Some old lady who adores her black cat dies and leaves her big creepy house to her 20-something niece (or granddaughter? I don't remember). All she kindly requests is that the young woman take care of her beloved black cat, Becquer.
Well, the niece moves in with her three roommates, all young women. Unfortunately, some of these scintillating ladies hate cats and are a bit hard on to help, which leads to some disastrous results for the characters but a bit of satisfaction for the audience as justice is well-served.
It's a Mexican movie, but don't expect to see any tortas, farmers, or street urchins. This movie is firmly grounded in the Mexican urban upper middle class/upper class world and could very comfortably be dubbed into the language of any developed country and I don't think anyone would notice the difference. It exclusively takes place in a lavish manor, an expansive library, and an upscale apartment.
Very effective sets and direction for a horror movie. The house looks big and creaky, like a 19th century manor just made for heinous activites. The head servant left by the grand-aunt is effectively creepy because of her emotionless face and monotone delivery. In short, there are lots of possible vectors the evil can take and you don't know from the beginning where it's going to come out of.
It's a satisfying watch as a moderately creepy drama-horror, but probably not the type of movie that will scare you out of your pants. There are a limited number of frightening scenes but it's nothing too intense.
It's very much like in the tradition of 1970's US horror flicks, but it can't match US horror of the decade in scares or thrills. It also doesn't have any Mexican (or non-US) charm to make it unique, so it's probably low on the list of 70's horror films to watch for the fans out there, but if you do watch it you probably won't be disappointed.
Honourable Mentions: Burnt Offerings (1976). A horror movie where the house itself is the evil villain. More outrageous and scary than this one. Worth a watch!
