Haunting of Alice D, The (DVD)
Starring Juan Riedinger, Aaron Massey, Megan Hensley, Al Snow, Kane Hodder, Kristina Page
Written and directed by Jessica Sonneborn
One stormy night in the distant future, once you’ve grown tired of solving the cryptic mysteries served up by every formulaic haunted house story where a ghost has been cheated and mistreated, you might as well watch a marathon of every horror movie beginning with the words The Haunting of… just for fun.
Is this officially a horror brand? These titles are becoming the new “Don’t” films, and the latest offering, The Haunting of Alice D from actress-turned-director Jessica Sonneborn, doesn’t have much reason to exist aside from its marketing-friendly title designed to attract even the faintest recognition from horror movie fans. But Kane Hodder is in it, gang! Well, okay, he’s just in the flashbacks, but still…
Beginning in 1898, the Davenport mansion was used as an upscale brothel until a young woman named Alice (Kaylee Signore) committed suicide out of desperation. Abused by Sr. Davenport – played by horror icon Kane Hodder (there he is wearing a winged collar and ruffled shirt!) – Alice returns to haunt the establishment once the brothel is finally closed and eventually forgotten. A century later, the Davenport heir (Riedinger) takes over the house and celebrates by throwing a party complete with a couple of old friends, plenty of booze, and doobage… oh, and a few hookers for the sake of history.
So the stage is set for the group to eventually pair off, get off, and then die horribly. The only problem is that Alice’s ghost (now played by Page) doesn’t seem to know her theater cues, failing to appear when she should be force jumping out of the shadows to scare the revelers and, you know, us.
Once the first two victims get done in off-screen after apparently being attacked by the cameraman (we never see Alice here at all), they are quickly forgotten about by everyone else. Pale and white-eyed, Alice does start to pop up occasionally, but only Joe, the dastardly heir to the Davenport curse, sees her fleeting cameos. Unfortunately, aside from a few looks of confusion, Joe’s too busy being an asshole to care, which dispels any growing suspense that may have begun to form. Instead, we’re given a couple more flashbacks to showcase Hodder’s role and discover when things really went wrong way back when.
If Sonneborn is trying to use her ghost sparingly in order to make the few jump scares seem more jarring or to create a slow but steady build to a climactic ending, she inadvertently loses any interest that could’ve been generated earlier by showing Alice front and center tormenting the characters as they become more frightened as the night goes on. Playing one of the escorts herself, Sonneborn seems reluctant to show the brutality of the situation and the horror of being trapped in a house with an angry apparition. Choosing to focus on quieter moments between characters, any potential scares are replaced in favor of conversation and explanation. There’s plenty of foreplay in The Haunting of Alice D, just not much action.
Okay! Now for the positives. The performances of Aaron Massey as Michael – a sweet and moral guy uninterested in paying for sex – and Riedinger’s sadistic turn as the spoiled and pervy Joe are standouts that anchor the movie. Michael’s moments with the hesitant but desperate Jenny (Hensley) show two comfortable actors that have good chemistry, a relief when so many young actors in horror seem caught in headlights. There are (finally) some effective appearances by a screaming Alice quickly driving Joe insane, especially a moment in a clawfoot bathtub. However, it’s too little too late, and as a result, The Haunting of Alice D drowns in its own murky waters.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
