Hasta el viento tiene miedo

A prolific horror writer and filmmaker as well, Taboada left an indelible mark in the Mexican cinema industry. Even without being aware of it, because many of us, as merely spectators -at least me and some other persons I've spoken to-, didn't realize for many years that El libro de piedra (1968) and Más negro que la noche (1975), were part of Taboada's film history.

Though i dig more El libro de piedra to a level as considering it his masterpiece, Hasta el viento tiene miedo (Even the wind's scared) it's such a powerful ghost story, that happens in a boarding school for girls. Since the beginning, the film warns you about what you're going to see because of a creepy start, that involves a sleepwalking girl on the outside in a windy night, attending a call made by another girl from the bell tower of the school's chappel. She starts climbing upstairs and the next thing you see, it's a pair of hanging feet and the sleepwalker awakening in a scream. Even on these days, the memories of the voice chanting like wind "Claudia, Claudia" in a whispering full of anguish, gives me the creeps. The first half of this story is told in such a brilliant way, that can only be surpassed by El libro de piedra in a whole; with good acting by names like Marga López, Norma Lazareno and Maricruz Olivier, Hasta el viento... moves around a girl whose dead, a bunch of brat student girls, and a mean school director. As I said before, the first half is brilliant in many ways. Taboada surely knew the sources of primal fear and took them to cinema extends, making you jump with scenes that has the ability to caught unaware, or leading tension into almost unbearable levels. Hope you can see it some time because it's well worth the feelings of anguish and fear caused by the sense of terror that we're led into while watching. Unfortunately, the second half falls on it's lap as a formulaic chain of events that leads to a cliché ending.

Even so, most of Hasta el viento... it's a live picture of Taboada's art. He knew how to grab you by the neck and never let go. With his movies, you can feel the greatest fear running all over the body and you don't want to stop watching anyway. That was and still is magic; it was great cinema that depended only on the subconscious manipulation of terror. In fact, I owe Taboadas some of the greatest fears from my childhood, like never watching at the curtain's end at night, or to a window when there's a storm.

Creepy and colourful ghost tale from Mexico and set in a girls school. The girls, in their bright red blazers are administered by a rather officious headmistress and a more sympathetic assistant. Tensions mount and it becomes clear that something terrible happened in the past that is affecting the present. What this film does particularly well is make us feel uneasy about a particular character that we previously saw as perfectly normal. Being Mexican there was always going to be something slightly different here and for me that something is the most extraordinary striptease sequence that comes out of nowhere and is a weird mixture of excitement and embarrassment. An assured ghost story with some great scenes. Recommended. (One amusing aspect of the subtitles on my print is that on several occasions, the rather prim and proper headmistress is ticking off her girls and telling them that this or that is 'nonsense' but this is translated as 'bollocks' which seems a little harsh!)

It's been over thirty years since I've seen "Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo" but I still think it is the best thriller movie ever...I can still picture some of the scenes. If you want to be scared without being grossed out, this is the film to see. When I saw it, I thought it would be the usual campy type scare film. But, instead, it turned out to be one of the best I've ever seen. The suspense builds throughout the film and brings to mind the thrillers by Hitchcock. The actors were wonderfully natural, not the usual "kid" actors and the scenery was frightfully eerie. The sound effects were also good, you could feel the wind blowing throughout. I would love to see it again...does anyone know where I could buy a copy?

It'd seem to be a cliche -haunted school, scared girls in uniforms... but 'Hasta el viento tiene miedo' is more than that. With some good actresses, but more than that, a smart script and a clever direction, it has unexpected moments and really scaring scenes. Highly recommended!

"Hasta el viento tiene miedo" is a good offering of Mexican horror. It takes place in a boarding school for girls. Five years ago a girl that studied there committed suicide. At night, when the wind whistles.....

This film is a horror film with touches of comedy and it manages to create a good supernatural atmosphere (night, the wind blowing, the leaves trembling, the tower..). It reminded me somehow of "Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory" an Italo-Austrian film made in 1961, that also took place in a girls boarding school. But "Hasta el viento tiene miedo" is the better film.

"Hasta el viento.." tells the story in a very straightforward way, no room for ambiguity is left, so it becomes predictable and this takes away some of the film's edge. The girls, though, are very charming and add eye candy to the film.

You can't compare it to the Italian Gothic films ( by Bava, Margheriti, Freda, Caiano..) with their visual grandeur (lighting, decors, camera work ..), and their magnificent soundtracks.

Anyway "Hasta el viento...." is an interesting film - I think that it won't scare the modern viewer, but it offers in return a well-crafted atmosphere, with touches of suspense and comedy. It is charmingly naive and romantic. It was released in Mexico in 30 May 1968. Some months later a hard wind blew and even the wind was afraid.