I only rented The Haunting of Alice D on Demand for two reasons. One, the cover art looked kind of cool. Two, the film features my friend Chanel Ryan, more-so known for her roles in Bad Kids Go to Hell and Circus of the Dead. It’s always important to support your friends, especially in this industry. I rented The Haunting of Alice D last night and unfortunately fell asleep about ten minutes into the movie. This was, of course, due to my sleepless night the previous evening mixed with a ten hour short film shoot as much as it was the film’s slow opening. So, this morning I gave it another viewing with my full attention. Here’s my thoughts.
The Haunting of Alice D is written and directed by Jessica Sonneborn. She also stars in this horror film alongside Eliza Swenson (Beast of Bray Road, Penny Dreadful Picture Show), Julianne Tura (Bloody Bloody Bible Camp), Michael Reed (The Disco Exorcist), Juan Riedinger (Grave Encounters, Jennifer’s Body), Kristina Page (Piranha Sharks), Megan Hensley (The Crazies), Aaron Massey (Gone Girl, Midnight Movie), Sarah Nicklin (The Sins of Dracula), Josh Hammond (Jeepers Creepers II), Al Snow (“WWE,” Camp Massacre) and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th, Hatchet) as Sir Davenport.
Synopsis: “In the late 1890s the Davenport House was a famous and successful brothel, until a young prostitute named Alice killed herself there. After her death, the brothel became haunted by Alice’s ghost, and was eventually abandoned. More than a century later, the old structure is renovated into a beautiful mansion. It is still rumored to inhabit the ghost of Alice. Despite this, the new owner; the rich and arrogant heir to the Davenport fortune, decides to throw a wild party for his first night in the house.”
To be fair, I want to say that The Haunting of Alice D has been successful in its own right and I think it’s been pretty popular, too. The film screened in a whole bunch of film festivals and even took home a couple awards. And, hey, it did get a deal through Image Entertainment. My point here is that a lot of people dig this movie… I’m just not one of them. I just didn’t get it. I still don’t get how this movie is popular, especially due to the run time’s almost complete lack of horror up until the last ten minutes. A flashback here and there, a scary story, a table moving on its own and lights flickering doesn’t make for a scary movie; it doesn’t even make for a good ghost movie. Where was the horror? Only in the last ten minutes, which is a long time to wait for only a decent payout.
The Haunting of Alice D could easy be retitled to The Whoring of Alice D because the feature relies heavily on unsavory elements and sex to sell its story. During every flashback scene the brothel showcases prostitution, rape and abusive of women. During the scenes in the present day, the house has pretty much the same elements, with friends and brothers renting prostitutes and of course not treating them with the smallest shred of dignity. We all can enjoy attractive women and a nice set of boobs, but any sexuality the film tried to establish was thrown away with the harsher elements of rape and prostitution. Things are less fun when bad choices, abuse and lots of crying are tossed in. I don’t think The Haunting of Alice D was made to be a happy movie, but there were definitely conflicted themes.
I can criticize the camera work because a lot of the action and death sequences happen below or behind the camera, which means we never get to see the goods – culminating in an ending that made no sense. The scores were cheap for such an upscale production, too. This perplexes me because everything else was fantastic. The story was a little mismatched in thematics, but it had a great basis and was a terrific idea for a horror film. The direction was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the dark tones and lighting the scenes were set up and shot with. My favorite aspect, though, was the acting. Everyone was fantastic and delivered appropriate and realistic performances that showcased why most of the cast members are recognized within the horror film industry. Stellar acting all around.
The Haunting of Alice D is a miss on several accounts, but it’s still not a failing grade. I’d say it’s just about average. Final Score: 5 out of 10.
