Darker Than Night

In Mexico, the young Ofelia Escudero (Claudia Islas) shares an apartment and expenses with her friends, the librarian Aurora (Susana Dosamantes); the newcomer Marta (Lucía Méndez), who is an unemployed model and actress; and the divorced Pilar (Helena Rojo). Out of the blue, a lawyer (Enrique Pontón) summons Ofelia to tell her that she has inherited a large real estate with an old house from her Aunt Susana (Tamara Garina) that Ofelia met once, since she is the last relative alive from her family. In her will, Aunt Susana begs only that Ofelia takes care of her beloved black cat Bequer. She moves to the house with her friends, where they meet the old housekeeper Sofia (Alicia Palacios), who lived her entire life in the house, and Bequer. Ofelia befriends Sofia, and treats Bequer, but her friends hate them both. Unexpectedly Bequer vanishes and one night, Ofelia is returning home with her fiancée Roberto (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), her friends show her that Bequer was locked in the attic and has died of starvation. Sofia and Roberto bury the animal and soon strange and tragic things happen in the house.

"Más negro que la noche", a.k.a. "Darker Than Night" is a scary "haunted house" Mexican movie by the master of horror Carlos Enrique Taboada. The plot is very well built, with explanation for every event. The actresses are very beautiful and the screenplay is scary and creepy. It is amazing how Taboada uses the supernatural in an ambiguous way, and the story may be interpreted as Sofia impersonating Aunt Susana and the frightened women believing that Aunt Susana and Bequer are back from the beyond. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Mais Negro Que a Noite" ("Darker Than Night")

My favorite of the Taboada trilogy of horror...I don't think Veneno Para las Hadas counts as a horror movie. The soundtrack is really good for a horror movie- harpsichord, varied themes and styles. With a low budget, Taboada managed to convey fright, something that is hard to do. It has a classic vibe to it, a la "The Haunting" (the original one...no the hot mess from the late 90s). I have to admit, it's rather cheesy, but as a child, it captivated me. What I loved also, now that I'm an adult and have read my share of books, is the nod to Edgar Alla Poe's "The Black Cat." Film-making wise, I think Taboada was an unappreciated genius. I hope Guillermo del Toro honors him by remaking one of the three.

I'm a fan of this original 70s film about a group of young women foiled by the spirit of an angsty ghost and her black cat, Bekker. I'm amused and mystified at the choice of name for the cat which is an apparent attempt and fail at an English-sounding name. It would be like me naming my cat Beccia to try to sound Spanish or Italian.

Funny linguistics aside, the OG version of Mas Negro Que La Noche is fantastically atmospheric and easily watchable time and again for your Day of the Dead or Cinco de Mayo festivities. It's worth noting that the plot is fairly divergent from the 2014 remake (of which I'm also a fan). I think I prefer the ending to the remake but you'll have to decide for yourself.

Some old lady who adores her black cat dies and leaves her big creepy house to her 20-something niece (or granddaughter? I don't remember). All she kindly requests is that the young woman take care of her beloved black cat, Becquer.

Well, the niece moves in with her three roommates, all young women. Unfortunately, some of these scintillating ladies hate cats and are a bit hard on to help, which leads to some disastrous results for the characters but a bit of satisfaction for the audience as justice is well-served.

It's a Mexican movie, but don't expect to see any tortas, farmers, or street urchins. This movie is firmly grounded in the Mexican urban upper middle class/upper class world and could very comfortably be dubbed into the language of any developed country and I don't think anyone would notice the difference. It exclusively takes place in a lavish manor, an expansive library, and an upscale apartment.

Very effective sets and direction for a horror movie. The house looks big and creaky, like a 19th century manor just made for heinous activites. The head servant left by the grand-aunt is effectively creepy because of her emotionless face and monotone delivery. In short, there are lots of possible vectors the evil can take and you don't know from the beginning where it's going to come out of.

It's a satisfying watch as a moderately creepy drama-horror, but probably not the type of movie that will scare you out of your pants. There are a limited number of frightening scenes but it's nothing too intense.

It's very much like in the tradition of 1970's US horror flicks, but it can't match US horror of the decade in scares or thrills. It also doesn't have any Mexican (or non-US) charm to make it unique, so it's probably low on the list of 70's horror films to watch for the fans out there, but if you do watch it you probably won't be disappointed.

Honourable Mentions: Burnt Offerings (1976). A horror movie where the house itself is the evil villain. More outrageous and scary than this one. Worth a watch!

I really enjoyed this. It is paced a little leisurely and is not full of startling action but it is colourful and engaging with a gentle but relentless move towards the inevitable bad ending. A fairly simple, 'Old Dark House' tale featuring four good looking young women who go to live in the aforementioned mansion. They are disrespectful from the start of the building and its 'junk' contents and the elderly Sofia, the housekeeper, magnificently played with complete eeriness by Alicia Palacios, and the film makers seem to wreak their own revenge to some extent by allowing the girls to make such asses of themselves. Also, deliberate or not the many and varied 70s outfits they sport seem to get progressively worse as the film continues. One or two moments of half baked 'soapy' melodrama, usually featuring preposterous plump and mustachioed 'boyfriends but for the most part a creepy fully focused and unusual horror that is well worth a watch. I must also mention the cat. Featuring heavily in the great opening credits, this black cat does not put a paw wrong and is caught on camera looking as mysterious and fearsome as is possible. He also features in the fine original poster.