Muñecos infernales

A lot of the Mexican horrors that I have watched recently have been badly dubbed into English (and re-edited in some cases) for an American audience by the likes of Jerry Warren and K. Gordon Murray, but I managed to find an original subtitled copy of The Curse of the Doll People, which is always my preferred option. Of course, it helps that this one isn't yet another run-of-the-mill Aztec mummy or vampire flick (however, it must be said that the basic plot is somewhat reminiscent of the 1955 film Cult of the Cobra).

The story concerns a group of men who find themselves cursed after unwisely sneaking into a Haitian voodoo ritual and hot footing it with the Houngan's sacred idol. Voodoo priest Zandor (Quintín Bulnes) sends his zombie Staloon to deliver dolls to the homes of the men, the creepy figures coming to life to kill...

Played by midgets wearing masks that resemble previous victims, the dolls in this film are surprisingly chilling, each armed with a needle-like dagger with which to stab their victims. Zombie Staloon is also a lot of fun, an unkillable monster with a manky, decayed face and immense strength who is partial to playing the flute! As with many Mexican horrors of the day, there's an attractive woman-in-peril and a hero with a pencil moustache. The film does seem to run out of steam in the final act, ending in a predictable blaze that engulfs the voodoo priest and his dolls, but the film as a whole is an entertaining time.

My favorite Mexican Horror film Brainiac, aka Baron of terror, has got good competition here with this extremely eerie and moody terror drama about a voodoo curse involving menacing, murderous 'dolls' brought to life.

These 'dolls' are actually closer to the size of a ventriloquist's's dummy, and apparently are being performed by rather small midgets. However goofy this may sound, the dolls are actually very spooky and take the facial appearance of the people they have murdered, with rather stolid expressions. This is a very nice effect as it makes the dolls more menacing.

They are silent and lethal, and get away with ease, making quite a mystery, except for the viewer of course. The addition of a full-sized hideous zombie, plus a fine and eerie music score make this worthwhile viewing. As always, with Mexican horror films, it's quick pace keeps you from dwelling on some plot weaknesses and weird wording due to dubbing into English.

Like most of K. Gordon Murray's imports from Mexico, this film has great black & white photography, terrific creepy atmosphere, and hilariously bad English dubbing. However, the scenes showing the dolls going about their deadly business still come across very well, since the dolls don't speak. (Item of interest: If you enjoy this film, you should also check out MGM's similar "The Devil Doll" (1936)).

This film begins with an unmarried couple by the names of "Karina" (Elvira Quintana) and "Armando Vales" (Ramon Gay) who are both medical doctors and have been invited to attend a dinner with four distinguished men and their families. When they arrive they learn that these four men have just returned from a trip to Haiti and while there they secretly witnessed a voodoo ceremony which was strictly forbidden to outsiders. Having already committed one serious breach of etiquette, they make it even worse when one of them steals a sacred idol from the Haitian temple to add to his personal collection of artifacts. Needless to say, this infuriates the voodoo priest "Zandor" (Quintin Bulnes) who places a terrible curse upon all four of them-and their families as well. As it so happens, however, Karina is not only a doctor of medicine but a scholar of ancient cultures and the occult and this gives her special insight into the horrible events that begin to take place to the four men involved in the theft. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an unusual film in that the lead actress (Elvira Quintana) plays the role of the expert and the villains (for the most part) are essentially 2-foot manikins who come to life as midgets in order to do the bidding of the Haitian voodoo priest. Yet, as ridiculous as the plot may sound and as poor as the special effects were, the surprising thing is that this film actually wasn't as bad as it should have been. Of course, a great deal of the credit has to go to Elvira Quintana who essentially stole the show with her beauty and charm. Be that as it may, while this certainly isn't the best "Zombie movie" ever made it was good enough for the time spent and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

When i was a kid (maybe 4 or 5 years old) i see this movie on TV. I can clearly remember the "human dolls": their childish movements, their grotesque faces, and abode all ... their lethal weapons: Big Needles really sharpened!!!. B&W films got some special charm in the horror and sci-fi genres. It catch you because (i think) is more like as the dreams are made of or showed us when we sleep (or does anybody here can remember a dream in glorious technicolor???). Anyway, the fact is that "Muñecos Infernales" are the ground zero of many mexicans in the strage and weird wolrd of gore and horror film ... a masterpiece, and a very good example of the melting pot that became the mexican films in the 50's and 60's. (voodo, catolicism, a police plot, weird science, romance and a touch of involuntary humor ... a nice blend!)