Directed by Jan Svankmajer (Zvahlav aneb Saticky Slameného Huberta, Moznosti dialogu, Otesanek)

Written by Lewis Carroll (story) and Jan Svankmajer (various hard to pronounce Czech titles)

Starring
Kristyna Kohoutova as Alice

Review: by Don (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

Okay... this is a crazed animated Czechoslovakian version of Alice in Wonderland.  It is done in stop motion and the only thing in it that is not animated is the little girl playing Alice.  The film begins with her lying in her room when suddenly the DEAD AND STUFFED white rabbit in her room pries itself up from the wood it is NAILED to and puts on clothes.  Its chest is split open and sawdust pours from it.  The rabbit's watch is in this cavity and is usually covered in sawdust which he often licks off with this nasty ass tongue.  The film continues on in this way, with strange sock creatures as the caterpillar, and bizarre taxidermy creatures of all shapes and sizes.

I can't really say whether this is a horror film or not, but it is disturbing.  I mean... if Wonderland is a reflection of Alice's psyche then this girl is going to kill a lot of people someday.  Possibly soon.  I cannot stress how messed up this thing is visually.  The white rabbit alone is good old-fashioned nightmare fodder.  Scary shit.

This is a fairly short review, but there is barely any dialogue in the film, and most of it has to be seen to be believed.  There is a running gag involving table drawers and their knobs, which always come off whenever she pulls them.  It's kind of amusing.  The little girl playing Alice is cute as can be, and does a good job in the film, playing the whole thing with this weird deadpan sort of expression.  The whole thing has a sort of creepy air and I do recommend viewing it.  I really recommend viewing it sober though, as any use of mind altering substances during viewing could cause severe psychological trauma.

DVD Details:

Nothing much.  A short film by the director called "Darkness, Brightness, Darkness" which is quite interesting. That's about it.

Further Information:

Internet Movie Database