User reviews

Alucarda (Tina Romero) is an impressionable young lady who develops a fondness for displays of blasphemy and Satanic worship. Susana Kamini is Justine, a sweet-faced teenager who joins Alucarda as she goes off the rails. Ever-reliable Claudio Brook, essaying the good Doctor Oszek, is unconvinced of the merits of possession until he tangles with our devil-loving teeners.

Director Juan Lopez Moctezuma delivers a texturally rich, erotic tableau of horror. Setting his film in a convent, he exploits every religious symbol he can get his hands on in order to fully realize his nightmarish vision of Satanic anarchy amongst those of the cloth.

Similar in tone to Ken Russell's THE DEVILS, this is a more Gothic work with a strong religious flavour. Its erotic aspects are quite potent (there is much nudity), as are its numerous detours into bloodshed and self-inflicted violence.

A slack third act had a detrimental effect on my overall enjoyment of the piece. I became slightly bored and prayed for a quick, fiery finale.

Undeniably a work of passion and skill, its fire-baked imagery and scream-filled soundtrack color it highly valid in horror annals.

"Alucarda" is one of those interesting horror titles that successfully blends art with trash. It has a somewhat limited colour palate - reds, browns, tans and the like - and director Juan Lopez Moctezuma creates a remarkable gallery of truly disturbing imagery. It treads on fairly familiar ground in terms of religious horror, yet it is compelling in its own sordid way. A well chosen cast delivers deeply committed performances, although some of the ladies do so much screaming that it may well put off some viewers. It's pretty short at only 78 minutes, and doesn't really have that much story. But Moctezuma just drenches the whole thing in real doom and gloom atmosphere.

Alucarda (Tina Romero) and Justine (Susana Kamini) are two young ladies who meet at a convent and soon develop a turbulent relationship. The more headstrong Alucarda decides that they will defy and question their religious teachings, leading to much conflict with the priests and nuns. Soon, it is determined that the girls must be possessed and that exorcisms will have to be performed.

One nice touch is to have the heroic Dr. Oszek (Mexican icon Claudio Brook), a man of science, begin to believe the same things as his counterparts, and fear for the life of his daughter Daniela (Lili Garza). Everything builds and builds to a very intense finale with lots of death and destruction. Some horror fans will delight in the frequent nudity and the heavy doses of blood. Our two main actresses Romero and Kamini are both quite attractive and alluring.

This comes recommended to fans of this sub-genre.

Seven out of 10.

The movie is a little hard to follow, but that doesn't take away from the eerie creepiness of the whole film. The best and most memorable part of this movie was the costumes. The nuns were wearing what looks like white, layered cheesecloth or that material you wrap around your sprained wrist. They have it wrapped around their heads, necks and chest, while it flows out into a dress in three layers down below. Seems very course, tight and uncomfortable. Every nun has her own tinges of dirt and blood on her dress. Mostly blood has lightly gotten all over the dresses to give the convent a feel of filth, stench and poverty. Mystery, too, as you wonder why the dresses are so bloody in the first place. Is it their own blood? In the front/middle of the skirt, there is always a very high concentration of blood, as if the nuns wiped their hands on this apron or even menstruated on it! It's quite disturbing and odd. Do Mexican Catholic nuns wear uniforms like this?

The other very memorable part of this movie is the character Alucarda. This actress is amazingly good. She plays the devilish child role extremely well. Her eyes sparkle with dark evil glances and she moves and dances in a possessed and spooky way! Like a little girl who is totally absorbed in herself. This actress was really impressive and her long, dark, fluffy hair really added to her charm.

This movie is worth watching for these two reasons. You will never see such a good demon-child or such discomforting costumes in any movie. Recommended!

After much deliberation and, at one time, even an outright cancellation, I finally took the plunge and purchased Mondo Macabro's R1 SE DVD of Juan Lopez Moctezuma's diabolical horror opus ALUCARDA, which I've received a few days ago and have now watched for the first time. Essentially a modest undertaking, it still manages to be a very creepy piece (the demonic sound effects in particular) and, quite frankly, I found ALUCARDA a lot more enjoyable than either THE DEVILS (1971) and THE EXORCIST (1973) – perhaps the most obvious touchstones of the 'demonic possession' subgenre.

