The DVD outfit known as Casa Negra is now a very solid 3 for 3 with me. The first two releases that I saw from these guys, "The Brainiac" (1961) and "The Witch's Mirror" (1960), are both fine Mexican horror films (particularly the latter), featuring pristine-looking restorations and excellent subtitling. And the third DVD that I just watched, "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1961), is perhaps the best of the bunch. In this one, Abel Salazar, star of "The Brainiac," is teamed with Rosita Arenas, the female lead of "The Witch's Mirror." They play newlyweds who come to visit Rosita's Aunt Selma, played by the very handsome Rita Macedo. What they don't realize is that Selma is a ghoulish witch of sorts who is hell-bent on using Rosita to resurrect an ancient sorceress known as The Crying Woman.... Anyway, it is just remarkable how many elements of classic horror films are present in this one. The picture features a creepy-looking hacienda, rats, spider webs, monstrous hellhounds, a scarred and hulking butler, eerie organ music, several witches, a magic mirror, a crazed attic prisoner, secret passages, a trapdoor and on and on. Shot in gorgeous B&W, the film also features art and set decoration that very effectively convey a miasma of evil. A trippy flashback scene that comes roughly halfway in is truly startling, and there are at least one or two moments guaranteed to make you jump out of your skin. Director Rafael Baledon's direction is impeccable, and the film builds to a tour de force finale that will probably leave you cheering and clapping in your own living room. Oh heck, why mince words? This is a horror masterpiece, plain and simple. Gracias, Casa Negra!
Review of The Curse of the Crying Woman
