Saleem’s Annual Horror Scene Gallery #5: Alice, Sweet Alice

 Movie Title: 

Alice, Sweet Alice (1976)

Movie Scene: 

Alice Scares Karen With A Scary Mask

Following up on my Halloween Season annual event where I share my favorite horror movie scenes up until Halloween night is another cinematic treat. Tonight’s choice is the 70's cult classic slasher, Alice Sweet Alice.

Of all the slasher films that I’ve seen throughout the decades dating back to my childhood up until now, Alice, Sweet Alice remains to be one of the most underrated of the bunch. It always feels to me as if I’m speaking about a forgotten gem that even some of the biggest horror fans out there are completely oblivious to. Despite being mostly positively received by critics and horror aficionados, it still manages to somehow slip under the radar becoming completely engulfed by the popularity of more well known titles like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street just to name a few. However, I’ll forever stand behind this film as being one of the more underrated treasures of the slasher genre and honestly one of the few that delivers strongly on its creep factor. 

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the spotlighted scene in question for this gallery. That being the moment where we see Alice fully garbed in the iconic yellow raincoat and drag face mask terrifying her sister. There’s no blood, gore, or anything in the realm of violence taking place in the scene. It’s just simply and pure suspense and atmosphere building in the most masterful way that I’ve seen. The storytelling is very simplistic here surrounding a basic sibling conflict of one girl essentially bullying her younger sister by running off with her personally treasured doll. However, what follows from this point up until the big reveal is a roller coaster ride of sheer eeriness and uneasiness thanks to a strong effort by the production team to immerse the audience in a chills inducing moment. The deeply creepy and unsettling score by Stephen Lawrence (one of the greatest horror themes ever created in the history of cinema) sets the tone for this dream-like segment as Karen rides off on her bicycle to look for Alice.

We get then get these shots of Alice curiously looking into a store where versions of her drag face masks are hung up on display while also running off into some empty warehouse. That’s the thing about this scene that gets under my skin a little. There’s just something off putting about how empty and abandoned these particular settings shown in this neighborhood come across (especially in broad daylight). It makes Karen riding around on her noisy bicycle yelling out for her sister while Alice lurks around hiding all the more creepy. You don’t know what’s about to happen and the environment isn’t exactly welcoming nor occupied by people to make it feel somewhat safer for these children. One of my favorite things about horror in general by its nature is the way in which it tackles a very raw and relatable human emotion…fear of the unknown. When a horror film can fully exploit that feeling, it’s at the very least doing something effective in connecting with the audience on an emotional level.

I think this scene from Alice, Sweet Alice is one of the prime examples of this. The fact that it’s two young girls running around an empty and abandoned looking area in the daytime while one of them is masked and acting a bit off triggers an immediate feeling of caution. Especially knowing that you’re watching a horror film, there’s an internal build up of concern that the worst is about to happen. Karen then reaches the general area where Alice is hiding and we get this great perspective shot of the tall buildings surrounding her. Again, not a single person in sight, and the only environmental sounds is that of a patrol attack dog somewhere barking offscreen. The beautiful cinematography and the aforementioned score masterfully gives off a dreamlike quality to the scene and equally allows the tension to naturally climb as Karen wanders around closer to Alice’s whereabouts.

Here enters the moment that I’m sure terrified a large portion of the theater audience back in 1976 when the film released. Karen finally makes it into the abandoned warehouse where Alice is hiding and the background score comes to a complete halt. The only sound that litters the atmosphere is that of the environment: a distant bark by a dog and the creaking noise of what appears to be a broken swinging light fixture. The crudely neglected looking room surrounded by construction debris on its own looks like the last place that any child should be wandering or playing around. To be honest, and here’s where the subconscious of an avid moviegoer speaks loudly during the scene, it looks like a typical set for a slasher kill scene to take place which is disturbing considering that we’re dealing with children here. This is exactly what I mean by the scene building tension with its presentation elements. 

Karen continues to call out for her sister and, as she approaches the fixture, Alice pops up behind it with the film's spotlight creepy mask, then pulls it off to reveal an even more freaky looking mask underneath. This absolutely sent chills down my spine when I first saw it due to not knowing if I was about to witness a child murder or not. It’s utterly terrifying not just from a visual standpoint but a psychological one. The eerily tranquil lullaby-like stopping once Karen enters Alice’s hideout, the creepy and concerning setting, Alice’s questionable behavior, and the imagery of the mask itself all adds up to one brilliantly crafted jump scare. Funny enough, it was this scene specifically that lead me to  eventually check out the film and it immediately became one of my top favorite horror movie moments to date.