Mais Negro que a Noite

I didn't had huge expectations for this movie, because Mexican horror films usually suck. Being a Mexican, I hate Mexican horror/suspense films, because one thing they don't have is horror. And with "Más Negro Que la Noche", a remake from an old Mexican classic, I prove my point again. I missed it when it was on theaters, and it seemed really good, but I'm thankful I didn't paid more than 30 pesos to rent it. This movie is full of horror clichés, but the movie takes these clichés to another level: A haunted house that looks like something horrible happened there, four unlikeable lead characters that are molded with the typical personalities; the actresses acted like it was a theater play instead of a horror movie, they overreact too much, and the scared faces or screaming were too fake, seems like they didn't even tried. 90 of the 100 minutes of the movie are so boring. Nothing happens during the whole movie, the script is so messy and forced, you wait for at least one character to die but nothing happens. All the "horror" you get is noises, random stuff moving, and a very annoying score that was all over the top, and it attempts to scare you but fails miserably. If you know the Mexican horror movie formula, you'll predict that this movie includes ghosts, a black cat, and an old lady that acts as poorly as the young cast. I recommend you to avoid this one! You'll lose 100 minutes of your time.

This movie is a remake of a 1975 film directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada. The original is by far much better than this 2014 version. The new version is full of bad acting, bad dialogues and lots of clichés. It's a horror movie, but you end up laughing watching it. I watched years ago the original, and I do believe this new version was a complete failure. The sad part is that good actor work in this film, such as Margarita Sanz, she is an extraordinary actress, but in this film, her talent is completely wasted.

I may firstly say that I love some of the people who appear in this film, and one of the actors is someone I love dearly since childhood. They've had pretty heavy roles in some of the most controversial Mexican series of recent times. Their acting is usually very good, but it's a very different thing to make a long-haul telenovela to a proper feature.

Said that, this film revolves around a house, a cat and a bunch of girls and a weird lady that try to make us feel uncomfortable. The problem is that they don't succeed on the task. And that's supposed to be the very raison d'etre for a horror movie. If you can recall acting as contrived and stiff as the old lady's, well... I have to pry my brain open to remember one, apart from some very bad comedies.

Kudos for the location, cinematography and 3D. The post is superb. Lighting, audio and props, top notch... what you'd expect from a much more expensive film.

Thumbs down to the story-telling and the over-the-top acting. These girls could be very nuanced and subtle in some other films, but here... well, yeah, OK. Eréndira Ibarra may be one of those rare gold nuggets that needs a film just for her -this wasn't the one. And I KNOW for sure, she needs a film of her own, because she's a fantastic actress. Here, she's just the cussing tough one.

I guess the main problem is all the characters are fleshed out of their own stories and little is revealed to have the time to connect, empathize or feel for them even a slight connection. That puts them out of the way as you can concentrate more on the house, the furniture, the props... which... well, all of them are beautifully captured in glorious 3D.

So, in the end, they've got a very polished result, visually, but without bones to lay your teeth on.

I have to be the voice of descent here. I have not seen the original, so I have no idea how this remake honors its source, but as a standalone film I thought it was great - within the genre. Suspenseful, creepy, and the old housekeeper Avengelina is just a delight. With this being a Mexican film, and so many of its cast having started in telenovelas, I was a little worried when I read so many reviews talking about the overacting. Maybe i'm growing used to Latin American acting, but I really have not noticed any. If you like creepy movies with a few jump-scares and a lot of atmosphere, this one is definitely worth a shot. I will add that I watched it in the original Spanish so I have no idea how good or bad the English translation and dubbing are.

I was really surprised about all the bad reviews about the movie all over Mexico's press and social networks, so I was in Mexico and I said: what the hell... So I went to the see the movie. I really enjoyed as far as I wasn't expecting things to happen. I had fun, got scared a couple of times. The idea of A Hunted Mexican Mansion really caught me... I found every character lovely in their on way. But there was something that didn't make sense to me, why is everybody so upset about it? I'm not an expert myself but a very huge fan of horror movies, I know a lot about Taboada's job and found this version of Mas Negro que la Noche amazing. What I really got me thinking on writing a review, was the truly emotional and over the top comments. And icon movie such as the original, was just that... An icon. There's nothing more. If you really take the time to analyze it, is both boring and the worst acting performances ever. But I got the point, is the Mexican Horror icon that can't be touched. I've read other comments on the IMDb and I found particular disappointing that even the actress's hair-done (that curly look) even takes more words that the movie review it self. The move is great and way better than the original. Is quite funny that a younger generation can be thrilled by a 40 year old so boring horror classic. Get real. I recommend this version and the 3D option a lot! Cool experience.