Alice in Deathland

Director - Krist Rufty (Cutting Room, Psycho Holocaust)

Starring - Vanelle (Witching Hour II, Dark Awakening), Billy Garberina (Deathbone, I Heart U), and Samantha Novak (House of Purgatory, Wicked Wood)

Release Date - 2015

Genre - Horror/Fantasy

Tagline - "G down the hole forever"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     As I push forward is my movie marathon I find myself at a bit of a unique situation.  Several weeks ago I saw that MVD was handling the Wild Eye release of Alice in Deathland that is part of their Raw and Extreme line.  The Raw and Extreme line has been pretty entertaining up to this point so I reached out for a review copy.  After watching a few no budget indie flicks I decided to finally dig into this one when I realized I had actually seen this one before.  As always, I want to thank MVD and Wild Eye for sending this one my way.

     The film follows Alice who is a junkie who works for her supplier as a prostitute.  She was married and expecting her own bundle of joy but gave in to her addiction and returned to her slums.  While her husbands practically searches for her she had to deal with her drug use, physical abuse, and the cries of her ancestors trying to steer her in the right direction.

     Alice in Deathland is one I had reviewed about five years ago when Wild Eye released is under the title Rags.  I really enjoyed it then and I didn't mind revisiting it.  Honestly, I feel that Alice in Deathland is a much better title than Rags and I love the new artwork even though the original Rags DVD art was great as well. The acting in this one is very one sided. The film has some amateur performances that show talent but lack experience and then you have the intense performance from Billy Garberina who steals every scene he is in. It was not fair to the remainder of the cast that they had to share the camera with Garberina. The story for this one is a great fantasy horror film that I believe borrows heavily from Alice Through the Looking Glass. It was great, had tons of twist and turns, and then went bleak delivering some horror that was very unexpected. The film did drag on a bit at times and needed edited a little better to make the story tighter but it still delivered when it counted. Finally, the film does have a few on screen kills hat are not that impressive or entertaining. However, the film delivers the gore in other ways that I will not mention to prevent from spoiling. The effects for these are minimal but they rely heavily on camera work and editing to pull the gag off. Overall, Alice in Deathland is one impressive piece of indie cinema. The film has one of the most memorable characters I have seen in recent years and one highly entertaining story that goes against the current infatuation with slashers and zombies. Check out this highly original film whenever you get a chance.