El libro de piedra

I saw this movie when I was 9 years old. To this day I don't understand how they allowed children into the movie theatre in Mexico to watch this type of movie. I still remember bits and pieces of it and they all come together to recreate the nightmares I had after watching this movie. Without giving away the ending, the movie is about a rich man who moves into a huge old mansion in the middle of the country with his new young wife and the daughter he had with his first wife. Along with them comes a woman who plays the role of nanny and governess for the young girl. In the enormous backyard, which is mostly covered with weeds and bordered by the woods, the young girls discovers a grave guarded over by the statue of an angel that holds open a huge stone book in his arms. Sometime in the first part of the movie, the young girls confesses to her nanny that she has found a secret playmate, a young boy, but nobody pays attention to her until very mysterious things start to happen and tragedy strikes the new household. I only wish that someday the Mexican Institute of Film would help recover and releases to the general public this and other gems of the Mexican cinema.

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 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...

This might be the best of the few Mexican horror films. The story revolves about a statue of a boy which is found in the forest near the main character´s house. Legend says that the statue is not really what it seems to be. As with most horror films prior to the 70,s, this movie lacks gore or flashy fx but compensates it with solid acting from most part of the cast and a very creepy and uneasy atmosphere that leaves you looking twice over your shoulder or looking more carefully at the shadows in the corners even after repeated viewings.

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.