Set in 1961 Paterson, New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl (Sheppard) who becomes a suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister (Shields) at her First Communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow.

In 1961, in Paterson, New Jersey, divorced mother Catherine Spages visits Father Tom with her two daughters, nine-year-old Karen and twelve-year-old Alice, who both attend St. Michael's Parish Girls' School.

Moments before her First Communion, Karen is strangled to death in the church transept by a person wearing a Halloween mask and a yellow raincoat; her crucifix is ripped from her neck and her body is set on fire.

While Father Tom bleeds to death, Alice emerges from the chaotic scene carrying Mrs. Tredoni's shopping bag, and places the bloodstained butcher knife into it.

[13] Catholic iconography is featured prominently throughout the film,[17] including votive candles, crucifixes, and rosaries, as well as artistic depictions of the Virgin Mary in sculptures and paintings.

[18] In his book Hearths of Darkness: The Family in the American Horror Film (1996), writer Tony Williams commented that the "adolescent psychotic fantasies" of Alice are paralleled with the ritual practices of the Catholic Church.

[21] Sheila O'Malley of Film Comment notes that: "From one scene to the next, religious iconography overwhelms the screen: paintings of Mary and Christ, marble statues, crosses on every wall, religion leering at the characters from behind.

"[22] Additionally, Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine observes that the presentation of the church sequences signifies a closed-in nature that "favors cramped medium shots and close-ups that induce claustrophobia.

"[23] Scholar Claire Sisco King notes in a 2007 essay that the film is preoccupied with the theme of theatrical performativity perpetrated by children who are emotionally neglected by their parents.

The identity of the killer, who is later revealed to be Mrs. Tredoni, the deranged housekeeper for the beloved local priest, remains concealed by a costume: a plastic Halloween mask and a yellow rain slicker.

[34] Sole was inspired to make the film after seeing Nicolas Roeg's 1973 psychological thriller, Don't Look Now, based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier.

[36] In developing the character of Alice, Sole and screenwriter Ritvo aspired to create a "child who has been neglected, and who could go either way," dividing the audience in regards to her guilt or innocence in the crimes committed.

[55] Niles McMaster, a Chicago business executive turned actor, was cast as Dominick Spages, Catherine's estranged husband and father of Alice and Karen.

[59] Actor James Farentino was at one time attached to the project in an unspecified role, per a newspaper advert promoting an April 17, 1975 motion picture contract signing for the film held in Paterson.

[66] Sole's occupation as a local restorational architect in Paterson helped him secure several shooting locations, effectively lending the film a modern Gothic aesthetic.

[76] Dick Vorisek, who had previously worked on Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and Carrie (1976), was hired onto the film as chief sound engineer after Sole was put in contact with him through Technicolor.

[77] The special effects in the film were achieved via practical methods, such as the stabbing sequences, which were shot using a fake retractable knife designed by Sole's friend, an engineer.

[101] The phrase appears in a quote in Volume 16 of the Publications of the Catholic Truth Society, published in 1898, which reads: "Then there is Alice—sweet Alice—your eldest born, who leans over the back of your chair and sweeps your face with her brown curls.

"[102] Following the rising fame of Brooke Shields after her performance in Pretty Baby (1978), the film was sub-licensed and reissued for a third time in 1981 under the title Holy Terror[103] through producer Max Rosenberg's distributor Dynamite Entertainment.

[1] During the changes in distributors and titles as well as a myriad of legal problems, the film was not properly registered with the United States Copyright Office and for a time lapsed into the public domain.

[112] In both versions, cuts were mainly made to obscure the sequence in which Alice aggressively grabs a kitten and throws it onto the floor, which were also removed during the film's original British theatrical release.

[114] On August 6, 2019, Arrow Films released a North American Blu-ray edition[115] licensed through Warner Bros. Pictures, who own the original theatrical cut and its camera negative via their acquisition of the Allied Artists catalogue.

"[124] Ernest Leogrande of the New York Daily News echoed Canby's sentiment, awarding the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and writing that it "has qualities that take it out of the usual run of sanguinary homicidal horror movies, an attention given to dialogue, to authenticity of setting and to revelatory and atmospheric touches.

"[127] The Boston Globe's Michael Blowen similarly deemed the film a "gross vulgarity of an exploitation picture [that] begins as a slick, glossy thriller [but] gradually degenerates into a bloody mess...

"[128] William Whitaker of the Abilene Reporter-News also criticized the film's violence as "a little too much after awhile," but conceded that the "script has enough imagination and the direction enough insight to make it passable fare.

[130] Tom McElfresh of The Cincinnati Enquirer was particularly critical, describing the film as "wholly, totally terrible," and a "mishmash full of sexual innuendo and rage at the Catholic church.

"[131] Writing for The Roanoke Times, critic Chris Gladden was dismissive of the film's violent content and "unspeakably disgusting" characters, also deeming its setting within a Catholic parish as "tasteless.

"[132] The Sunday Telegraph's David Castell similarly noted the film's preoccupation with "distorted religious passion," but conceded that numerous sequences are "so well-staged as to argue persuasively that we have found in Mr.

"[133] Derek Malcolm of The Guardian highlighted the film's commentary on Catholicism, but felt its message was profound, as it "turns a totally exploitative subject matter into an analysis of a small community's religious hypocrisy and hysteria.

[145] Communion, a tie-in novelization by author Frank Lauria (originally commissioned by Columbia Pictures before the studio dropped the film from its roster) was published in July 1977 by Bantam Books.