"La Maldición De La Llorana" aka. "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1963) is a haunting and absolutely ingenious little treasure of Mexican Gothic Horror cinema, that simply has to be seen by anybody interested in Horror. In spite of an obviously low budget, director Rafaél Baldedón accomplished to create a film of incredibly eerie atmosphere and genuine creepiness that represents all the great qualities we love in Gothic Horror film. In some parts clearly inspired by Mario Bava's milestone "La Maschera Del Demonio" ("Black Sunday", 1960, which is probably my choice for THE greatest Horror film ever made), "La Maldicion De La Loorana" is a stroke of genius of its own right that mesmerizes like few other films.
"La Llorana" (the 'Crying Woman') is apparently a classic character of Latin-American folk tales, and has been the theme of several other Mexican Horror films; As far as I know, however, the 'Crying Woman' in this film has very little resemblance to the folk story character. The film begins magnificently creepy when the passengers of a stagecoach passengers fall victims to a gruesome encounter. Shortly thereafter, newlyweds Jaime (Abel Ferrara) and his young wife Amelia (Rosa Arenas) come to the area in order to visit Amelia's aunt Selma (Rita Macedo). Amelia notices that her beautiful but mysterious aunt, who lives in an eerie mansion, has not aged a day since she last saw her as a child... "La Maldición De La Llorana" is an absolutely awesome classic Gothic tale of witchcraft, curses and resurrection that simply has everything my fellow fans of Gothic Horror so love about this kind of cinema. Incredibly eerie settings and macabre set-pieces, such as an eerie mansion, dark tombs and secret passages, a captivating score, ingeniously creepy makeup and, not least, a delightfully macabre and haunting story make this an absolute must for every Horror lover to see. This one's budget wasn't high, but director Baledón made the best out of it, and proves once again that it doesn't need a vast sum of money in order to make a film look and feel magnificently creepy. Beautiful Rita Macedo is great and eerie in her role and Rosa Arenas fits greatly in the role of the innocent beauty. Abel Salazar, who plays the husband may be recognized for playing the title role in the wonderfully trashy gem "El Barón Del Terror" (1962) and prolific Mexican actor Carlos López Moctezuma shines in the role of the sinister servant. The film also includes a small appearance of Julissa, who would later star alongside Boris Karloff in some of the Horror deity's very odd last films.
It seems as if my enthusiasm for Mexican Horror films is growing with each film I see, and though I regrettably cannot (yet) claim to be an expert on the field, I can say that, judging by the films I've seen so far, Mexico of the 1960s was a great country for Gothic tales. Though it my have some minor flaws, "La Maldición De La Llorana" is a downright brilliant film that ranges only slightly below the absolute masterpieces of 60s Gothic cinema, such as Antonio Margheriti's "Danza Macabra", Roger Corman's Poe-films with Vincent Price or anything that Mario Bava made. This little masterpiece, as well as the equally brilliant Mexican Goth-Horror gem "Misterios De Ultratumba" ("Mysteries From Beyond The Grave"), is deliciously creepy beyond belief, and an absolute must-see for all Horror fans to see. Very Highly Recommended!
