Alice, Sweet Alice (1978) aka: Communion (1976), Holy Terror (1981) 15 out of 100

Alison “Alicat” Wise submitted the following Feminist Slasher Project Investigation and Review

Alison’s history with this film:
I remember seeing the beginning when I was a kid and only really remember Brooke Shields. But I’m super excited about this movie.

Play by Play:
To explain the different titles and dates, according to Wikipedia…
It was released theatrically three different times, each time under a new title: first as ‘Communion’ in November 1976; as ‘Alice, Sweet Alice’ in 1978; and as ‘Holy Terror’ in 1981…The film is notable for being Brooke Shields' first acting role, which prompted distributors to re-release the film to market upon Shields' growing notoriety following her role in Pretty Baby (1978).

The Spages are at Father Tom’s house; Karen, Brooke Shields, is nine and just about to have her first communion. Her sister Alice, who is twelve, is a bit of a brat and jealous that Father Tom gives Karen a lovely crucifix. She scares the housekeeper, Mrs. Tredoni with a creepy mask.
Alice bullies Karen taking a doll their father gave her. Karen goes to look for Alice in an abandoned where house. Alice, again wearing the creepy mask jumps out and scares Karen. Alice is super jealous of all the attention that Karen is getting.
There’s a fat, sweaty gross guy, Mr Alfonso, who’s the landlord of the same apartment building the Spages live in and he has loads of cats.
It’s time for Karen’s first communion at the church and Alice is missing. Just before Karen goes into the main part of the church someone attacks her in a creepy mask and yellow raincoat, just like Alice’s! They put Karen’s dead body in a pew along with a lit candle.
Alice takes Karen’s place at communion and right before she gets the wafer an old nun finds Karen’s burnt body. Mrs. Spages tries to go find Karen but Alice keeps holding her back. Why does Alice have Karen’s communion veil? Did Alice kill Karen or was it someone else?
The police are staking out the funereal.
Mr. Spages finally shows up ‘before they put the body in the ground’. There seems to be tension regarding Mr. Spages. It looks like he doesn’t actually live with them.
Alice is told to take a cake to creepy Mr. Alfonso…total perv. But then again Alice kicks some frosting off her finger before giving him the cake.
Alice is a suspect in Karen’s murder. Everyone thinks she did it.
Mr. Spages goes to the police station to talk to the detective. They want to talk to Alice. They’ve talked to her principle who recommends that Alice see a psychiatrist. It also turns out that Mrs. Spages sister, Annie, doesn’t like Mr. Spages or Alice.
Mr. Spages then calls Father Tom, who tells him that police took Alice’s records from the school. Father Tom also wants to talk to Mr. Spages alone.
Catherine, Mrs. Spages, is lying on Karen’s bed and hears Annie and Alice fighting kitchen. She goes down to the stop it. It’s obvious that Annie doesn’t like Alice.
There’s all sorts of weird sibling rivalry going on in this movie.
She asks Alice to take the rent check down to creepy Mr. Alfonso. She antagonizes him by saying his apartment smells like ‘cat piss’ and calls him ‘fatty’. He says he ‘knows what she done’ and that he’ll show the police what’s in the basement. He tries to molest her and she kills one of his cats.
Alice goes down to the basement. She has this shrine thing with Karen’s doll and the veil and some cockroaches in a jar…and the creepy mask.
And then the masked raincoat again, creeping on the stairs, they stab Aunt Annie in the feet and legs as she comes down the stairs. She screams “Alice!’ and crawls out the front door in to the rain, screaming ‘Help me! Help me!’…it’s all quite (overly) dramatic. Mr. Spages pulls up in a car just then and goes to look for Alice in the basement, as Annie’s rushed off to the hospital. Alice cries ‘I didn’t do it daddy!’
But in the hospital Aunt Annie is blaming Alice…again. In a very (over) dramatic scene with lots of yelling, Annie tells the police Alice stabbed her in the legs. The police bring Alice and the Spages into the station and give her a lie detector test, with her parents watching behind a two-way mirror. Alice says it’s Karen...WHO’S DEAD! Poor Alice. There’s also a very weird scene with the lie detector guy acting all creepy and paedo about Alice.
Old crazy priest on one of those seated stair things!
Mr. Spages goes to Father Tom and tells him he thinks it’s Angela who’s done it…that’s Annie daughter.
The Spages go and speak to Alice’s doctor at the psych ward. Alice has ‘a lot of deep seeded problems’…no shit.
Mr. Spages promises to make things right and then he and Mrs. Spages get it on! And then his new wife calls…doh!
Angela calls Mr. Spages at his hotel saying she ran away…watch out dude.
I’m not saying anymore or else I’ll spoil the ending. All I am saying is some crazy shit happens!

