Two orphan girls journey into an abandoned crypt and suddenly become possessed by an evil spirit. They then dwelve into devil worship and terrorize the convent they call home.Now first of all, a lot of people like to call Alucarda a derivative and member of the Exorcist line of horror movies. It's not. What the director, Montezuma, was trying to do was reinvent Dracula and the vampire myth. Instead of the immortal euro trash male with fangs and a real thirst of blood, we got a "heliophobic demon." possessing two young girls. Even before the party gets started, we are introduced to Alucarda who comes off as somewhat of an emotional vampire who feeds off those around her. It's a really interesting picture. It was very atmospheric. Great use of locations as well.
What really makes the film work is the actors. Tina Romero really creeps up the place as Alucarda. Before and after being possessed. Someone who feeds of emotions, You can somewhat say she's a bit bipolar. She plays the character full to the hilt. You also got the great Claudio Brook doing double duty as the good doctor and what could be the villain. I'm not sure. Brook reminds me of some of the Hammer guys like Lee and Cushing. His acting is very natural. You think he's just part of the film. A true master.
The Mondo Macabro disc is Divine. It comes with a small documentary about Montezuma, a biography, a filmography, a Montezuma interview, an interview with Guillermo del Toro about how Montezuma influenced him, stills and a kick ass trailer. This disc is a fracking treasure trove. The only complaint is that there is a slight hum in the audio. It's not annoying. just there. But an awesome DVD none the less.
three and a half stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment