(1976) "Alice, Sweet Alice" is a creepy little thriller, commonly referred to as an American giallo (Not to be confused with that Richard Gere movie with the Blondie theme song). I hate movie writing that gives away too much plot, so I'll skip those details, and instead say that "Alice, Sweet Alice" involves a creepy killer in a creepy see-through mask and a creepy yellow raincoat (in an oft noted nod to Nicholas Roeg's "Don't Look Now"). It's also a very Catholic flick with themes of guilt and sin and scenes set in a church and a manse, populated with preists, nuns and the devout. In fact, the atmosphere is key to the flick's effectiveness. Shot in the 70's and set in the 60's, "Alice, Sweet Alice" has a terrific feel for its working class New Jersey backdrop. The cast adds to the overall oppressive atmopsphere, with Brooke Shields in her acting debut, a Felliniesque Alphonso DeNoble, and Paula Sheppard perfect as Alice. Though "Alice, Sweet Alice" drags a little around the two-thirds mark, it's a very good movie, well worth seeing. And that mask is seriously creepy.
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