El libro de piedra

Growing up in Milwaukee in the early 80s meant one Spanish channels for my parents and every Friday night was our family night. Unlike your typical family night our idea of family night meant making popcorn and jumping into bed with mom to watch "Noche de pelicula". During Halloween they showed many scary movies and this one along with "Hasta el viento tiene miedo" are engraved in my mind like GEMS in a pile of dirt. This movie is a MUST SEE! I would put this and the before named movie up their with "The Exorcist" and "The Amityville Horror" just for its raw FEAR. Many new horror movies are based on visual effects to produce fear where these classics use plain atmosphere to create a natural fear.

The governess Julia Septién (Marga López) arrives at the real estate of Eugenio Ruvalcaba (Joaquín Cordero) to work with his daughter Silvia (Lucy Buj), who had meningitis when she was very young, and is hired. Eugenio introduces his wife Mariana (Norma Lazareno) and then Julia befriends the girl, who was playing with her friend Hugo. Then she learns from Eugenio and Mariana that Hugo is an imaginary friend. Julia questions Silvia about Hugo, and she learns that the boy is from Eastern Europe that is waiting for his father, a powerful wizard from the Eighteenth Century that will bring him back to life. Soon Silvia's godfather Carlos (Aldo Monti) arrives at home with his dog, but Silvia did not like the dog. Julia finds that Hugo is connected to a creepy statue from Europe in the garden of a boy with a book of stone that was in the real estate when Eugenio bought the property. When weird and macabre things happen in the place, Julia questions whether Hugo is really an imaginary friend or being from the beyond.

"El libro de Piedra", a.k.a "The Book of Stone", is a creepy 1969 Mexican horror movie by the master of horror Carlos Enrique Taboada. The plot is scary and supported by a wonderful black-and-white cinematography. The screenplay is well-written, with explanation for the events, but the conclusion is unexpected and surprising. Looking forward to see other films by Carlos Enrique Taboada. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Livro de Pedra" ("The Book of Stone")

Can I make a bit of gratuitous and shameless promotion? "Evil Seeds", put together and edited by Vanessa Morgan, is a must-have book in case you are even slightly fascinated by horror movies featuring evil children! The obvious titles are included, (like "Children of the Corn"), the guilty pleasures ("The Children of Ravensbeck"), and the less-obvious foreign masterpieces ("Who Can Kill a Child?"). But the book also contains essays on several films that are completely obscure and unknown, but worth seeking out, like the Mexican sleeper gem "The Book of Stone".

Many reviewers around here state it's one of the scariest and most unsettling movies they've ever seen. I wouldn't go so far, but it's definitely a great example of a slow (better make that VERY slow-) brooding and 200% atmosphere-driven tale, with the emphasis on meticulous character development and plot accuracy, and not nearly on fake-scares, ghostly apparitions, or special effects. Writer/director Carlos Enrique Taboada found for sure inspiration in the legendary story of "The Tale of the Screw", and for the ambience he rivals Jack Clayton's "The Innocents" (also an adaptation of that same tale). The tale of a young child and her unusual friendship with a boy named Hugo, and her good-hearted governess attempting to get through to her is elegant and mature, but you must be in a certain mood/mindset to watch it. It's not exactly a very cheerful or relaxing thriller.

A rather splendid Gothic horror that is not particularly scary but there are some really good moments and I loved it. It was especially an unusual film with the statue and the young girl. Lucy Buj the youngster is really good and unfortunately she only made half a dozen films. The director, Carlos Enrique Taboada is liked and I had seen Dark Than Night (1975) and Even the Wind is Afraid (1968) that were both rather creepy. Joaquin Cordero one of the most popular actors of Mexican cinema and made some 200 films of different genre, in this one he is probably not the most liked one of this one and seems that he understands nothing of what is going on. It is his wife, the governess and the young girl that really seem to know what is happening but never at the same time. The governess, as Marga Lopez is rather lovely and I also saw her in Even the Wind.

THE BOOK OF STONE opens with the new governess, Julia (Marga Lopez), getting acquainted with the family. She meets Sylvia (Lucy Buj), the little girl she'll be teaching, and is intrigued by her imagination. As Julia asks questions of family members and other staff, her curiosity only deepens, along with the mystery around Sylvia's strange behavior, and her obsession with a boy named Hugo.

Director Carlos Enrique Taboada does a superb job of creating a building atmosphere of supernatural dread. There are some effective images / locations, like the enormous, abandoned church building. The story is creepy, and Lucy Buj plays her role with an odd sort of menace. Ms. Lopez plays Julia as a strong character, rather than someone who is hysterically superstitious. She really has to be convinced that something spooky is going on.

This movie has been compared to THE INNOCENTS, and that's appropriate. Mostly due to the governess / child relationship, mixed with paranormal occurrences. However, this movie stands on its own as a terrifying piece of horror cinema with an unforgettable finale...