El espejo de la bruja

A great Horror entry made in Mexico at a time when their film industry was still robust and interesting. The theme of The Witch's Mirror can equally fall into the genre of supernatural just as much as horror. Either way it's a Macabre film, very well shot in black and white and director Chano Urueta makes excellent use of some great special effects for the time. Isabel Carona plays the witch who uses her magic mirror to cast revenge on Armando Calvo, who is really great as the sinister, twisted mad-scientist of sorts. Most of the film takes place in what appears to be a old Mexican castle although the outside of it is never shown but it's very Gothic and atmospheric with brooding shadows around every corner. The Witch's Mirror is definitely Classic Mexican Cinema and sadly many of these films produced from this era have gone un-noticed for far too long. If you plan on seeing it I recommend you make some popcorn, turn off the lights and enjoy this fun little picture from the days when Mexican cinema was still golden.

Mexico's "The Witch's Mirror" (El Espejo de la Bruja) was that rare Abel Salazar production where he does not perform on screen, kicking off Nov. 14, 1960, with director Chano Urueta at the helm. Pretty blonde Helen Hanley (Dina de Marco) is dismayed to learn from godmother Sara (Isabela Corona) that her death has been preordained by the powers of darkness, and that her supposedly devoted surgeon husband Edward (Armando Calvo) will be the one responsible for her murder. The fateful moment arrives when he brings her a fatal glass of milk at bedtime, collapsing before her bedroom mirror; it's not long before the doctor returns with new bride Deborah (Rosita Arenas, herself just recently wed to producer Salazar), who wants to prove she's not jealous by visiting Helen's old room. The vengeful spirit makes its chilling presence felt, and when Edward breaks the mirror with a kerosene lamp, Deborah is the one encased in flames that disfigure her once lovely features. At this point the picture becomes a Mexican combination of "The Hands of Orlac" and Georges Franju's "Eyes Without a Face," the now quite mad surgeon obsessed with restoring the beauty of his loved one, an attempt at grave robbing resulting in a still living subject suffering from catalepsy, with perfect pianist hands. It may not be clear at first, but poor Deborah turns out to be entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, the villainous Edward coming off as such a cold fish that it's a mystery as to how he'd be such a babe magnet. The presence of a (mostly) benevolent witch is capably handled by Isabela Corona, never once suspected by her employer or his latest bride, unable to save her mistress but not holding back when exacting revenge. The scarred makeup does not disappoint, and the occasional bursts of gore (even in black and white), such as severed hands and stumps on arms, must have been shocking in its day (amazing how such similar titles all emerged at the same time from different countries: France, Mexico, and Spain's "The Awful Dr. Orlof"). Small details abound, such as flowers that wither and die in mere seconds, a piano that plays itself, and the observant owl watching things go badly in the surgery. Chano Urueta truly rises to the occasion in ways that he couldn't on the better known "The Brainiac," another triumph for producer Salazar, whose marriage to pretty Rosina Arenas endured until his 1995 passing at age 78.

Witch's Mirror, The (1962)

*** (out of 4)

Mexican horror film from director Chano Urueta about a husband who murders his wife so that he can marry his mistress. Unfortuantly for him, he kills her in front of a witch's mirror, which allows her spirit to come back for revenge. The first thirty minutes of this film are great due to Urueta making the most of his small budget. The opening sequence is brilliant and there's some great atmosphere and art direction but things start to unravel in the final act. The first half of the film certainly isn't original but the second half seems like a mix between Eyes Without a Face and The Hands of Orlac.

I was surprised to learn that "The Witch's Mirror" came out a year BEFORE director Chano Urueta and producer Abel Salazar released their more-well-known cult horror film "The Brainiac" (1961), as this earlier effort by the same team strikes me as a much more polished, effective and professionally made piece of work. "The Brainiac" had almost seemed the result of a Mexican Ed Wood making his first film while on acid, whereas "The Witch's Mirror" turns out to be a bona fide find; one of the best horror films I've seen in a while. The picture can be seen as two distinct stories, actually, cleaving fairly evenly down the middle. The first half tells of the revenge that a witch, Sara (who reminded me of Dr. Joyce Brothers, of all people!), takes on the man who poisoned her goddaughter, as well as on this man's replacement bride. This first half has a positively Gothic feel and could easily take place anytime during the last 200 years. The second half of the film veers off suddenly into "Frankenstein" and "Eyes Without a Face" territory, with a more modern-day vibe. The film offers up some strikingly composed shots, beautiful B&W photography, some eerie moments and, most surprising, some shocking gross-out elements. The FX are, for the most part, very well done (those crawling hands excepted, perhaps), and the picture winds up most satisfyingly indeed. I'm not sure that Debra's (wife #2's) ultimate fate is deserved, but whatcha gonna do? This IS a horror picture, after all, and quite an excellent one at that. My thanks to Casa Negra for rescuing it from relative oblivion. All horror buffs, I feel, should pounce on this one.

The Witch's Mirror is a film that mixes numerous horror ideas into one incoherent, but brilliantly fun little film. The Witch's Mirror is directed by Chano Urueta, who also made the completely bizarre Brainiac in 1962. It's clear that Urueta has an eye for visuals and isn't too bothered about telling a story, as both The Witch's Mirror and Brainiac are heavy on the style without putting too much focus on the plot. This film has borrowed from numerous horror classics, from American films such as Mad Love to the French classic Eyes Without a Face. The plot focuses on witchcraft and sorcery, and more specifically; the act of mastering the use of a mirror. A witch named Sara enchants a mirror in order to protect Elena, her adopted daughter, from her nasty husband Eduardo. However, the enchantment doesn't work as planned, and when it fails; Elena is murdered, which leads the witch to try and get her revenge through a series of supernatural spells and sorcery.

The fact that the plot is incoherent obviously hinders the film, but there's so much going on that it's not a big problem. The Witch's Mirror isn't dull for a moment as there's always something going on to hold the audience's interest. The film includes themes of witchcraft and sorcery, as well as a big dose of mad science, as the film's doctor attempts to reconstruct his wife's deformed face. The special effects are superb considering the film is almost forty five years old, and they're also a marked improvement over the largely silly effects seen in Brainiac. The film is rather arty - more so even than The Curse of the Crying Woman, but that's not a negative comment as The Witch's Mirror features some truly beautiful sequences, which are well utilised and make the film more memorable. Overall, I can't see a good reason not to enjoy this film. It's not dull for a second, features some of the best art sequences in horror and does well at mixing a number of different horror ideas. It's not the best film from the recent batch of Casa Negra releases, but it's still well worth watching!