Mistérios de Além-Túmulo

I cannot claim to be an expert on Mexican Horror cinema so far, but I certainly intend to dig out more films of the kind of this gem. "Misterios De La Ultratumba" aka. "The Black Pit of Dr. M"/"Mysteries From Beyond The Grave" of 1959 is an immensely moody Mexican Horror film that provides both a morbid and fascinating story and a genuinely creepy atmosphere. Occultism, mad science and the resurrection of the dead have always been some of my favorite Horror topics, and "Misterios De Ultratumba" unites all these elements in a very memorable and deeply uncanny manner. The atmosphere of this eerie gem is intensified by a haunting score, great Gothic settings and morbid makeup.

Dr. Mazali (Rafael Bertrand) and Dr. Aldama (Antonio Raxel) have made a pact that the first one of them to die shall come back and tell the other the secret of resurrection. After Aldama's death, Mazali, the head of a remote mental clinic, waits for the instructions of his dead colleague... This is only a very vague description of the plot, but I sure don't intend to give any part of this creepy gem's fascinating and wonderfully morbid plot away. The film, most of which is terrifically set in an old countryside insane asylum, maintains an intensely eerie Gothic atmosphere from the very beginning. The settings and visuals are great, old cemeteries and churches, heavy tombstones and foggy grounds provide the uncanny mood that my fellow fans of classic Horror should appreciate. The film provides morbidity, insanity and genuine scariness, all of which is intensified by the brilliantly intense and haunting score that boosts the creepiness each time it is heard. The performances are very decent, Rafael Bernard is good in the lead and Mapita Cortés is very nice to look at in the female lead as Dr. Almada's illegitimate daughter. This was the first film by Director Fernando Méndez I ever saw, but it certainly isn't going to be the last. Overall, "Misterios De Ultratumba" is an immensely creepy gem that no lover of atmospheric Horror should miss. Highly recommended!

I remember years ago, I saw this movie at a drive-in in Portland, Oregon. However, I thought the title then was "The Black Pit of Dr. X," and it was in English. I remember the part where the disfigured doctor returns from the grave and starts to play his violin. At that point I left the theater. Ever since, I've wanted to see it again to know how it ends. So there was at one time a print of this movie in English. Whether it is available now is another question. If anyone knows of an available copy (in English or Spanish), I would be interested in checking it out. I would also be interested to know if anyone has seen it recently (within the last few years) and where he/she saw it. Thank you.

Unfortunately the Mexican cinema is still unknown in Brazilian market, now the DVD's advent it changes a little bit in this context, have been arrived valuable movies lately, we Latin American people are tightly propelled to believe in the ghosts, wraiths, zombies and all stories beyond the grave, it's make part of our cultural heritage, "Misterios de Ultratumba" fits perfect in this odd background, where two Doctors made a deal, whoever go to the grave first should be back to tell the secret to live forever, the elder one Dr. Jacinto dies first, shortly Dr. Mazali makes contact through a psychic where the late Dr. Jacinto attends and warning his friend that cheat the death may cost a high price to pay, even so Dr. Mazali is keen take the plunge, thus the arrangement is carried out, in three months the switch will be made, in the meantime Dr. Jacinto as spirit appears to his forsaken daughter Patricia Aldama, asking for her looking for Dr. Mazali at insane asylum to know about his died father, whom she never knew before, a gripping terror mixing many profane elements utterly entrenched at Mexican culture, cheating the death is egregiously forbidden and noisome for religious people like us, the eerie atmosphere and a well-crafted screenplay beef up the picture, till the make-up is enough compelling, it overall doesn't owe nothing for foreigners terror productions!!

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

Ages ago a dubbed print of this movie used to run frequently on "Chiller Theatre" on Saturday nights. I saw it so many times I memorised it and it is still among my fondest memories. The music was what I first noticed, it stood out in my mind (many years later someone "borrowed" it for a direct-to-video picture called THE VIDEO DEAD). Rafael Bertrand, who later played "Capt. Labiche" in ISLE OF THE SNAKE PEOPLE; one of Boris Karloff's last movies, is Dr. Masali, master of an insane asylum. He makes a deal with colleague Dr. Harrison Aldeman (Jacinto Aldama in the undubbed print) that whoever dies first will come back and tell the survivor what lies behind deaths door. Dr. Aldeman dies first and returns during a séance to tell Masali a set of events have already begun that will enable him to solve the mystery. He does, but not nearly in the way he had expected to. An insane gypsy woman and an orderly named Elmer figure in the mystery very prominently; so does Dr. Aldeman's daughter who is summoned to the asylum by a mysterious messenger who turns out to be her fathers ghost! Along the way there is unrequited love, mutilation, murder, ghosts and death. I always thought this was a scary movie when I was a child. Somehow I think it still is. Now here is the complicated part. A dubbed print does exist, at least it used to, because New York's Channel 11, WPIX had it. That was more years ago than I care to remember but I would like to think they did not just toss the print out with the trash when they stopped running "Chiller Theatre". Maybe it is still in the vault gathering dust and waiting to be found. For cryin' out loud will somebody go look!

I couldn't think of a place more far-removed from the dreary streets, Gothic cathedrals, stone gargoyles and misty back-alleys that have come to be associated the Gothic horror sub-genre, than Mexico. Yet here we have a pure Gothic story told in the most traditional of ways. Fernando Mendez throws everything and the kitchen sink in the mix, from disfigured monsters and a madhouse to spectral ghosts and atheistic scientists and I'm happy to report that it works far better than one would expect from a Mexican b-movie without it becoming picturesque or unintentionally comedic. The only fault that I find with Misterios de Ultratumba (other than failing to deliver promised black pits) is that it doesn't try to push the envelope. It's content to be a very traditional Gothic horror picture with a simplistic story. If it weren't for some impressive stylistic flourishes (like the gallows scene for instance) and the creepy atmosphere, one could be forgiven for totally dismissing it as a "seen-better" case. As it is, fans of 30's Universal horror and Hammer from around the same time will probably like it.