There’s been a rash of horror flicks this past two years as the followers of the genre have risen in numbers as indicated by the box-office. Opening today on DVD is the low budget thriller The Haunting of Alice D. Nothing remarkable, but yet a reasonable chance to gasp, gulp, cringe and shriek in the privacy of your own home. Not at the top of my list for good horror, the film lacks talented acting, a surefire scary plot and top notch direction that can bring a thrilling script to the screen.
The film opens in the late 1800’s America and we find Delilah (Kaylee Signore/Sarah Nicklin) and her teen sister Alice (Kristina Page) in the bedroom of a brothel owned by the heinous Sir Davenport (Kane Hodder). Orphaned, they are being held captive and made to work as prostitutes. Before long Delilah gets sold to another man leaving Alice alone and in the hands of the beast.
Flash forward and we find the great grandson Joe Davenport (Juan Riedinger) holding a party at the house that served as the brothel and has been handed down to him. Inviting his best friends and several hookers, the plan is to have a wild time celebrating his best friend Michael’s (Aaron Massey) return to the neighborhood. When Joe starts seeing visions of Alice, things start getting out of hand in the old house of ill repute and death.
Novice director, writer (and established actress…she plays Natasha in the film) Jessica Sonneborn films the story using drab and dark rooms as if decorated back in the 1800’s to give the feel of stepping into the past. She introduces her modern day characters with Joe being the instigator in getting his friends together for a good time. His character personifies his grandfather in the treatment of the prostitutes as just items for his pleasure. Sonneborn turns up the fear factor by flashing back to the past and showing the terror that Alice faced, then bringing her into the midst of Joe’s wild party seeking revenge.
While the sets and costumes are very good, you can see the effect of a lacking budget to make it all come together as the vicious script it was meant to be. Special effects are not very good and the creepiness that could have been never materializes. Most of the actors show their amateur side a bit too much and make their roles unexciting and not realistic enough. The nudity becomes gratuitous and the sex meaningless, while the slash and stab goes over the top with very little horror behind it all.
That said, I did like the flash back scenes showing Alice’s (shared by Signore and Nicklin) growing hatred and desire for revenge of her fallen fate. Kane Hodder makes a good task master as Sir Davenport a lecherous man who has no conscious. He offers his women for sex and sale while getting a few favors for himself. Of the modern day cast the only real emotion comes from Juan Riedinger as Joe Davenport who turns the night into a stag party gone wrong. His fear however, doesn’t evoke enough audience gasps or groans to carry the horror that the film richly needs.
The Haunting of Alice D has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, gore, drug use, sex, nudity and language. Caution is suggested for viewing by anyone under the age of 17.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good try, but not enough of what it takes to be a thriller. (C-)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Kristina Page, Juan Riedinger, Aaron Massey, Megan Hensley, Sarah Nicklin, Al Snow, Kane Hodder, Kaylee Signore
Directed by: Jessica Sonneborn
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Contains, violence, drugs, nudity, sex, language
Genre: Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 19 min.
Video Release Date: May 3, 2016
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: Closed Captions
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: RJL Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
