Summary
Welcome toAlice in Terrorland, how Lewis Carroll originally envisioned his classic children’s novelAlice in Wonderlandbefore scandalized readers forced him to rein in the more grotesque moments. Maybe. Probably not. ButAlice in Terrorlandwas made all the same, never mind what Carroll, Walt Disney, or even Tim Burton may think. I’ve seen (or Wikipedia’d) many adaptations of Carroll’s famous novels, andI’ve never seen any quite likeAlice in Terrorland, directed by Richard John Taylor.
Alice in Terrorland, released in 2023, finds Alice (Lizzy Willis) arriving at her grandmother Ruth’s (Rula Lenska) estate after Alice’s parents die in a house fire. There Alice begins to have strange and horrifying dreams where the characters from Carroll’s story take the forms of sinister humans who expose Alice to an even greater evil in her new home. The movie has an abysmal 4% onRotten Tomatoes, but these films are bulletproof when it comes to reviews, andI think it managed to uncover an interesting angle on the story.
Alice In Wonderland: The Dark Secret Meaning Of Alice Growing You Probably Missed
Disney’s animated classic Alice in Wonderland is known for its trippy, surreal images and storylines, including Alice’s growing. What does it mean?
Alice In Terrorland Plays Up The Horror Elements In Lewis Carroll’s Classic Story
Adaptations Of Alice In Wonderland Have Already Proven It’s A Frightening Story
Alice in Terrorlandis a pretty horrific movie with vile characters like the Walrus, who seems more like a child predator than a pinniped hungry for oysters, or the Mad Hatter who lives up to the moniker. The thing is, those over-the-top depictions of Carroll’s character are not too far from the source material, as the many adaptations have shown. Even afterDisney’sAlice in Wonderlandpulled back the creepiness, the film they made still scared me as a kid (and a teen… and now, whatever, leave me alone).
The 1951 Disney adaptation does an unnerving job of portraying just how lonely Alice is.
The 1951 Disney adaptation does an unnerving job of portraying just how lonely Alice is. The scene of the broom-faced dog erasing Alice’s road home never fails to upset me. It’s so depressing and hopeless. Even the nasty creatures in the forest start weeping for her. Tim Burton’s live-action adaptations don’t focus on those bleak aspects of the story, but they are certainly frightening. Johnny Depp in chalk-white makeup might be the friendliest face there. The Jabberwocky, the Red Queen, and the Cheshire cat are all frightful or at least disquieting.
Alice in Wonderlandis about a little girl who gets lost in the woods. No one helps her and then a Queen tries to chop off her head, it’s pretty scary. For everything I could faultAlice in Terrorlandwith,it does examine those legitimate hair-raising aspects of the tale. I have to hand it to them. Some children’s movie remakes shove the horror in, butAlice in Terrorlandrealized what was already there in terms of frights, and used them to its advantage.
Alice in Murderlandcame out in 2010 and is a similarly low-budget horror spin on Lewis Carroll’s book.
How Alice In Terrorland Compares To Other Fairy Tale & Disney-esque Horror Movies
Alice In Terrorland Investigates It’s Source Material More
Alice in Terrorlandis not the only Disney classic or fairy tale story that has been turned into an adult horror movie.Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honeyhad the yellow bear murdering folksthe same year.Blood and Honeyis much more graphically violent thanAlice in Terrorlandbut the latter has the former beat in terms of psychological terror. Even compared to similar horror movies likeThe Mean One(How the Grinch Stole Christmas) andMary Had a Little Lamb(self-explanatory),Alice in Terrorlandfeels slightly more mature.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey(2023)
Cinderella’s Revenge(2024)
Cinderella’s Revenge
It’s lower budget than those films but I like that it’s trying to investigate something dark that’s actually present in the text. I say keep it up — I want more films likeAlice in Terrorland. Let’s look at the dark underbelly of other unnerving childhood films. I wantDumbo’s Pink Elephant Nightmare,Snow White and the Seven Serial Killers, and101 Mean Dalmatians. That last one may only be relevant to an experience I once had.
Alice in Terrorland
Cast
Alice in Terrorland, directed by Richard John Taylor, follows a bereaved teenage girl who moves to live with her aunt in an isolated woodland house, unaware of the lurking sinister forces. Released in 2023, the film explores themes of loss and eerie supernatural elements.
