Grand Guignol entertainment, Mexican-style. I guess every country had to cash in on the "possessed nuns" sub-genre of the '70s and Mexico was no exception. Following on from the Gothic horror wave of the late '50s and early '60s, this slice of south-of-the-border madness is a period-set horror tale, a unique and very visual experience thanks to the participation of the unusually-named director Juan Lopez Moctezuma. The movie does benefit from a pace which, after the slow set up of the first half hour, doesn't let up one bit, and colourful and distinctive cinematography which brings out the best of the atmospheric crumbling church sets and creepy crypts in which much of the movie takes place. Add in huge chunks of sex and violence and you have a movie tailor-made for the exploitation fan.As per usual with Mexican (and Spanish) movies, the acting is not the film's strong point. The one exception is Claudio Brook, who plays the dual role of an evil, hunchbacked gypsy who may or may not be the devil in disguise, and also the heroic fatherly doctor who leads the second half of the film. Elsewhere, we have Susana Kamini being pretty creepy as the innocent-turned-demonic Justine, unsuspectingly lured into Satanic ways, and Tina Romero going too far and becoming laughable as the hair-tearingly mad Alucarda, the devil's daughter who gets up to all kinds of mischief. The rest of the female cast is just there for the visual appeal, appearing naked in an orgy sequence or burning at the film's climax.For the undiscerning horror fan, ALUCARDA, SISTERS OF Satan offers up the following treats: a mouldering corpse in a coffin; the creepy hunchbacked gypsy; a church full of statues of the crucified Jesus; naked Satanic shenanigans; devil possession; an orgy; a nun weeping tears of blood; mass whippings; a failed exorcism; a gaggle of writhing nuns; torture; a possessed soul transforming into a rotted skeleton; burning nuns and monks; and a catastrophic conclusion in which the whole convent crumbles to dust and burns at the same time.Graphically speaking, there are two explicit gore sequences to shock even the most jaded viewer. The first comes when a burnt corpse comes back to life and has to be gruesomely beheaded by a sword-wielding nun - sticky, bloody, disgusting stuff. The second is the unforgettable sight of a blood-drenched naked girl rising from a blood-filled coffin and taking a huge bite out of a sister's neck (resulting in Fulci-esque gouts of spurting crimson gore), before being splattered with holy water which results in her dissolution. I've never seen anything like it! The bright-red blood and special effects of this film are pretty good too, adding to the overall effective of a cheap, tacky and exploitation-orientated B-movie which offers everything the horror fan could want.

Ya can't really argue with the appeal of this one on a generic level - evil possessed sexy teenager unleashes batsh*t mayhem on her adoptive convent, staffed by nuns who are less costumed than swaddled. There's not much plot to get in the way of the total destruction, just some silly guy whose Voice of Reason is inserted specifically to get smacked down - Evil Is Real, get used to it, how's that for a moral. And the naked satanic blood rite administered by the creepy Goat Guy is a genuinely haunting set piece, and not the last one. I only wish everyone would stop screaming! "JUSTINE JUSTINE!" "ALUCAAAARDAAAA!" "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Don't watch this with a hangover.

Fair enough, nunsploitation isn't my favourite horror sub-genre; but given all I'd heard about this Mexican flick, I was expecting a much better film. The film reminded me a lot of Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, as we follow a young girl's odyssey into something above her head. The film fuses nuns with satanic rituals, a commentary on the church and a bucket load of blood and nudity. Alucarda comes together well in terms of style, but in terms of substance; the film has none, and since not everything makes sense; this can be a difficult film to care too much about. The film opens with the birth of a baby, and then moves on to follow an adolescent in a convent. This adolescent is Alucarda; a young lady that doesn't believe in the church and takes a vow to worship Satan instead. After corrupting one of her fellow pupils and meeting a rather odd gypsy in the woods; the pair manages to get on the wrong side of their religious leaders, and end up inspiring them to hypocritically commit evil as they attempt to exorcise the demons from the pair...which leads to a lot of blood and nudity.Director Juan López Moctezuma clearly cared more about the style of the film than anything else, and this is the strongest element. The film looks great, and titular scenes that see such things as a naked girl covered in blood attempting to claw a nun's eyes out are major highlights. It's quite unclear as to exactly what the point is, however, and this is unfortunate as if this film had been fused with a strong plot; it could have been a true masterpiece of cult cinema. The atmosphere is good and truly surreal as we follow the girls' descent into Satanism, and the director always makes sure that the action is pitch black and memorable for that reason. The film is littered with taboo breaking scenes that include lesbianism and bizarre torture rituals; but it isn't until the end when it lets rip with a fitting bloodbath of an ending, that would have been really good if the action leading up to it was on par. I can certainly see why people like this film, as it features some great scenes and certainly delivers on it's cult movie promise; but personally I can't say I enjoyed it all that much.

...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