Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

Alucarda (Juan Lopez Moctezuma, 1978)

There's something about seventies horror movies that really gets to me. Not in a scary way, mind you, and not (I don't think, anyway) in a nostalgic way. There's much more of a feeling of transgression in a movie like Alucarda than there is in the latest slasher picture in 2008; while there are certainly still guys who are pushing the envelope (in America, anyway; Eli Roth isn't doing anything Hideshi Hino didn't do twenty years before him, but a lot more Americans saw Hostel than will ever see Mermaid in a Manhole), there's a different feel about the seventies horror romps than there are about the new pictures. Perhaps there was more of an immediacy to envelope-pushing back in the seventies? With so much more being socially acceptable nowadays thanks to the wonders of basic cable, you'd think a movie like Alucarda would feel dated in its extremity, almost boring. And yet that's not the case. I grant you, there's very little in here (aside from the full frontal nudity) you wouldn't see on episodes of certain TV dramas these days, but somehow it still comes across as an over-the-top sex-and-violence extravaganza with serious, and rather ugly, undertones.

The story concerns two lovely young ladies, Alucarda (Tina Romero) and Justine (Susanna Kamini), who are growing up in a Catholic orphanage. Alucarda was taken there just after her birth, while Justine has only recently arrived after the death of her parents. Some odd, otherwordly bond connects the two girls, and it is solidified by a band of gypsies they meet on one of their long walks through the woods (and the process of that solidification is one of the scenes in this movie that's going to have you saying "what the hell was Moctezuma smoking when he made this movie, and where can I get some?"). The process lets the devil out of the young girls and into the convent, in a way, to be fought by the only rational human being left in the movie, Dr. Oszek (Claudio Brook). To say any more about the plot would be to reveal major spoilers for the film, but I can't really describe the enormity of the insanity to be found here without doing so. You'll have to trust me on this-- Alucarda, despite being relatively tame with its sex and gore, goes a lot farther, conceptually, than many more modern films that have trod in its footsteps.

It's tempting, in retrospect, to see this more as a period-piece version of something like The Exorcism of Emily Rose crossed with a good dose of The Devil's Rain; it would certainly convey the atmosphere better (despite the obvious play on words in the title and a number of reviews I've read, the story is far less about vampirism than it is about demonic possession). But the sex and violence angle seems to take a backseat in Moctezuma's film (and Alexis Arroyo's scrrenplay) to the attack on the Church. Granted, Moctezuma softens the blow by having the Church, in this film, be a weird, radical offshoot of Catholicism, but it's still obviously an offshoot of Catholicism (and it's entirely possible Moctezuma simply wanted to portray the whole Catholic church as this particular flavor of crazy; a good deal of Father Lazaro's speech should put the viewer in mind of the Inquisition). Given that, the rather tame nature of the prurient scenes makes sense (they're just seasoning, rather than the main dish), and Alucarda could probably be used as a textbook by more modern directors as to how to integrate such things into their movies, keeping the prurient interest, while still making them at least somewhat integral to the plot; one cannot help but think "communion" during the gypsy ritual, for example.

I can't believe it's taken me this long to see this movie, and I cannot but urge the rest of you who haven't seen it to do so at your earliest opportunity. Yeah, it does have its flaws, but they are eclipsed by the many, many strengths here; the script is very good, the set design is fabulous, the costume designer was truly inspired (though by what I've no idea), Moctezuma's direction is at least competent enough to pay tribute to these things, and the special effects are just cheesy enough to come across as charming rather than stupid. But what's really impressive is how all these things fit together to make this film the iconoclast masterpiece it is. ****

Juan Lopez Moctezuma's horror film Alucarda is mentioned with only moderate frequency as a horror classic, and even then only in the most dedicated circles of horror cinephiles. There are some films that explore the subject of demonic possession far more convincingly (i.e. the Exorcist) so only those horror fans who can appreciate how a film's style is engineered to unnerve its audience will find Alucarda enjoyable. Some less enthusiastic audiences will find Alucarda both gratuitous and even annoying. It's style and atmosphere is unique and clearly the focus of the film. It is like Dario Argento's Suspiria meets Alejandro Jodorowsky El Topo or the Holy Mountain. Jodorowsky was involved in the production of Alucarda so that influence is no surprise.

The film follows a young girl named Justine as she arrives at a convent after the death of her parents. She befriends the mysterious Alucarda who may very well be the spawn of the devil. Basically, what soon follows is a series of horrific events that resemble demonic possession, vampirism, devil worship, and witchcraft.

Alucarda is a very low-budget and modest production. Nevertheless, it is creepy throughout. The sound effects in this film are consistently eerie and sometimes create the horror all by itself. The soundtrack is done with a cheap and unique sounding synthesizer which serves to be both creepy and helps distinguish the style of the film even further. Visually the film is even more bizarre and exceptional. The convent itself looks like a cavern more than an actual building and it is budding with religious imagery that is framed in such a way that we wonder if this is a convent or a witch coven. The nuns in the convent do resemble nuns, but also do not look particularly dissimilar to undead Egyptian mummies either. The girls bump into a random traveling gypsy and also a creepy deformed shepherd who unravels the underlying lesbianism between the two girls and then of course leads them into a naked séance or esbat. There are also some vile moments when the undead emerge screaming, one gets brutally beheaded and another, a girl soaked in blood, violently claws a nun's throat. The film also has some outstanding sequences with fire. You actually have to wonder how some people survived stunts on this set when it was completely consumed in flames.

However, don't let most hardcore horror fans fool you; Alucarda is not a shocking exploitation film. At least it isn't quite as shocking as some people might lead you to believe. There is a lot full frontal female nudity but it's not nearly as much as I expected and it's never too graphic or directly sexual. One scene combines the nudity with violence and that can be shocking. The nude girl rises from a coffin filled with blood and she is covered from head to toe in it. The film is very violent as well but again it's not anything that pushes the limits and the violence doesn't come at you with as much consistency as you might imagine. Alucarda can also get somewhat annoying at times with all of the screaming from the girls. My wife hated the film for that. I've heard it regarded as the film with the most nudity, violence, and screaming ever...or something like that. As a combination of those three things it may very well exceed all other films but overall it does not push enough boundaries to be counted as a significant exploitation film. It is still a great pure horror movie that stands on its own.