Before writing this personal appraisal, I've re-read all the reviews for the R1 disc I could find on the internet and one thing that I don't remember having been mentioned anywhere is that, unlike most films of its type, Alucarda is not gradually possessed but, as can be seen from the very first scene (her clandestine birth in an unused barn 'decorated' by the relics of ancient demons), she is possibly a spawn of the devil! In fact, her very first appearance as a grown-up – manifesting out of the shadows, like a supernatural entity, behind new intern Justine – seems to substantiate this thesis. The girl's essentially malevolent nature may have been tempered by her stay in the convent (considering her own genuine confusion and shock when, drawn to the barn once again, it is powerfully re-awakened) but it's also obvious that, perhaps unwittingly, she may also have been working her spell on the other nuns: their own religious zeal borders on possession (at one point one of them actually levitates and sweats blood, and witness also their behavior during the grueling exorcism scene).

The film offers any number of highly effective (and potentially subversive) imagery: the nuns themselves, clad exclusively in white, resemble nothing less than a host of mummies; the catacomb-like convent setting with its overhanging religious paraphernalia; a shepherd (usually associated with Christ as leader of the Church) is actually the tempter here, leading the two girls first into a lesbian blood pact and subsequently a demonic orgy!; there are also elements of vampirism on display, as when a charred corpse is suddenly re-animated and has to be restrained by being viciously beheaded and the scene in which Justine (also thought to have died) emerges naked and blood-soaked from a coffin filled with copious amounts of the red stuff and unceremoniously takes a bite off Sister Angelica, who had always been over-protective of the two girls (a sure sign of her own latent lesbianism)!; Alucarda's demise, fading away during the fiery climax when faced with Sister Angelica (being carried by the other nuns) striking a cross-like pose.

Another powerful scene is when Alucarda is sent to confession: she provokes and confounds the priest by first questioning his faith, and then taunts him to give in to his lust for her. The ending has caused a lot of debate: I must say that I had no trouble at all with the conflagrated figure of Christ on the cross. As for the film's apparent unwillingness to take sides, all I can say is this: while organized religion is definitely not portrayed in a good light (the cringe-inducing exorcism as already mentioned but also the self-flagellation sessions), it is also obvious that Alucarda and Justine would need to perish at the end, as we certainly cannot have Satanism emerge triumphant!

Though the film is obviously a period piece, there is no overpowering urge here to recreate it in detail (as was evident in THE DEVILS, for instance) – and, in fact, I would say that the film feels quite 'modern'. The acting is high-pitched but involving: Claudio Brook's ambivalent dual roles and Tina Romero (who also does double-duty as an actress, which fact I was not aware of until I re-read Mondo Digital's review!) – she is effortlessly seductive and possesses (no pun intended) an undeniable screen presence, yet this is mixed with an odd vulnerability which makes her something more than a conventional 'possessed' girl. The synthesizer-based score is also very effective, and genuinely unnerving.

Still, that quote from 'The Psychotronic Video Guide' on the DVD cover is somewhat misleading: it's true that the film is awfully bloody at times but this and the nudity are certainly not consistent, or in any way extreme, like I was led to believe! And while there IS a lot of screaming (I'd say even more so than in THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE [1974]), it is not as annoyingly hysterical as that heard in THE DEVILS either (though I concede that the latter film was made on a far broader scale). Conversely, the so-called 'Satanic' orgy is no great shakes; in fact, as a rule, I did not find the film all that shocking!

Some of you here may know that I'm not a great fan of Alejandro Jodorwosky's work, so I was actually thankful that ALUCARDA proved very dissimilar in approach to that film-maker's 'Surrealistic' films. On the other hand, I did feel that the few snippets I saw of Moctezuma's MANSION OF MADNESS (1971) smacked unmistakably of Jodorowsky's somewhat extremist style (though, being based on Poe, I would still love to watch it and, hopefully, Mondo Macabro's proposed DVD edition is not too long in coming)!

