Horror Watch: Alucarda (1977)

Watched:  09/08/2025

Format:  Criterion

Viewing:  First

Director:  Juan Lopez Moctezuma

Now that's how you make a horror movie.

Start with a base of Carmilla, the pre-Dracula vampire story about sapphic vampires (or 1970's The Vampire Lovers), sprinkle in some Dracula, add in some The Exorcist, probably three or four movies I'm not thinking of or aware of, and then a dollop of Carrie for the finale.  

A Mexican-produced film, Alucarda (1977) is just batshit from the first scene and then cranks it up to 11.  I'm not sure it's in any way scary - any more than a Hammer film ever feels frightening - but it's a crazy spectacle - and never fails to be *interesting*.

Sometime after the colonial era, a woman gives birth to a baby in a dilapidated temple of some sort, and gives her baby to an odd-looking fellow I would not hand MY newborn baby, asking him to secret away the baby to a nearby convent.  She names the baby Alucarda (or A Dracula, backwards, natch).  15 years later Alucarda is still at the convent when Justine arrives.  

Justine and Alucarda immediately become best-pals with hints of burgeoning romance between them.  But they fall in with some Travelers while out and about - one of whom is the odd man from earlier.  Anyway, I'm pretty sure he's Satan.  Or close enough.  Someone you'd see Goody Proctor hanging about with, at any rate.  

It's kind of hard to describe what happens after this as the girls become possessed, causing strife within the convent, priests are called to sort things out, a doctor is called in, the nuns are at odds about what to do, but partake in self-flagellation.  People just hover.  One nun has an unhealthy fixation on Justine.  

Anyhoo...  if you can tolerate your fair share of nudity, blasphemy, mash-ups of horror-concepts involving vampires and demonic possession, and so, so much screaming...  I think this is a pretty solid entry not just in Criterion's Nunsploitation playlist, but in your Halloween horror viewing.  Just not with the kids.

Alucarda's return to the convent and subsequent freak out is just solid stuff.  That shit is crazy.  

Three thumbs up.  No notes.   If you're going to just swing for the fences, this one manages to bloop right over the wall in right field.