Alucarda

Alucarda
Theatrical release poster
SpanishAlucarda, la hija de las tinieblas
Directed byJuan López Moctezuma
Written by
  • Alexis Arroyo
  • Juan López Moctezuma
Based onCarmilla
by Sheridan Le Fanu[3]
Starring
Distributed by
  • Yuma Films
  • Films 75
Release dates
  • March 10, 1977 (1977-03-10) (Paris Fantastic Film Festival)[1]
  • 1978 (1978) (United States)[2]
Running time
77 minutes[4]
CountryMexico
LanguageEnglish

Alucarda (Spanish: Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas, or Alucarda, the daughter of darkness) is a 1977 English-language Mexican supernatural horror film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, and starring Tina Romero, Claudio Brook, Susana Kamini, and David Silva. A loose adaptation of Carmilla (1872), it revolves around two teenage orphan girls living in a Catholic convent, who unleash a demonic force and become possessed.

Though a Mexican production, the film was shot in English. Internationally, it was released under several alternate titles, including Innocents from Hell and Sisters of Satan. The film has been noted by film scholars for its themes regarding national tradition versus modernity, as well as the tensions between science and religion, and the failures of both. Because of its depiction of nuns in emotionally-heightened, supernatural situations, the film has been associated with the nunsploitation genre.

  1. ^ "Les Festival international de Paris du film fantastique". Cinéma (in French) (217–222). Paris, France: Fédération française des ciné-clubs: 14. 1977.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Shipka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Maxford 2019, p. 476.
  4. ^ "Alucarda: A masterpiece of Mexican arthouse horror". Roxie Theater. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2020.