheppard) and her older sister, “Sarah” (Brooke Shields). Their parents have separated, and the girls live with their mother, “Catherine” (Linda Miller). Catherine is a devout Catholic and has the daughters attending a Catholic school. Alice feels neglected and overshadowed by Sarah. She yearns for her mother’s attention and affection. Unfortunately, this is often given to Sarah.

Alice has feelings about the situation. She likes to keep to herself. She hides in a secret room in the basement of the apartment complex they live in. She’s too old to play with dolls. This doesn’t stop her from keeping one nearby. She also has a few masks she likes to wear from time to time. Early on we see Alice playing a prank on her sister Sarah. Then, the next day, someone resembling Alice does more than a prank at communion in the church. Sarah is murdered. Her body is placed in a wooden box and a candle is left burning inside. Eventually, it gets the attention of the entire church. It’s horrific what the mother has to endure. As a result, they suspect that Alice was responsible for the murder.

Alice is suspected to be the killer. The local police send her to speak while hooked up to a lie detector. She doesn’t make a compelling statement, and her actions are incriminating. Thus, her parents send her away. Finally, we meet Alice’s father, “Dominic” (Niles McCaster). He and his ex-wife meet with the daughter, now in custody. They’ve written Alice off as crazy and a danger to herself and others. The girl has no real means of defending herself to prove her innocence. Yet, some further events will eventually reveal the true identity of the killer. But is it Alice, sweet Alice?

4K UHD Blu-ray Screenshots

Audio Quality

Physical Extras in this limited edition set include:

• A reversible sleeve with alternate (newly commissioned) artwork by Giles Vranckx for the disc case.
• An illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Blyth.

The 4K UHD Blu-ray disc includes the following bonus materials.

• Three Different Cuts of the Movie are available in 4K, using seamless branching, including:
  • “Communion” (1976)
  • “Alice, Sweet Alice” (1977)
  • “Holy Terror” (1981)
• Audio Commentary with Alfred Sole, Edward Salier, and William Lustig is from a Laserdisc release.
• Audio Commentary with Richard Harland Smith
• “First Communion” (18 minutes, 45 seconds – HD) is a 2019 interview with director Alfred Sole. He initially discusses making his first film. It was X-Rated and surprisingly ended up making a lot of money for its time.
• “In the Name of the Father” (16 minutes, 3 seconds – HD) is a 2019 interview with actor Niles McMaster. He played Alice‘s father “Dominic Spages” in the movie. This was done over a Zoom call. It proves to be informative.
• “Alice on My Mind” (14 minutes, 59 seconds – HD) is a 2019 interview with composer Stephen Lawrence. This is great, as he performs the music from the movie and offers insight beforehand.
• “Lost Childhood: The Locations of Alice, Sweet Alice“ (16 minutes, 3 seconds – HD) is from 2019. This segment is hosted by author Michael Gingold. It gives you a tour of the original shooting locations used for the movie.
• “Sweet Memories” (11 minutes, 19 seconds – HD) is a 2019 interview with filmmaker Dante Tomaselli. Dante is the cousin of the film’s director (Alfred Sole). He discusses how much impact his cousin’s film has had on him.
• Deleted Scenes (2 minutes, 43 seconds – HD) two in total were recently discovered when scanning the original camera negative. They are presented without audio, as they were able not be located. It shows you these scenes within context of where you would have seen them in the film.
• “Version Comparison” (2 minutes, 13 seconds – HD) shows the differences between the three different versions of this movie. This uses a split-screen presentation to do the comparison with different title cards.
• Re-Release Trailer (1 minute, 44 seconds – HD) is for the 1981 re-release under the title of “Holy Terror.”
• UK TV Spot (16 seconds – HD) used the “Communion” title.
• Image Galleries include:
  • Image Gallery (40 images – HD)
  • Screenplay (135 pages – HD) is the entire screenplay.

The bonus materials here are very good. The fact that Arrow Video has included three different cuts of the film on the 4K disc is just awesome. There are two commentary tracks, both for the “Communion” version of the movie. Plus, you get the 2019 bonus materials ported over, which were partially done by Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Then you also get some recently discovered deleted scenes. As well as a re-release trailer, a short UK TV spot, and two image galleries in HD. One of those includes the entire screenplay. That’s one solid set of supplemental materials. And finally, the limited edition comes with a collectible booklet and reverse slipcover in terms of physical extras.