One final question with regards to ALUCARDA: does anyone know whether there is actually a longer 90-minute version of this film? Pete Tombs of 'Mondo Macabro' says he could not find any evidence of this, yet some (who were around when it first came out) feel that the 'present' version is somewhat choppy!

Now to the DVD itself: the print, with all its apparent defects and the fact that it is presented full-frame (though it may well be its OAR), is perfectly acceptable under the circumstances. The audio, however, was somewhat problematic displaying echo and distortion which I found rather distracting (I've encountered this same glitch on a small number of other discs and it has always bothered me) – all in all, the Stereo soundtrack sounded unnatural to my ears, and I truly wish the Spanish track had carried subtitles! The supplements, however, I found to be excellent indeed: the documentary on Moctezuma, as well as the text interview and biography, but also the enthusiastic interview with director Guillermo Del Toro who expresses his admiration for Moctezuma's work in general, and even discloses some of his other influences. The theatrical trailer is said to contain missing footage and alternate angles – but I have to say that, since it was presented in Spanish, I didn't give much attention to it!

This had only been the third Mondo Macabro disc I've purchased, but I look forward even more now to more obscure horror titles from this stable, beginning with THE LIVING CORPSE (1967; in terms of extras alone, perhaps their best release yet), which I hope to order in the very near future...

After being born, and becoming orphaned, under mysterious circumstances, 15 year old Justine ends up in a convent, where she is befriended by a dark young woman named Alucarda. The two quickly form a lesbian relationship, and are about to enter into a blood pact with one another, when a dark force is unleashed...onto the world...or perhaps...into themselves...

Because, immediately after, they are drawn into a booby blood pact with the devil, and initiated into a demonic lesbian cult...both of which they wholeheartedly embrace. Turning against the sister who seeks to protect them, with help from God.

Now, the sadistic priest and other masochistic sisters fear that demonic possession will spread through the entire monastery, like an infection. And, thus, set out to violently exorcise the demons from the two stricken girls.

Justine succumbs to the bloodletting, but a local doctor intervenes, and saves Alucarda, before the clergy have a chance to torture her.

However, after Justine's body disappears and the nuns start to drop from a mysterious curse...the good doctor is forced to question his beliefs- as the more he witnesses, the more he starts to believe in the existence of the devil.

Now, the doctor must fight alongside the church, in order to save the convent, before it too succumbs to Alucarda...and the devil's curse...

This English language inquisition era film from Mexico's Juan López Moctezuma is really well made. The story is disturbingly erotic, and has some excellent gore for an independent feature from the 70's.

One of the auteristic qualities of Moctezuma's work seems to be a focus on issues women face when being subjugated by men and/or patriarchal institutions...but it's hard to tell whether he is making a subtle feminist commentary or just getting off on the sadism of it all.

I'll leave that for the viewer to judge.

A great little film.

7.5 out of 10.

First things first: although the name 'Alucarda' spells 'a Dracula; backwards, this film has nothing to do with vampires—it's simply the name of one of the characters, whose parents obviously didn't consider the possibility of bullying at school (not that the young lady cursed with such a silly moniker would have have stood for any nonsense from her peers: like Stephen King's Carrie, Alucarda is able to deal with those who vex her in spectacularly fiery fashion).

What the film does offer is demonic possession, strict Catholicism, nudity, self-flagellation, lesbianism, torture, orgiastic sex, and more screaming, wailing, and fainting than in the front row at a Take That concert. In short, its a prime slice of 70s nunsploitation, served up Mexican style ie., it's surreal, bloody, and more than a little bit bonkers (not surprising, I suppose, since it was directed by Juan López Moctezuma, the man who produced Alejandro Jodorowsky's equally insane El Topo).

