User reviews

As ever when finally getting a viewing of a film I've been looking forward to, I was worried that The Curse of the Crying Woman may not live up to expectations; but this exquisite slice of Mexican Gothic horror lived up to them all, and then some! Comparisons with the great Mario Bava's masterpiece "Black Sunday" are obviously going to come about, and this story of ancient curses and witchcraft is similar to the earlier sixties film in many ways. The most striking aspect of the film is undoubtedly the atmosphere, and director Rafael Baledón succeeds in creating a foreboding tone throughout the movie, which blends extremely well with the folklore origins of the story. The film is based on the Mexican legend 'La Llorona', and centres on a supposedly cursed mansion in the middle of the woods. We follow Amelia; a young woman who travels to see her Aunt Selma's with her husband. However, it soon becomes apparent that Selma has become obsessed with an ancient witch, whose power she believes can be unlocked by Amelia. People say that the woods are haunted by the crying woman, and Amelia is about to find out a truth to that legend!

It's quite unbelievable that a film of this quality could remain incognito for so long, and full credit must go to Casa Negra for their excellent DVD release. I'm coming to realise that Mexico produced a lot of cheap horror films throughout the sixties and seventies; many of which can't stand tall with the best that the more accomplished nations have to offer, but this is surely one of the very best films to come out of the South American nation. Rafael Baledón's direction is superb, and the outdoor scenes that see the woods and central house surrounded in fog could be framed and hung on the wall, such is their beauty. The film is packed with obscure and fascinating support characters, including the decayed corpse of the witch, which somehow takes on a life of its own, the maniacal servant and deformed family member that is kept in the attic! The conclusion to the film is superb, and the director's use of a huge bell is excellently handled and helps to deliver the scintillatingly Gothic finale that the film deserves. Overall, we horror fans should count ourselves lucky that there are DVD release companies willing to take a chance on unknown films like this one, and every horror fan must see The Curse of the Crying Woman!

While not quite in the same league as THE BLACK PIT OF DR. M (1958) or THE WITCH'S MIRROR (1960), this is yet another fine addition to the great - and largely unheralded - series of classic Mexican horror films. This was actually the fourth of at least five vintage films about the titular creature (in the last of these, she was even pitted against another Mexican legend - Santo the wrestler!): it would be great if the others were revived - no pun intended - as well somewhere along the line by Casanegra or whomever.

Again, the film positively drips with atmosphere and style (belying the miniscule budget on hand) - generally coming off as unmistakably Mexican but also borrowing freely from other horror titles, most notably Mario Bava's seminal BLACK Sunday (1960). As in THE WITCH'S MIRROR - which, incidentally, shared with this film its star Rosita Arenas, producer Abel Salazar (here he essayed the role of the male lead as well) and composer (the ubiquitous Gustavo Cesar Carrion) - weird mirror imagery plays an essential part in the narrative, as does witchcraft, for that matter. The scarred 'monster' of that film as well as THE BLACK PIT OF DR. M, then, is incarnated here not by one but three different figures - The Crying Woman herself, decomposed and awaiting re-animation; her disciple Rita Macedo's hulking and club-footed henchman; and Macedo's once-distinguished husband, whom she has kept locked up for years and who has consequently regressed to a subhuman, animal-like level. Also on hand is a trio of rather skinny-looking Great Danes, which are unleashed from time to time to attack unsuspecting villagers or intruding police officials.

