La maldición de la Llorona

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!

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.

"La Maldición De La Llorana" aka. "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1963) is a haunting and absolutely ingenious little treasure of Mexican Gothic Horror cinema, that simply has to be seen by anybody interested in Horror. In spite of an obviously low budget, director Rafaél Baldedón accomplished to create a film of incredibly eerie atmosphere and genuine creepiness that represents all the great qualities we love in Gothic Horror film. In some parts clearly inspired by Mario Bava's milestone "La Maschera Del Demonio" ("Black Sunday", 1960, which is probably my choice for THE greatest Horror film ever made), "La Maldicion De La Loorana" is a stroke of genius of its own right that mesmerizes like few other films.

"La Llorana" (the 'Crying Woman') is apparently a classic character of Latin-American folk tales, and has been the theme of several other Mexican Horror films; As far as I know, however, the 'Crying Woman' in this film has very little resemblance to the folk story character. The film begins magnificently creepy when the passengers of a stagecoach passengers fall victims to a gruesome encounter. Shortly thereafter, newlyweds Jaime (Abel Ferrara) and his young wife Amelia (Rosa Arenas) come to the area in order to visit Amelia's aunt Selma (Rita Macedo). Amelia notices that her beautiful but mysterious aunt, who lives in an eerie mansion, has not aged a day since she last saw her as a child... "La Maldición De La Llorana" is an absolutely awesome classic Gothic tale of witchcraft, curses and resurrection that simply has everything my fellow fans of Gothic Horror so love about this kind of cinema. Incredibly eerie settings and macabre set-pieces, such as an eerie mansion, dark tombs and secret passages, a captivating score, ingeniously creepy makeup and, not least, a delightfully macabre and haunting story make this an absolute must for every Horror lover to see. This one's budget wasn't high, but director Baledón made the best out of it, and proves once again that it doesn't need a vast sum of money in order to make a film look and feel magnificently creepy. Beautiful Rita Macedo is great and eerie in her role and Rosa Arenas fits greatly in the role of the innocent beauty. Abel Salazar, who plays the husband may be recognized for playing the title role in the wonderfully trashy gem "El Barón Del Terror" (1962) and prolific Mexican actor Carlos López Moctezuma shines in the role of the sinister servant. The film also includes a small appearance of Julissa, who would later star alongside Boris Karloff in some of the Horror deity's very odd last films.

It seems as if my enthusiasm for Mexican Horror films is growing with each film I see, and though I regrettably cannot (yet) claim to be an expert on the field, I can say that, judging by the films I've seen so far, Mexico of the 1960s was a great country for Gothic tales. Though it my have some minor flaws, "La Maldición De La Llorana" is a downright brilliant film that ranges only slightly below the absolute masterpieces of 60s Gothic cinema, such as Antonio Margheriti's "Danza Macabra", Roger Corman's Poe-films with Vincent Price or anything that Mario Bava made. This little masterpiece, as well as the equally brilliant Mexican Goth-Horror gem "Misterios De Ultratumba" ("Mysteries From Beyond The Grave"), is deliciously creepy beyond belief, and an absolute must-see for all Horror fans to see. Very Highly Recommended!