Mixing elements borrowed from The Exorcist, DeSade's Justine, Ken Russell's The Devil's and the aforementioned Carrie, Moctezuma's medley of Mexican madness sees the titular character (played by menacing brunette Tina Romero) seducing pretty young blonde Justine (Susana Kamini) after she joins the convent at which Alucarda is staying. The two girls form a close bond, making a blood pact to die together, and eventually allowing themselves to become host to a demon (or possibly the Devil himself). This obviously upsets the nuns, who call for an exorcism. which in turn, upsets Alucarda. Cue flaming nuns, a collapsing convent, and a whole lot of histrionics!

Amongst the general lunacy, and the incessant screaming, the film offers these particular delights to those with a taste for the truly bizarre: an old hag with more straw in her hair than Worzel Gummidge; a gypsy who is the dead ringer for TV's Catweazle; nuns wearing dirty ra-ra habits (which are like a ra-ra-skirt, only full length, with a cowl, and dirty); a knife made from the tear of a gypsy girl (?!); an orgy attended by women with more hair than Cher, Tina Turner and Amy Winehouse combined; the exchange of blood during a Satanic ceremony; a reanimated dead nun being beheaded; blasphemy during a bible class; death by holy water; and lots and lots of nekkidness.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, and you think you can endure the wall-to-wall cacophony of screams, I say 'go for it'; the film proved a little too avant garde (and noisy) for my taste, but if nothing else, it was certainly a unique experience.

When the teenage orphan Justine (Susana Kamini) arrives in a convent, she befriends Alucarda (Tina Romero), who was raised since she was a baby by the nuns. They become best friends and stay together most of the time. When they meet a gypsy on the forest, he is indeed Satan and possesses the teenagers. Soon the convent is turned upside-down affecting the lives of Alucarda, Justine, the nuns and Father Lázaro (David Silva). The skeptic Dr. Oszek (Claudio Brook) will also witness a showdown between good and evil affecting his beliefs.

"Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas" is a Mexican horror film with a story of Satanism. The screenplay uses exploitation and hysteria showing the hot Tina Romero and Susana Kamini naked in erotic situations. "Alucarda" is a cult that has aged with a genre typical from James Franco in the 70´s. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Alucarda, a Filha das Trevas" (Alucarda, the Daughter of the Darkness")

This deliciously sacrilegious and surreal bit of insanity from 1978 is pure exploitative gold. They just don't make them like this anymore!

The sets are imaginative and quite impressive. The convent has the appearance of a cave and the multiple tiered Christs hanging from the ceiling is one of the most brilliant props I have ever seen! Instead of traditional habits, the nuns are clothed in what appears to be torn bloodied bandages. Tina Romero, who plays Alucarda gives a brooding and wonderfully wicked performance. When the action starts, it keeps a spirited pace right through to the end. There is more hysterical female screaming then I've ever witnessed in a single film! The dialog is over dramatic at times and there are a few moments that are bordering on cheesy but Moctezuma's strange, daunting and moody presentation keeps it from slipping into silliness. There is some great bonus material on the DVD, including a brief doc on the films director, Juan López Moctezuma and an interview with Guillermo Del Toro. You will be treated to bizarre images, flagellating nuns, satanic rituals, copious nudity, lesbianism, and bloody violence. It is all complimented nicely by some trippy organ music. This little gem from Mexico City is a must see for horror fans! Highly recommended!

(aka: SISTERS OF SATAN)

Hey, we get to see foxy Mexican babes go topless and bottomless here. Lot's of titty & pubic hair shown. It's the 70s, remember??

We also get nuns who don't dress in the traditional nun's habit, but dress in what looks like old canvas and cheesecloth, looking like something out of THE MUMMY. The extra on the DVD explains that the director Juan Moctezuma was trying to show some kind of an anti-Catholic viewpoint in the film without looking too anti-Catholic, if that makes any sense whatsoever, which it doesn't to me, anyway.

This film just didn't scare me at all. For one thing, the blood looked like bright red paint and the torture scene didn't look painful and dramatic enough. It looked like just another excuse to show off some nudity for the sake of nudity instead of trying to scare the viewer and be repulsed by such a scene.

