Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Alucarda

Original title: Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas
  • 19771977
  • RR
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
  • Horror
After the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a sata... Read allAfter the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a satanic force at work?After the death of her parents, a young girl arrives at a convent and brings a sinister presence with her. Is it her enigmatic imaginary friend, Alucarda, who is to blame? Or is there a satanic force at work?
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Juan López Moctezuma
  • Writers
    • Sheridan Le Fanu(novella "Carmilla")
    • Alexis Arroyo(story)
    • Tita Arroyo(story)
  • Stars
    • Claudio Brook
    • David Silva
    • Tina Romero
Top credits
  • Director
    • Juan López Moctezuma
  • Writers
    • Sheridan Le Fanu(novella "Carmilla")
    • Alexis Arroyo(story)
    • Tita Arroyo(story)
  • Stars
    • Claudio Brook
    • David Silva
    • Tina Romero
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 54User reviews
    • 70Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos25

    Alucarda (1977)
    Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Susana Kamini in Alucarda (1977)
    Alucarda (1977)
    Susana Kamini and Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Claudio Brook and Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Susana Kamini and Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Tina French in Alucarda (1977)
    Susana Kamini in Alucarda (1977)
    Alucarda (1977)
    Alucarda (1977)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Claudio Brook
    Claudio Brook
    • Dr. Oszek…
    David Silva
    David Silva
    • Father Lázaro
    Tina Romero
    Tina Romero
    • Alucarda…
    Susana Kamini
    • Justine
    Lili Garza
    • Daniela Oszek
    • (as Lily Garza)
    Tina French
    • Sister Angélica
    Birgitta Segerskog
    • Mother Superior
    Adriana Roel
    Adriana Roel
    • Sister Germana
    Antonia Guerrero
    Martin LaSalle
    Martin LaSalle
    • Brother Felipe
    • (as Martín Lasalle)
    Manuel Dondé
    Manuel Dondé
    • Wagon Driver
    Adriana Riveroll
    Susan Inman
    Alejandra Moya
    Agustín Isunza
    • Monk
    Paloma Woolrich
    Paloma Woolrich
    Marina Isolda
    Sonia Rangel
    • Director
      • Juan López Moctezuma
    • Writers
      • Sheridan Le Fanu(novella "Carmilla")
      • Alexis Arroyo(story) (screenplay)
      • Tita Arroyo(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Poison for the Fairies
    7.3
    Poison for the Fairies
    Darker Than Night
    6.9
    Darker Than Night
    Satanico Pandemonium
    6.1
    Satanico Pandemonium
    The Mansion of Madness
    5.0
    The Mansion of Madness
    To Kill a Stranger
    5.3
    To Kill a Stranger
    El alimento del miedo
    5.3
    El alimento del miedo
    Messiah of Evil
    6.4
    Messiah of Evil
    Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary
    5.0
    Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary
    Welcome Maria
    Welcome Maria
    Fascination
    6.0
    Fascination
    Lips of Blood
    5.9
    Lips of Blood
    The Book of Stone
    7.3
    The Book of Stone

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alucarda, when spelled backward, becomes 'adracula'.
    • Quotes

      Alucarda: And this is what the devil does.

      Alucarda: He grants us vertues to expand his kingdom, the only valid one.

      Justine: God with his lack of knowledge, does not understand this truth.

      Justine: And apose of it with false toughts and prayers.

      Mother Superior: [Mother Superior screams] God, silence.

      Alucarda: [Alucarda and Justine both chant] Satan satan satan, our lord and master.

      Alucarda: I acknowledge thee as my god and prince.

      Alucarda: I promise to serve and obey thee as long as i shall live.

      Alucarda: I renounce the other god and all the saints.

      Mother Superior: Don't listen to them, don't listen to them.

      Mother Superior: Go out of the room.

      Mother Superior: Sister Carras, take the children out of the room.

      Mother Superior: Go, go.

      Alucarda: Satan satan, i promise thee that i will do as much evil as i can.

      Alucarda: I will draw everyone else to evil.

      Alucarda: I won't fail to serve and adore thee.

      Alucarda: I give you my life and my soul.

    • Connections
      Featured in Mondo Macabro: Mexican Horror Movies (2002)

    User reviews54

    Review
    Top review
    ALUCARDA (Juan Lopez Moctezuma, 1975) ***
    After much deliberation and, at one time, even an outright cancellation, I finally took the plunge and purchased Mondo Macabro's R1 SE DVD of Juan Lopez Moctezuma's diabolical horror opus ALUCARDA, which I've received a few days ago and have now watched for the first time. Essentially a modest undertaking, it still manages to be a very creepy piece (the demonic sound effects in particular) and, quite frankly, I found ALUCARDA a lot more enjoyable than either THE DEVILS (1971) and THE EXORCIST (1973) – perhaps the most obvious touchstones of the 'demonic possession' subgenre.

