Sarah Michelle Gellar

This movie is currently scheduled for tentative release in 2007. Bullshit. American McGee’s Alice was originally slated to make a jump to the big screen seven years ago when popular horror director Wes Craven signed onto the project with the Dimension films production company. However, due to writing personnel issues, the script for the movie was not completed until three years later. However, in 2004 production was moved from Dimension films to 20th Century Fox, and the next year it was moved again to Universal pictures. Universal, in turn, attached a new director and popular actress Sarah Michelle Gellar to the film for the lead role, but no other information has been made public since then.

The story behind Alice is quite intriguing to say the least. The film, which follows the same plot as the PC game, is set as a dark sequel to Lewis Carroll’s famous Alice in Wonderland series. In the game, years after her experience in Wonderland, Alice becomes institutionalized while in a catatonic state due to the death of her family in a vicious fire. In an attempt to save her sanity, Alice retreats back to Wonderland in her own mind; only to find that it is equally just as dark and twisted.

American McGee created a masterpiece with this game, but the story is still quite linear. The story behind Alice plays out pretty much in the same fashion as its predecessor, just in a much darker fashion. One can expect that this game would make just as smooth a transition to the big screen as the original books did, yet there is no planned production on this movie for now. That’s probably the worst part, because the western horror film genre is crying for a dose of something new and domestic. Alice is both of those things, and I dare say Gellar does have the potential to nail the role perfectly.

Of all the movies we’ve looked at, I mourn the loss of Alice the most. If you can, dig up a copy of the game online or at a bargain bin and play through it. Preferably get a legit copy as the game’s instruction manual is an interesting read all its own. Whether on the PC or in the theater, Alice is a twisted experience you can’t afford to miss.