El espejo de la bruja

A great Horror entry made in Mexico at a time when their film industry was still robust and interesting. The theme of The Witch's Mirror can equally fall into the genre of supernatural just as much as horror. Either way it's a Macabre film, very well shot in black and white and director Chano Urueta makes excellent use of some great special effects for the time. Isabel Carona plays the witch who uses her magic mirror to cast revenge on Armando Calvo, who is really great as the sinister, twisted mad-scientist of sorts. Most of the film takes place in what appears to be a old Mexican castle although the outside of it is never shown but it's very Gothic and atmospheric with brooding shadows around every corner. The Witch's Mirror is definitely Classic Mexican Cinema and sadly many of these films produced from this era have gone un-noticed for far too long. If you plan on seeing it I recommend you make some popcorn, turn off the lights and enjoy this fun little picture from the days when Mexican cinema was still golden.

Witch's Mirror, The (1962)

*** (out of 4)

Mexican horror film from director Chano Urueta about a husband who murders his wife so that he can marry his mistress. Unfortuantly for him, he kills her in front of a witch's mirror, which allows her spirit to come back for revenge. The first thirty minutes of this film are great due to Urueta making the most of his small budget. The opening sequence is brilliant and there's some great atmosphere and art direction but things start to unravel in the final act. The first half of the film certainly isn't original but the second half seems like a mix between Eyes Without a Face and The Hands of Orlac.

I was surprised to learn that "The Witch's Mirror" came out a year BEFORE director Chano Urueta and producer Abel Salazar released their more-well-known cult horror film "The Brainiac" (1961), as this earlier effort by the same team strikes me as a much more polished, effective and professionally made piece of work. "The Brainiac" had almost seemed the result of a Mexican Ed Wood making his first film while on acid, whereas "The Witch's Mirror" turns out to be a bona fide find; one of the best horror films I've seen in a while. The picture can be seen as two distinct stories, actually, cleaving fairly evenly down the middle. The first half tells of the revenge that a witch, Sara (who reminded me of Dr. Joyce Brothers, of all people!), takes on the man who poisoned her goddaughter, as well as on this man's replacement bride. This first half has a positively Gothic feel and could easily take place anytime during the last 200 years. The second half of the film veers off suddenly into "Frankenstein" and "Eyes Without a Face" territory, with a more modern-day vibe. The film offers up some strikingly composed shots, beautiful B&W photography, some eerie moments and, most surprising, some shocking gross-out elements. The FX are, for the most part, very well done (those crawling hands excepted, perhaps), and the picture winds up most satisfyingly indeed. I'm not sure that Debra's (wife #2's) ultimate fate is deserved, but whatcha gonna do? This IS a horror picture, after all, and quite an excellent one at that. My thanks to Casa Negra for rescuing it from relative oblivion. All horror buffs, I feel, should pounce on this one.

This is another Mexican horror classic being given a new lease of life via Casanegra's superb SE DVD.

The plot is a mishmash of various well-proved elements (with even a nod to Poe) - a young wife is forced to live in the shadow of her husband's former bride (largely through the machinations of the latter's devoted housekeeper) as in REBECCA (1940); when the wife is horribly scarred in a fire, her doctor husband resorts to body snatching for skin graft experiments as in EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1959); the hands he gives her (unbeknownst to him, they belong to the revenge-seeking first wife he poisoned!) take on a life of their own as in MAD LOVE (1935), etc. - but which works reasonably well in the context of its essential "witchcraft vs. mad science" theme (to quote the DVD sleeve notes).

The first half is a bit slow, but the cheaply-realized yet often poetic visuals - borrowed from Cocteau and Dreyer! - keep one riveted; the latter stages are more frenetic, with several of the characters resorting to histrionics and a fair splattering of gore (leading up to a particularly busy and highly satisfying climax). The acting from all the major players is above-average for this type of film but, best of all perhaps, is Isabela Corona as the outwardly reserved but sinister and powerful witch; the two younger women also make an impression - Dina De Marco as the murdered wife who keeps turning up as a ghost to haunt her husband and her rival; Rosita Arenas as the innocent young bride who becomes the unfortunate victim in both the doctor and the witch's scheme of things (particularly effective when essaying the pathetic qualities of the bandaged-up, desperate and lonesome woman).

As was the case with THE BLACK PIT OF DR. M (1958), the Gothic/supernatural atmosphere deployed with the barest of resources through camera-work, lighting, sets and props is truly incredible...though the special effects (which get quite a heavy workout here), ultimately, leave a lot to be desired! I've purposely refrained from describing individual sequences (as I often tend to do) so as not to deny first-time viewers - as I was myself - the pleasure of discovering its considerable felicities on their own!

The supplements are similar to those of BLACK PIT: the Audio Commentary (by the same Frank Coleman) is just as interesting, but he seems to be enjoying himself a good deal here as he approaches the film with tongue-in-cheek - while retaining a justified reverence for his subject. One disappointing aspect of these DVD editions, however, is that the English-dubbed version of the films aren't included as they were released back in the day (for instance, in the Commentary it's mentioned that the narrated prologue accompanied by sketches in the Mexican original was dropped for the export version - but the DVD includes it, presumably with the 'new' lines recently looped in!).

In Mexico, Elena (Dina de Marco) is married and loves her husband, Dr. Eduardo Ramos (Armando Calvo). The housekeeper Sara (Isabela Corona), who is her godmother, is a powerful witch that has a magic mirror. When Sara predicts that Elena will be murdered by her husband, she cannot protect her goddaughter since the devils cannot change the future. Soon Eduardo gives poisoned milk to Elena and she dies. However, Sara promises revenge to Elena. Eduardo travels and when he returns home, he brings his new wife, Deborah (Rosita Arenas), to live with Sara and him. But Sara summons the devils from hell to set in course Elena's revenge, bringing her back through her mirror.

"El espejo de la bruja", a.k.a. "The Witch's Mirror", is a great black-and-white Mexican horror movie about a witch that uses her mirror to bring the spirit of her granddaughter to seek revenge against her husband. The storyline is simple, but the film is scary. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Espelho da Bruxa" ("The Witch's Mirror")