For another, the set was too bright. All the outdoor scenes take place in daylight and the indoor scenes are too well lit. The outside of the convent looks cool enough, even in the daylight, but not much else. They're not dark and ambient enough to give it that spooky atmosphere that a story like this deserves.

And besides, the story itself wasn't that good. Not enough historical context is given, making the whole thing seem awkward and clumsy. Plus, the gypsy appears for a brief scene earlier in the film, but then we don't get to see him again.

And this is supposed to be considered one of the better Mexican horror films that's out there? Oh well...

I'll give it a 5 for titty & pubic action.

In 1974 director Julián Soler released "Satanás de todos los horrores", a new version of Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher", suggesting the influence of Juan López Moctezuma's 1972 horror drama "The Mansion of Madness". For López Moctezuma, though, Poe's name and work were as incidental as Sheridan Le Fanu's, whose novella "Carmilla" inspired this masterpiece of gore. The sound and visuals of "Alucarda" went over the top, prompting the publisher of the "Psychotronic Video" magazine to declare that the film had «more blood, loud screaming and nudity than any horror film» he could think of. I suppose that indeed it was, at least in 1978, and it surely called into question the "appropriateness" of the Mexican mini-epics of terror for the middle class that were in vogue, and the stiff upper lip of Hammer vampires and victims of the 1970s. It also came up against the presumptuousness of those Mexican genre directors who denied their cultural roots, in search of a horror cinema made in limbo. In the times of Mexican genre masters Fernando Méndez, Chano Urueta and Rafael Baledón, the Eastern European names and locales of their movies were naïve attempts at worldliness, that made us giggle and panic, as also did products like Portillo's "La momia azteca", that toyed with pre-Columbian cultures and Mexican folklore but was also aligned with the Egyptian mummy of Universal Films. Here worldliness became universal and it was simultaneously rooted in the weirdness or excessive emotion that Mexicans can elicit from themselves as a cultural trait. The representation of fanaticism, guilt, vice and death in "Alucarda", among demented (and lascivious) nuns and monks, proved one more time how correct André Breton was when he declared México «the most surrealist country in the world». Juan López Moctezuma's film gave a grand finale to an era of undeniably wonderful, non-expensive and evocative works in the history of humankind's creation of cultural works of horror, from 1953 (the year when Chano Urueta's "El monstruo resucitado" was released) to 1978, in México.

For the first ten minutes or so I thought 'Alucarda' was going to be a waste of time. It looked very cheap and mediocre. But boy, was I wrong! The movie very quickly kicked into gear and after that it was one fantastic scene after another! I suppose technically this movie could be classified as nunsploitation, as it is most definitely an exploitation movie and it DOES have nuns in it, and, like virtually all the movies in that fascinating subgenre I've seen, it draws a lot of inspiration from Ken Russell's 'The Devils', but I'd be a bit wary of giving it that slightly misleading description. The focus of the movie isn't on the nuns, but the girls they look after, "good" Justine (Susana Kamini) and "evil" Alucarda (Tina Romero), and their strange relationship, and that to me puts it closer to the witch tradition, or even to 70s erotic vampire movies like Hammer's 'The Vampire Lovers' and 'Twins Of Evil', or similar movies by Jess Franco and Jean Rollin. Anyway, this is my first experience with Moctezuma's movies, and if this is anything to go by, I hope it isn't my last! He was a friend of Jodorowsky and produced the cult classic 'El Topo'. 'Alucarda' isn't "just" a horror movie, like Jodorowsky and Ken Russell, Moctezuma creates some unforgettable surreal imagery and that combined with his strong anti-catholicism makes this a very striking movie that will appeal to Bunuel buffs as much as 'Carrie' fans. 'Alucarda' is a very underrated movie and not to be missed!

This is a very enjoyable and entertaining film.

The mood, sets and photography are excellent. Long panning mood shots and even the occasional 360 degree pan show the director and cameraman have many European influences.

The acting is not the best as is the script. Rather too much screaming and extras running back and forth flaying arms around is grating. The story is patchy with hints of Carrie, Exorcist and Dracula.

