This wonderfully titled unknown quantity from Mexico arrives on DVD courtesy of those very strange people at Mondo Macabro/Pagan Films whose devotion to the cause of world celluloid weirdness remains unsurpassed. Alucarda is the first wave of three films to herald the introduction of the Mondo Macabro series devoted to the “Wild Side of World Cinema”.

This lurid, gory shocker more than whets the appetite for more grisly monstrosities from Mondo Macabro as it satisfies on several different levels. Firstly, it scores very prominently on the strangeness scale with its twisted plot of demonic possession and devil worship intertwined with startling images of repressed sexuality and brimming frustration. Secondly, there is enough upfront no nonsense gore to satisfy even the most hardened gore-fiend with scenes of mutilation, especially a spectacular bludgeoning decapitation scene complete with fountains of blood spouting from gaping jugular. If that wasn’t enough depravity to satisfy we also have splendid pseudo-lesbo devil-worshipping blood rituals conducted by a strangely Germanic sounding cousin of Wurzel Gummidge (that moron from that insufferable British TV series) and enough nudity to appease the cravings of the most flesh addicted horror fan. The plot too won’t disappoint those searching for a slice of the monumentally bizarre as it is a scream from beginning to end.

In the opening scene we witness the birth of baby Alucarda to a distraught mother who begs her Wurzel Gummidge wet nurse (?) to protect the little child from “Him”. Then there are some strange “evil” sounds and shooting zooms indicating that all is not well. 18 years or so on, the next shot is of a young orphaned girl Justine arriving at a distant convent run by some extremely dodgy nuns who are dressed in clothes that appear to be stained with their menstrual blood! Each of the nuns go about their business – including nightlong flagellation sessions – wearing these quite disgusting robes stained with congealed blood. You can almost smell the putrid, nauseating stench from their robes while watching the movie unfold. Young impressionable Justine is taken in by the filthy nuns and introduced to her roommate, the wild-eyed girl with the dark, unkempt tresses, the signature black dress and a very odd name; Alucarda. Justine is quickly drawn out of her shell by the effervescent Alucarda and off the two of them go for some serious frolicking sessions with heavy lesbian undertones.

The two of them run and play together lovingly and it isn’t long before the fiery-eyed Alucarda is professing her undying love for Justine. Alucarda takes Justine to an area supposedly infested with evil spirits "it's so beautiuful!" where she claims the key to immortality lies and then proceeds to uncover one of the graves. Suddenly there are odd swishing sounds and Alucarda goes totally berserk. Later when somewhat recovered she leads Justine to a place where she insists they carry out their blood bonding ritual, then all of a sudden the Germanic Wurzel clone appears as if to act as the master of ceremonies. The girls are disrobed, sliced in a strategic area and then proceed to lick the blood from each others wounds – in a scene which appears even more strange as one can see that both actresses were shedding tears profusely during the scene.

The two girls are then taken to some dark pagan ceremony where a vile, heathen orgy takes place as they are inducted into the satanic world – even the goat headed demon makes a welcome appearance looking rather resplendent if a touch sheepish (sorry, lame joke!). Later the girls return to the convent where their behaviour proceeds to send the nuns into fits of outrage. The two devil worshipping girls decide to spice up the Sunday sermon by chiming in their own ode to Satan which leaves the nun’s literally writhing on the floor at the sheer awfulness of the blaspheming words being uttered by the girls.

It is decided after a good nights flagellation to exorcise the girls to rid them of the devil inside them, but an over zealous Padre gets carried away, managing to kill Justine with his dark age exorcism. Alucarda’s life is saved in the nick of time by the village doctor who denounces the barbaric Stone Age religious ceremony and carries Alucarda to the safety of his home. When Alucarda awakens to find herself in the Dr.’s house her alarm is only pacified when she meets the Dr.’s pretty blind daughter who she immediately takes a liking to. Later the doctor is called to the convent for an emergency and dashes over albeit reluctantly at 5am to help out. The ghastly revelations that come to light at the convent have the Doctor reeling especially when he realizes that he has left his blind daughter at home all alone...all alone with Alucarda.

Now we will finally discover if the enigmatic Alucarda is indeed the apostle of Satan himself or then just a maligned, misunderstood, confused and abandoned child with a rebellious, free spirit who cannot cope with the double standards of the Convent and what she believes is their “worship of Death”.

This is a fascinating and an equally bizarre film which brings to mind horror classics such as Carrie and The Exorcist and even Picnic at Hanging Rock - though the similarity is purely coincidental especially in the case of Carrie which was released after Alucarda. The director Juan Lopez Moctezuma has been successful in creating a bizarre surreal netherworld of labyrinths and underground dungeons – where the sun rarely shines and the stench of putrefying blood is never too far off. The acting is in keeping with the finest traditions of Euro-Horror (which this is NOT) with much screaming and overwrought dramatics with Alucarda herself turning in a convincingly manic performance. For jaded horror fans looking for something a little out of the ordinary – this quaint little entry should fit the bill very nicely indeed with its unhinged plot and twisted imagery. For fans of Hollywood mainstream, look elsewhere.