O Livro de Pedra

OK,I went in with high hopes for this one ans I was mildly disappointed with it. First,I have to say that I watched on VHS and the picture/sound were not that good;I don't know even if this film has ever made it to DVD. The story is your typical Gothic supernatural horror,but not as great and eerie as the one that it often gets compared to,which is the British 'The Innocents' from 1961. It involves a little girl which seems to be having a strange relationship with a stone statue situated in the vast garden of her rich parent's suburban house. You know the typical ghost story; is she possessed,is it all in her mind and the viewer's,does the statue really have a life of its own? A couple genuine moments,but nothing that I/you haven't seen hundreds of times before,if you're a big fan of the genre. If you are interested in the director,watch his better film 'Even the Wind Is Scared'. I give this one, a 6 out of 10.

After years of looking for this film that is recognized as a forgotten gem of mexican oldstyle horror cinema i found it in a place where i least expected it, now it´s part of my vast collection of hard to find horror and cult films.

This classic film tells the story about a little girl Silvya (Lucy Buj) that because of her behaviour is required to be nursed by a special teacher Julia (Marga López) at home,This teacher is experienced in the field and starts looking after the child´s behavior and her friendship with Hugo,a statue of a little boy with a book that dates 10,000 years old and supposedly talks to her and make her do things, Her wealthy father Eugenio Rubalcaba (Joaquin Cordero) is very disturbed about his daughters way´s and his new wife Mariana (Norma Lazareno) is trying to cope with her step daugters ideas but fears of the statue.

All this characters play their parts well and the atmosphere in this movie is so thick that you can cut it with a knife, locations are well used and the fright factor is there all the time, This is a timeless piece of art that should be taken seriously now a days for next wave horror movie creators. It´s a must see.

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.

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.

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")