Dante Tomaselli gives an update on his remake of Alice, Sweet Alice

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

November 13, 2016 will mark the 40th anniversary of director Alfred Sole's ALICE, SWEET ALICE, and while we draw close to that date, Sole's cousin Dante Tomaselli, the filmmaker behind such films as HORROR and SATAN'S PLAYGROUND, is working on getting a remake of the 1976 cult classic off the ground. This is a goal Tomaselli has been striving to reach for almost ten years now – we first heard that the remake was in development back in 2007. The project nearly went into production in 2013, with Kathryn Morris cast in one of the lead roles, but the funding fell through.

Talking to iHorror about the troubled project, Tomaselli revealed that he is now fielding offers that could be the ALICE, SWEET ALICE remake's saving grace: 

I always planned, or hoped, to finance Alice, Sweet Alice with private funding, so it could remain independent, like the original, but the financing is a beast unto itself. At this moment, I do have solid prospects from European production companies and producers that contacted me out of the blue, knowing that, through my cousin, I own the rights to the remake. The original film has a huge worldwide cult following in the horror world. I’m following through and need to make sure that the money is really there."

If the money is there, it sounds like Tomaselli is open to making a deal, and a new version of ALICE, SWEET ALICE may soon be filming.

Tomaselli has written the screenplay with (former) Fangoria editor-in-chief Michael Gingold. The story 

focuses on Alice, a 12-year-old girl consumed with jealousy of her “perfect” younger sister Karen. When Karen is killed on the day of her first Communion, suspicion falls on Alice. Their mother, Catherine, struggles with the loss of one daughter and the potential guilt of another, and their community becomes overtaken by fear. As more people around Alice are savagely attacked and slain, the mystery deepens: Is this young girl responsible, or is someone else indulging a twisted obsession with murder?

Sole supports the idea of Tomaselli remaking ALICE, SWEET ALICE, so I do as well. I really hope the nine years he has put into the project will be rewarded soon.