My Conclusion:
This movie is awesome but gets a big bad Red Light! There really isn’t a heroine or a protagonist, except Mr. Spages, and throughout the whole movie Alice is considered a suspect. Also…Alice is 12 and she is grossly leched upon by older men! Prepubescent Objectification! EWWWW! Alice was played by an actress of 19 but that’s besides the point, she is 12 in the film!

Friday The 13th (1980) 14 out of 100

James "The Jimi" Hattar submitted the following investigation for The Feminist Slasher Project.


Play by Play:

The original and classic Slasher flick; it spawned countless sequels, a television show, a versus Freddy movie, and a terrible remake. “Friday the 13th” (1980) directed by Sean S. Cunningham, stars Betsy Palmer and a young (and then unknown) Kevin Bacon. The “Friday the 13th” films are known for its iconic hockey mask wearing serial killer, Jason Voorhees. What makes this movie interesting is that the hockey mask icon we know and love doesn’t take shape until “Friday the 13th Part 3” (which was in 3-D). So who is the killer in this movie? I’ll never tell ya, but here’s the story.
Twenty years after a child drowning and the horrific murders of two camp counselors on its grounds, Camp Crystal Lake is reopening; against the better judgment of skeptical locals. “Friday the 13th” follows the new owner and a group of new camp counselors who are sent to Camp Crystal Lake (also known to the locals as Camp Blood) to get it ready to re-open its doors. The young and horny camp counselors in the camp soon find out that whoever went on the killing spree years before doesn’t want anyone to re-open the camp and has no qualms about killing those who feel otherwise.
In the darkness of the night and through the pouring rain, one-by-one the counselors are each killed off and meet with grisly demises. What we find out is that a little boy drowned years ago at the camp because the camp counselors weren't paying attention. That boy’s name was Jason Voorhees. Now he comes back for revenge on Friday The 13th, his birthday to kill the counselors. Alice (Adrienne King), one of the counselors must fight for her life at the camp. Of course there is a twist at the end when we find out who the real killer is.
Although it's a long way from being a good movie, its success and influence is seen in countless horror films. The acting is below average, but there are some good kill scenes with gruesome makeup and bloody effects by Tom Savini. An iconic psycho-killer for the ages makes this a Slasher classic that started it all. If you want to be entertained, The Jimi recommends you see this; if you haven’t already.

Feminist Slasher Project Research:

The women in this movie were either young and horny or old and creepy. The young women played the victims, getting killed while having sex or taking off their clothes whenever possible. Alice was not entirely a strong female character but did the best she could to face the killer at the end. Let’s face it, these “Friday the 13th” movies are all about horny and naked young people getting killed in various ways with a variety of weapons. Most of the female characters in these movies are dimwits just waiting to get killed off. I’d have to give “Friday the 13th” a red light for the Feminist Slasher Project.

Hell Night (1981) 13 out of 100

James "The Jimi" Hattar submitted the following investigation for The Feminist Slasher Project.

Play by Play:

