Alucarda

Alucarda

1978

Director- Juan López Moctezuma

From Mexico

Cast- Tina Romero, Susana Kamini, David Silva, Claudio Brook, Tina French

             

     Despite the name, this is not a cheesey vampire flick where the lord of the undead spells his name backwards to thwart his enemies. What it is, is one of the most subversive, sacrilegious, and beautiful stories ever committed to film.

            The movie opens with Alucarda’s mother giving birth and entreating the midwife to take the newborn to a convent to keep her safe from the forces of darkness that are apparently closing in.

            Fast forward fifteen years and a new girl, Justine (Susana Kamini), is arriving at a convent-orphanage managed by a sect of nuns. Another orphan girl, Alucarda (Tina Romero), takes an immediate interest in Justine and develops a deep infatuation with her. Justine and Alucarda become fast friends and while playing in the forest encounter a rather devilish looking gipsy (long time actor Claudio Brook who also appeared in Guillermo del Torro’s Cronos, the James Bond film, License to Kill  and Devil’s Rain).

            They find a small alcove which, unbeknownst to them is the same place where Alucarda was born and they unwittingly release some dark force. Things move along quickly to a hallucinatory manifestation of the demonic gipsy who leads the girls in a very erotic ceremony where they commit themselves to each other and the devil. The two girls, kneeling naked before each other exchange blood, Alucarda licking it from Justine’s breast and lips.

      The nuns quickly observe a change in the girls and submit them to an exorcism, killing Justine in the process. This unhinges Alucarda’s already fragile ego. Alucarda has her revenge in a display of pyrokinetic powers apparently granted to her by Satan.

            This movie is very literate. The occult elements seem very realistic. Despite the obvious erotic, and lesbian, undertones, the movie is not salacious or, in my estimation, exploitive. Unlike the Hammer starlets whose breasts were perpetually falling out of their dresses, the two girls are normally dressed very conservatively in dresses going from their neck to their ankles. The sexual elements are purposeful and relevant.

           

The star of this film, and the thing that sells it completely is Alucarda herself, brilliantly played by Tina Romero. Her emotions are so raw, so powerful and authentic. Her anger seems so intense. Her need for Justine seems passionate and real. 

            Also of note is the art direction. The convent is not your typical Catholic fare.  It is dark and seems to be carved out of rock into a cave. The nuns, rather than the usual monochromatic habits, are covered in bloodstained bandages (from their self-flagellation) making them look like gory mummies. There are so many striking visual images, it’s hard to pick out which ones stand out most; the girls at a witches Sabbath with a goat headed master, a nun kneeling before Justine’s naked body, Justine rising from the dead, naked and covered in blood.

            This movie remains relatively unheard of, but I give it the highest recommendation possible. It is provocative but treats the subjects respectfully. It is not an obvious film spelling out everything. Rather the viewer must decide for themselves how and why certain things happen. It is not a movie you're likely to forget.