By the end of 1958 for two consecutive days, two filmmakers made "serious" contributions to the then-ebullient Mexican horror cinema: Miguel M. Delgado and German emigrant Alfredo B. Crevenna. The first release was this drama by Cantinflas' favorite director, who guided the comedian in some 30 undifferentiated movies, far from the subversive subtexts in the films of Tin Tan. Delgado was no stranger to horror then and late in his career would make movies about wrestlers and monsters. However, the real rarity was the screenwriter, Ulises Petit de Murat. He had written several classics of the Argentinean cinema, including Mario Soffici's films, as "El extraño caso del hombre y la bestia", a screen adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Here, working in Mexico, Petit wrote this morbid tale of witchcraft and the living dead that, perhaps because of Delgado's lack of expertise in the genre, did not reach the level of "grand guignol" that the story potentially had. Nevertheless, it is not a film that went unnoticed and even today, in spite of the absence of restored copies, it has its admirers. Alfredo Crevenna released the next day "El hombre que logró ser invisible".
2 Reviews
"The circle of agony."
morrison-dylan-fan10 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Although not originally planned,I've found my detour into exploring Mexican Horror to be a delight. Realising I had more Mexican titles in my "To watch" pile than I thought,I decided to open up one of the more obscure titles,and learn the mystery of black magic.
View on the film:
Putting a spell on the audience with a opening magic show, director Miguel M. Delgado & cinematographer Victor Herrera brilliantly hold Gothic Horror thrills back for the final, instead eyeing a creepy psychological chiller atmosphere, lit in moody close-ups (backed by clipped narration) on Egle reading the minds of audiences in the crowd, which Delgado turns from a party trick into deadly game, turned in smash cuts on Egle getting metal nails to dig into palms and blades to be gripped by her hypnotised audience members.
Casting a spell of curiosity on Prof. Eladio Tejeda (a wonderfully meek Carlos Riquelme) over suspicions that Egle is a witch,Delgado sets them on a collision brimming with a refined Gothic Horror mood, dripping from the imposing long shadows and shards of white light across her face making Egle look like a possessed empress,and melting jagged whip-pans on Egle's voodoo stabs hitting a hell fire and brimstone final.
Coming over from being a script/book writer in Argentina, the screenplay by Ulises Petit de Murat superbly captures a novel-like attention to character building, most startling in Murat's family having a bratty bite at the start, which soon cracks over mounting suspicions over Egle's links to Murat's sudden death.
Whilst handing out chunky slices of Gothic pulp for the gloriously lively revival of a mummified god, Murat conjures the majority of the Gothic Horror vibes from chilling dialogue,which matches the pins and needles Egle digs into her victims, via a sharp dig into the broken state of Egle's mind. Casting a spell on the film and the viewer from the opening,Nadia Haro Oliva gives a outstanding turn as Egle, thanks to weaving a imposing, unblinking presence, with a overwhelming,almost demonic desire to solve all the mysteries of black magic.
View on the film:
Putting a spell on the audience with a opening magic show, director Miguel M. Delgado & cinematographer Victor Herrera brilliantly hold Gothic Horror thrills back for the final, instead eyeing a creepy psychological chiller atmosphere, lit in moody close-ups (backed by clipped narration) on Egle reading the minds of audiences in the crowd, which Delgado turns from a party trick into deadly game, turned in smash cuts on Egle getting metal nails to dig into palms and blades to be gripped by her hypnotised audience members.
Casting a spell of curiosity on Prof. Eladio Tejeda (a wonderfully meek Carlos Riquelme) over suspicions that Egle is a witch,Delgado sets them on a collision brimming with a refined Gothic Horror mood, dripping from the imposing long shadows and shards of white light across her face making Egle look like a possessed empress,and melting jagged whip-pans on Egle's voodoo stabs hitting a hell fire and brimstone final.
Coming over from being a script/book writer in Argentina, the screenplay by Ulises Petit de Murat superbly captures a novel-like attention to character building, most startling in Murat's family having a bratty bite at the start, which soon cracks over mounting suspicions over Egle's links to Murat's sudden death.
Whilst handing out chunky slices of Gothic pulp for the gloriously lively revival of a mummified god, Murat conjures the majority of the Gothic Horror vibes from chilling dialogue,which matches the pins and needles Egle digs into her victims, via a sharp dig into the broken state of Egle's mind. Casting a spell on the film and the viewer from the opening,Nadia Haro Oliva gives a outstanding turn as Egle, thanks to weaving a imposing, unblinking presence, with a overwhelming,almost demonic desire to solve all the mysteries of black magic.
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