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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of those stories so rich with the possibility of visual reinterpretation, countless productions in various mediums have attempted to retool Lewis Carroll's classic to their own style. In movies, we have many, ranging from the popular Disney animated version to that traumatizing one with Whoopi Goldberg as the Chesire Cat. Still upcoming is a new take by Tim Burton. Before we see that one, though, let's take a look at a stop-motion version by Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer.

Thanks to its psychadelic and surreal setting, many artists find it appealing to portray a darker version of Wonderland. There was American McGee's video game, there was the Dennis Potter-scripted Dreamchild, and even Burton is going for his usual gothic sights. None of them, I'd wager, is as freaky and disturbing as Svankmajer's Alice. This movie is his first feature-length film, leading to a career that made him a noticable influence to filmmakers like Terry Gilliam, Henry Selick and—drawing full circle—Tim Burton.

What's so special about Alice? Here, instead of going into a colorful acid-trip fantasyland, Alice follows the White Rabbit into a dank underground world of mangled metallic garbage and dead animals. Alice, the only live-action person in the film, often gets hurt as she travels between rooms, due to the sharp edges that make up this Wonderland. What's eerie is the familiar Lewis Carroll characters being interpreted as these grotesque puppets made out of defective household items. The catterpillar is a sock with dentures and glass eyes, while the Mad Hatter is a creepy marionette constantly having to restart a wind-up March Hare. Most unsettling, though, is the White Rabbit himself. Forget a fluffy bunny in a vest; Svankmajer's White Rabbit is a rabid-looking stuffed rabbit came to life, stomach torn open and leaking sawdust wherever he goes. Only a curious 11-year-old would follow this monstrous creature into a perverse world decorated in bones and rotting meat.

While not exactly a horror film, Alice's imageries stay with you like a scary movie's. We all knew that this story has that dark potential, and Svankmajer realizes it as a fantasy-nightmare. Most of it is just absorbing to watch, inspiring the kind of morbid curiosity that you get when you see something you know is wrong.

First Run Features released this movie in the US, and it's still available through both Netflix and Blockbuster Online, as well as to buy through Amazon. Additionally, a lot of Svankmajer shorts are availble to watch online.

Here's the first 6 minutes of the film, showing Alice's tumble down the "rabbit hole":

Watch Out! is a feature on JustPressPlay where Arya Ponto showcases lesser-known, lesser-appreciated and often bizarre small films that are cool and deserve to get some attention.

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