THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (1963)
aka La Maldicion de la Llorona
Article 2453 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date; 12-20-2007
Posting Date: 4-30-2008
Directed by Rafael Baledon
Featuring Rosa Arenas, Abel Salazar, Rita Macedo
Country: Mexico

A woman returns to the home of her aunt only to learn the horrible family secrets; they are all descendants of a witch known as the Crying Woman, and they are cursed to an immortal life of murder and blood. She finds herself falling under the sway of the curse.

If I had to pick, I would say that my favorite Mexican horrors (both straight and campy) are produced by actor Abel Salazar, and this is one of his best. This one is more in the mode of THE VAMPIRE rather than THE BRAINIAC, and it’s exciting, eerie, intense, and full of wonderful horror atmosphere. Like many Mexican horror movies, so many elements get thrown at you that you never really know which way the story is going to go, but this one holds together very well, and it features haunted mirrors, the decaying corpse of a witch, a madman locked in the attic, a sinister woman with coal-black eyes, a pack of murderous dobermanns, and a deformed killer with a clubfoot. The ending, an extended sequence in a crumbling house, is quite amazing. The movie is also packed with surreal sequences that are quite jaw-dropping at times. For anyone who wants to catch Mexican horror at its best, this one comes highly recommended.