Two of its most compelling sequences are those in which Macedo recounts to Arenas and Salazar (individually) the tale of the "Llorona"; the latter has little real purpose, but its depiction of the events is done through brief snippets of scenes (shown in negative) from other Salazar-produced horror films - I immediately noticed the only shot I'm familiar with up to this point, from THE WITCH'S MIRROR, but shots from THE BRAINIAC (1961; which is next in my Halloween horror marathon!) are included as well, as per the Commentary; besides, here we get an unexpected but effective display of sensuality - which is felt again when Arenas (already in the process of replacing the "Llorona") notices Salazar's bloodied hand. Among the film's indelible images are all the scenes in which the eyes of The Crying Woman's disciples turn completely black - an effect seen in the very first shot and which was later lifted by INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973); Macedo's bat-like swoop towards the camera and Arenas' hallucination (which is as expressionistic as they come, with the night sky being crammed with staring accusing eyes) are also worth mentioning and striking, too, is the distinctive make-up design for each of the 'monsters'.

The busy climax - in which Salazar and Carlos Lopez Moctezuma (the henchman) engage in a lengthy and energetic fist-fight, and the long-suffering husband Domingo Soler finally gets even with Macedo, as the hacienda collapses around them - is quite splendid. Also notable here is the lighting when the 'possessed' Arenas attempts to liberate the "Llorona" by removing a stake from her body (a scene which, unfortunately, is absurdly over-extended so as to allow the huge bell in the impressive bell-tower set at the top of the mansion - as important to this film as it was to Hitchcock's VERTIGO [1958] - to chime 12 times!). The film features a generous number of effective shock moments and some rather graphic violence for the time: the scene where a girl - played by Macedo's real-life daughter, billed as Julissa del Llano - is trampled by a carriage; one where the pitiful and half-crazed Soler is brutally whipped by the sadistic Moctezuma, until he retaliates (a scene which is heavily reminiscent of Dwight Frye's tormenting of Boris Karloff in James Whale's FRANKENSTEIN [1931]); and especially the dogs' vicious attack on the two constables (sections of which were reportedly trimmed for export versions).

Regrettably, the Audio Commentary for this release turned out to be a major disappointment: not only is there a great deal of dead air on this track, with Michael Liuzza (Casanegra's Vice President, no less!) allowing several of the best scenes to go without comment but, when he does speak, he mainly resorts to biographical details of the various personnel involved!!

I know of a lot of people who swear that this is their favorite Mexican horror movie.While I agree that it is far from a stinker it isn't the best of the bunch either.Check out El Vampiro or the Witch's Mirror.But this one does have its moments.

The Crying Woman herself is pretty creepy looking as well as her murderous henchman who won't be winning any beauty contests.The opening scene set in a spooky misty forest is great.We're slapped with a couple of gruesome murders (especially when a young woman is run over by a coach).

It all boils down to a young woman coming "home" to her rightful inheritance.Too bad it is steeped in evil and involves bringing back to life a murderous witch.Pre dates Black Sunday by a few years.

You have to take the acting with a grain of salt as it is one of K Gordon Murray's bad dubbing jobs.The climactic fight scene is well done but seems to drag on endlessly.

Don't pass it up as it is better than average.

This Mexican made horror flick is said to be based on an old Mexican legend called "The Crying Woman." However, this film has little to do with the legend and is essentially an original story about a women who comes to a haunted mansion to claim an inheritance and is plagued by the ghost of a dead woman and a rotting corpse that comes to life. Some descriptions claim the woman is a descendant of the original crying woman, but I saw no mention of this in video copy I saw. Perhaps this was removed when the film was prepared for English language release by K. Gorden Murray. I understand that there is a more faithful version of the original legend filmed in Mexico in 1930's.

On the eve of the twentieth-fifth birthday of the orphan Amelia (Rosita Arenas), she travels to the house of her aunt Selma (Rita Macedo) in the countryside of Mexico with her husband Jaime (Abel Salazar). Amelia was raised by her aunt but for fifteen they have not seen each other. However, now Selma has just summoned Amelia to visit her, who is newly-wed with Jaime. When they arrive, the coachman tells them that the house is damned. The weird servant Juan (Carlos López Moctezuma) receives Amelia and Jaime since Selma is not at home. Soon Amelia overhears a crying woman but Juan forbids Selma to go to the tower of the house. When Selma arrives, Amelia learns that her uncle Dr. Daniel Jaramillo (Enrique Lucero) died. Further, there is a powerful witch in the basement that was murdered with a stake. Amelia shall remove this stake at midnight of her birthday since she is the last relative of the witch bloodline in order that the witch revives and grant power to Selma.