Overall, apart from these minor points an enjoyable oddity.

did anyone else find themselves viewing Alucarda as the protagonist, and wishing she'd whack all those incessantly screeching nuns? LOL I'm not sure if the film maker intended to highlight the ignorance and violence inherent in Christianity, but he did a fine job of it nevertheless... and as others have said, the screaming does get annoying after awhile, but overall, it's good for some Saturday night popcorn munching with all the lights out. They certainly don't make films like this anymore, not in today's politically-correct society(which makes me wanna puke). Things have become so watered-down, so lifeless... but I digress.

A bad horror B movie in a hardcore version.

This is a frankly weird movie. If, in the one hand, the care and creativity in the settings and even in the wardrobe is evident (the nuns' habits may look like mummies from another planet, but they are original, for sure) despite very limited resources (which even values creativity), on the other hand, the argument is atrocious.

Complete nonsense inspired by all cliché miths of Christianity, plus a lot of blood and a bit of nudity and fetishism.

A bad Roger Corman or Hammer movie, made in Mexico.

To be avoided at all cost. It's not even bad enough to be funny.

Oddly, the first time I saw this movie I was not that impressed. Shortly thereafter, though, I found myself drawn to watch it over and over. This is a really unique vision filled with blood, nudity, tons of screaming and totally quotable dialogue--a class act all the way. Too bad Tina Romero didn't go on to do more English-speaking roles. J.L.Moctezuma's DR. TARR'S TORTURE DUNGEON is also a surreal delight but is not as outrageous as this almost indescribable film.

Romero and Kamini play a pair of teenage orphans who are converted to Satanism by a mysterious Gypsy, opening the gates of hell at their late 19th century convent setting.

Visually impressive but incessantly loud and talky, too much shrieking and biblical ranting distracts from much needed action and thrills. I'm not sure how many times I heard the name 'Justine' being screamed but it was excessive. Almost as indulgent as the full-frontal nudity of both the lead actresses, who seem to spend an inordinate amount of screen time sans wardrobe.

Plenty of claret-spatter, immolations and corpse desecration, but it's not the most realistic looking special effects nor is there any suspense or tension despite the bloodiness. Mexican lead Claudio Brook plays dual roles as the Gypsy and the Doctor, his latter character reluctantly coming to accept that science can't explain the supernatural forces that threaten to overwhelm the convent. Unnatural forces that perhaps only the Cross could bear.

I also thought Tina French playing the more sympathetic Sister was watchable, managing to avoid becoming too hysterical with fear, treating the pair of heretics more as naive victims of the sinister occult as opposed to evil antagonists baying for blood.

'Alucarda' is a strange name you won't soon forget after it's been screamed at high pitch for the best part of 75 minutes, an offbeat witches brew with set design and staging that resembles a gothic theatre play more than a horror feature-film, its plot-lite and despite an occasional visual flourish, much too crude to succeed. Honest attempt with committed performances, but ultimately fails to satisfy.

...Moctezuma was heavily influenced by the Silent films of the teens and 20's and it shows in this film..for its strong points are clearly the beautiful eerie images throughout..THe abstract Convent set in dark creative lighting..the Nuns in their Mummy like shrouds (they are more disturbing than the blood and gore..of which there is plenty)...The Erotic scenes between Alucarda and Justine..beautiful Images of Alucarda in her funeral black Victorian dress.My favorite Image from this film..possibly.. is the initial introduction of Alucarda as she turns around from the shadows to greet her new friend Justine whos newly arrived to the Orphanage..Its a quick creative dreamlike tidbit..the likes I've never seen in film before..Alucarda and Justine's early scenes have a poignancy and loneliness not unlike Soledad Miranda and her playmates in Vampiros Lesbos....It can be touching..Tina Romero(Alucarda)..I'm happy to say is still quite attractive and can be frequently seen in the current Telenovelas(Spanish Soaps)...I say grab a copy of Alucarda from Mondo Macabro..for a little taste o 70's Mexico..its a good little collectors piece...Christopher,2006