Les larmes de la sorcière

As ever when finally getting a viewing of a film I've been looking forward to, I was worried that The Curse of the Crying Woman may not live up to expectations; but this exquisite slice of Mexican Gothic horror lived up to them all, and then some! Comparisons with the great Mario Bava's masterpiece "Black Sunday" are obviously going to come about, and this story of ancient curses and witchcraft is similar to the earlier sixties film in many ways. The most striking aspect of the film is undoubtedly the atmosphere, and director Rafael Baledón succeeds in creating a foreboding tone throughout the movie, which blends extremely well with the folklore origins of the story. The film is based on the Mexican legend 'La Llorona', and centres on a supposedly cursed mansion in the middle of the woods. We follow Amelia; a young woman who travels to see her Aunt Selma's with her husband. However, it soon becomes apparent that Selma has become obsessed with an ancient witch, whose power she believes can be unlocked by Amelia. People say that the woods are haunted by the crying woman, and Amelia is about to find out a truth to that legend!

It's quite unbelievable that a film of this quality could remain incognito for so long, and full credit must go to Casa Negra for their excellent DVD release. I'm coming to realise that Mexico produced a lot of cheap horror films throughout the sixties and seventies; many of which can't stand tall with the best that the more accomplished nations have to offer, but this is surely one of the very best films to come out of the South American nation. Rafael Baledón's direction is superb, and the outdoor scenes that see the woods and central house surrounded in fog could be framed and hung on the wall, such is their beauty. The film is packed with obscure and fascinating support characters, including the decayed corpse of the witch, which somehow takes on a life of its own, the maniacal servant and deformed family member that is kept in the attic! The conclusion to the film is superb, and the director's use of a huge bell is excellently handled and helps to deliver the scintillatingly Gothic finale that the film deserves. Overall, we horror fans should count ourselves lucky that there are DVD release companies willing to take a chance on unknown films like this one, and every horror fan must see The Curse of the Crying Woman!

Great atmospheric Mexican horror film! Some special effects are sloppy, but the music and sets are true to the genre. The appearances of the crying woman (la llorana) herself are truly some of the most extremely unnerving moments in a horror film. Worth seeing just for that. The film is best seen in its original Spanish version.

This Mexican made horror flick is said to be based on an old Mexican legend called "The Crying Woman." However, this film has little to do with the legend and is essentially an original story about a women who comes to a haunted mansion to claim an inheritance and is plagued by the ghost of a dead woman and a rotting corpse that comes to life. Some descriptions claim the woman is a descendant of the original crying woman, but I saw no mention of this in video copy I saw. Perhaps this was removed when the film was prepared for English language release by K. Gorden Murray. I understand that there is a more faithful version of the original legend filmed in Mexico in 1930's.

I just watched CasaNegra Entertainment's version of this film on DVD, fully restored and all I can is Wow, they did a great job with it. It's such a treat to see these old Mexican classic finally get the attention they deserve. Curse of the Crying Woman is often considered the the Mexican Black Sunday and it lives up to it in every way. Beautifully filmed entirely at night, creepy mist, candle lit dungeons and dead trees are everywhere. These type visual elements were one of the trademarks in many of great horror films from Meixco and definitely what helps make them unique.

The story involves a young woman who upon visiting her Aunt who lives in a creepy Hacienda mansion in the countryside, learns she is next in line to join a family of evil witches. The Mexican title suggests the film is based on the legend of Llorona which it is only loosely. Baledon takes the real legend and morphs it into his own screen play and the outcome is pure classic horror enjoyment. A must for any true lover of Gothic, Black and White horror movies.

Curse of the Crying Woman, The (1963)

** (out of 4)

Another Mexican horror film but this one here really didn't do much for me. A young woman and her husband are invited to a castle by the girl's aunt but the aunt is wanting her help in bringing back the title character. This film runs just over 75-minutes and I could have sworn it was 75-hours. The movie goes very slowly and it never really captured me and pulled me into the thing. The opening sequence didn't work for me and the mystery behind the title character never got me interested either. The camera-work was nice and the visuals were good but that's about it.