“Hell Night” (1981) directed by Tom DeSimone, stars Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Vincent Van Patten and Peter Barton. A decent 80’s Slasher flick set inside an old mansion that may or may not be haunted. I first saw this movie as a child by switching on Channel 9 to see “The Elvira Mistress of the Dark” show where she hosted different horror films every week. What I found interesting about the movie is not its originality or great plot, but the fact it was filmed at the Kimberly Crest Mansion in Redlands, California, near where I live. OK enough trivia; let’s get down to the story basics.
Peter, the president of the Alpha Sigma Rho fraternity, hosts a huge costume party. Peter is making four new fraternity and sorority pledges: Marti (Blair), Jeff (Barton), Seth (Van Patten), and Denise (Suki Goodwin…no relation to Susan) stay at the deserted and possibly haunted Garth Manor until dawn on hell night. Peter tells the four pledges the history of the mansion where they are to spend the night.
Twelve years ago to the day, Raymond Garth strangled his wife Lillian to death in the house and then proceeded to murder all of his deformed children. After that, he hanged himself. The police never found the body of the youngest Garth child, Andrew or his brother, Morris. Local legend states that Andrew witnessed the murder of his entire family and may still be living within the manor.
The four innocent pledges locked in the gates of the Garth Manor grounds, find their rooms to spend the night in the old mansion. The scholarly Marti and Jeff get to know one another near the fireplace, while surfer horn dog Seth and druggie Denise get it on up stairs in one of the bedrooms. Peter the president of the fraternity, with the help of his friends, attempts to scare the pledges in the mansion as a big prank. That is, until an unknown prowler begins killing the teens.
As the pledges talk and learn about themselves, they find some of the scary pranks the others have put into place. Thinking everything in the mansion is a prank, they slowly start to realize that the bodies piling up are for real. Could it be possible that the legendary surviving child of old man Garth is killing everyone in gruesome ways? Seth manages to escape the grounds to get help, but no one believes him. This leaves Marti and Jeff left to fight off the crazed killer.
This film is 80’s cheese at its finest. You even have Vincent Van Patten say the word “radical” throughout. The acting is decent, but the characters do stupid things that teens being chased by a killer usually do. The violence is not over the top or really graphic. The atmosphere is creepy throughout. Is this Slasher movie great? Nope, but it is kinda creepy and entertaining.


Feminist Slasher Project Research:

The Marti character played by Linda Blair was an intelligent, self supportive and beautiful college student, where the Denise character was just dumb, drugged out, eye candy. Marti made it known to an interested Jeff that she was not a whore, which he respected about her. Marti was the nerdy student who knew how to use her smarts as an advantage by having the popular girls pay her to tutor them and compensate all her school and board expenses. She is also a mechanic, who can fix cars. At the same time Marti is scared and makes stupid mistakes when the violence erupts, as any normal person would be. When left to fight her attacker she does her best to survive. Because of this strong female presence, I’d have to give “Hell Night” a Green Light for the Feminist Slasher Project.

The Majorettes (1986) 12 out of 100

James "The Jimi" Hattar submitted the following investigation for The Feminist Slasher Project.

Play by Play:

“The Majorettes” (aka: “One by One”) (1986) directed by S. William Hinzman and written by “Night of the Living Dead” co-writer John A. Russo, is a B-movie Slasher flick at its most crappiest. There's more than meets the eye in this wacky combination of horror flick, murder mystery, action thriller and teen drama.
Dressed in army surplus garb, a hooded psycho is killing off the members of a high school cheerleading squad one by one in a small Pennsylvania town. The local sheriff and a federal officer investigate the killings. Other back stories are happening around them that includes a greedy nurse plotting to kill her elderly employer and her daughter for a piece of an inheritance. The nurse's creepy son, who is a janitor at the school, stumbles upon a clue in the killings and a local drug dealing biker gang that's suspected in the killings complicates matters for the investigators.
The murders of each cheerleader consist of the killer cutting their throats with a big knife. Not very inventive horror at all. Another problem with this flick really begins when the killer’s identity is revealed far too soon leaving the last half of the story filled with a poorly made and generic Rambo style action sequence where the school quarterback chases and fights some biker dudes with a machine gun in the middle of a forest. This bizarre action scene comes off like a parody more than anything else. The other scenes dealing with the nurse trying to kill an elderly woman for her money is played out like a bad, made for TV murder mystery.
“The Majorettes” was not scary, interesting or entertaining at all. This flick had me either laughing or cursing the Gods the whole time. The horrible acting and dialogue, the really cheap production values and a score that sounds like it was made on a $25 Casio keyboard are just some of the horrors that await you if you watch this piece of fecal matter. Don’t say The Jimi didn’t warn you.


Feminist Slasher Project Research:

What was the role of the women in this film? Well, the cheerleaders were eye-candy and that’s it. They were victims and dumb ones at that. When they're not performing badly choreographed cheerleading routines, they are prancing around in butt-hugging leotards or skimpy bikinis or they take long, hot showers (Hmmmmm…The Jimi likes long, hot showers). The nurse character was portrayed as an old, murdering, money grubbing bitch. This flick had no strong or interesting female characters at all. I hated this movie very much and because I love women, I’ll have to give “The Majorettes” a bright RED light for the Feminist Slasher Project.