    Before writing this personal appraisal, I've re-read all the reviews for the R1 disc I could find on the internet and one thing that I don't remember having been mentioned anywhere is that, unlike most films of its type, Alucarda is not gradually possessed but, as can be seen from the very first scene (her clandestine birth in an unused barn 'decorated' by the relics of ancient demons), she is possibly a spawn of the devil! In fact, her very first appearance as a grown-up – manifesting out of the shadows, like a supernatural entity, behind new intern Justine – seems to substantiate this thesis. The girl's essentially malevolent nature may have been tempered by her stay in the convent (considering her own genuine confusion and shock when, drawn to the barn once again, it is powerfully re-awakened) but it's also obvious that, perhaps unwittingly, she may also have been working her spell on the other nuns: their own religious zeal borders on possession (at one point one of them actually levitates and sweats blood, and witness also their behavior during the grueling exorcism scene).

    The film offers any number of highly effective (and potentially subversive) imagery: the nuns themselves, clad exclusively in white, resemble nothing less than a host of mummies; the catacomb-like convent setting with its overhanging religious paraphernalia; a shepherd (usually associated with Christ as leader of the Church) is actually the tempter here, leading the two girls first into a lesbian blood pact and subsequently a demonic orgy!; there are also elements of vampirism on display, as when a charred corpse is suddenly re-animated and has to be restrained by being viciously beheaded and the scene in which Justine (also thought to have died) emerges naked and blood-soaked from a coffin filled with copious amounts of the red stuff and unceremoniously takes a bite off Sister Angelica, who had always been over-protective of the two girls (a sure sign of her own latent lesbianism)!; Alucarda's demise, fading away during the fiery climax when faced with Sister Angelica (being carried by the other nuns) striking a cross-like pose.

    Another powerful scene is when Alucarda is sent to confession: she provokes and confounds the priest by first questioning his faith, and then taunts him to give in to his lust for her. The ending has caused a lot of debate: I must say that I had no trouble at all with the conflagrated figure of Christ on the cross. As for the film's apparent unwillingness to take sides, all I can say is this: while organized religion is definitely not portrayed in a good light (the cringe-inducing exorcism as already mentioned but also the self-flagellation sessions), it is also obvious that Alucarda and Justine would need to perish at the end, as we certainly cannot have Satanism emerge triumphant!

    Though the film is obviously a period piece, there is no overpowering urge here to recreate it in detail (as was evident in THE DEVILS, for instance) – and, in fact, I would say that the film feels quite 'modern'. The acting is high-pitched but involving: Claudio Brook's ambivalent dual roles and Tina Romero (who also does double-duty as an actress, which fact I was not aware of until I re-read Mondo Digital's review!) – she is effortlessly seductive and possesses (no pun intended) an undeniable screen presence, yet this is mixed with an odd vulnerability which makes her something more than a conventional 'possessed' girl. The synthesizer-based score is also very effective, and genuinely unnerving.

    Still, that quote from 'The Psychotronic Video Guide' on the DVD cover is somewhat misleading: it's true that the film is awfully bloody at times but this and the nudity are certainly not consistent, or in any way extreme, like I was led to believe! And while there IS a lot of screaming (I'd say even more so than in THE Texas CHAIN SAW MASSACRE [1974]), it is not as annoyingly hysterical as that heard in THE DEVILS either (though I concede that the latter film was made on a far broader scale). Conversely, the so-called 'Satanic' orgy is no great shakes; in fact, as a rule, I did not find the film all that shocking!

    Some of you here may know that I'm not a great fan of Alejandro Jodorwosky's work, so I was actually thankful that ALUCARDA proved very dissimilar in approach to that film-maker's 'Surrealistic' films. On the other hand, I did feel that the few snippets I saw of Moctezuma's MANSION OF MADNESS (1971) smacked unmistakably of Jodorowsky's somewhat extremist style (though, being based on Poe, I would still love to watch it and, hopefully, Mondo Macabro's proposed DVD edition is not too long in coming)!

    One final question with regards to ALUCARDA: does anyone know whether there is actually a longer 90-minute version of this film? Pete Tombs of 'Mondo Macabro' says he could not find any evidence of this, yet some (who were around when it first came out) feel that the 'present' version is somewhat choppy!

    Now to the DVD itself: the print, with all its apparent defects and the fact that it is presented full-frame (though it may well be its OAR), is perfectly acceptable under the circumstances. The audio, however, was somewhat problematic displaying echo and distortion which I found rather distracting (I've encountered this same glitch on a small number of other discs and it has always bothered me) – all in all, the Stereo soundtrack sounded unnatural to my ears, and I truly wish the Spanish track had carried subtitles! The supplements, however, I found to be excellent indeed: the documentary on Moctezuma, as well as the text interview and biography, but also the enthusiastic interview with director Guillermo Del Toro who expresses his admiration for Moctezuma's work in general, and even discloses some of his other influences. The theatrical trailer is said to contain missing footage and alternate angles – but I have to say that, since it was presented in Spanish, I didn't give much attention to it!

    This had only been the third Mondo Macabro disc I've purchased, but I look forward even more now to more obscure horror titles from this stable, beginning with THE LIVING CORPSE (1967; in terms of extras alone, perhaps their best release yet), which I hope to order in the very near future...
    helpful•36
    9
    • Bunuel1976
    • Oct 17, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 26, 1978 (Mexico)
    • Country of origin
      • Mexico
    • Languages
      • Spanish
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Innocents from Hell
    • Filming locations
      • Estudios América - Canal de Miramontes 2437, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
    • Production companies
      • Films 75
      • Yuma Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Tina Romero in Alucarda (1977)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Alucarda (1977) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.