"La maldición de la Llorona", a.k.a. "The Curse of the Crying Woman" is a 1963 Mexican film based on an ancient Mexican legend. The black and white cinematography is impressive, with the use of shadows and a few effective special effects. The annoying part are the screams of Rosita Arenas, common for women in the 60's. The story is too short, so there is the need of long shootings to complete a minimum running time. IMDb summary ("A young woman inherits a mansion, only to discover that it is haunted by witches and evil spirits") is ridiculous and completely wrong. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição da Chorona" ("The Curse of the Crying Woman")

Great atmospheric Mexican horror film! Some special effects are sloppy, but the music and sets are true to the genre. The appearances of the crying woman (la llorana) herself are truly some of the most extremely unnerving moments in a horror film. Worth seeing just for that. The film is best seen in its original Spanish version.

It's not that surprising to me that this film has been described as 'the Mexican Black Sunday': like Bava's (over-rated, IMO) classic, The Curse of the Crying Woman opens in terrific style, but soon devolves into a mess of tried and tested gothic horror cliches, with hidden rooms, a cobweb-strewn dungeon, lots of rats, rubber bats on strings, and a demented relative driven mad by the villain, with not much of a plot to tie them all together.

The excellent pre-credits sequence sees a coach travelling through a foggy forest before being waylaid by hunchback Juan (Carlos López Moctezuma), who also has a hideously scarred face and a club foot. The coach driver is knifed, one of the passengers is throttled, and another is set upon by a pack of vicious dogs. The pretty female passenger faints to the ground and the henchman runs the coach over her, which I didn't expect! It's a cracking start, but also the best part of the movie.

The remainder of the film involves married couple Amelia and Jaime (Rosita Arenas and Abel Salazar), who arrive at the spooky hacienda of Amelia's Aunt Selma (Rita Macedo), who has invited them to her home so that she can complete a ritual that will grant her great power and revive the body of La Llorona, the wailing witch. Amelia gradually begins to fall under the spell of her aunt, while Jaime is attacked by Daniel, the crazy man in the bell tower, and is almost killed by Juan.

Director Rafael Baledón delivers some atmospheric visuals but with a routine gothic horror scenario that does little out of the ordinary, his film plods along predictably until the ridiculous finale, when Amelia's love for Jaime ruins Selma's plans, and Jaime and Raul have a prolonged fist fight as the hacienda collapses around their ears.

5.5/10, generously rounded up to 6 for the unintentionally hilarious moment when two policeman, both brandishing revolvers, allow themselves to be mauled to death by dogs (were the weapons unloaded or did they just forget to pull the trigger?), and for Amelia's equally amusing attack on an old man, who puts up no resistance as she chokes him and gouges his face with her nails.

I just watched CasaNegra Entertainment's version of this film on DVD, fully restored and all I can is Wow, they did a great job with it. It's such a treat to see these old Mexican classic finally get the attention they deserve. Curse of the Crying Woman is often considered the the Mexican Black Sunday and it lives up to it in every way. Beautifully filmed entirely at night, creepy mist, candle lit dungeons and dead trees are everywhere. These type visual elements were one of the trademarks in many of great horror films from Meixco and definitely what helps make them unique.

The story involves a young woman who upon visiting her Aunt who lives in a creepy Hacienda mansion in the countryside, learns she is next in line to join a family of evil witches. The Mexican title suggests the film is based on the legend of Llorona which it is only loosely. Baledon takes the real legend and morphs it into his own screen play and the outcome is pure classic horror enjoyment. A must for any true lover of Gothic, Black and White horror movies.

Enter Gothic Mexico! Easily one of the best Horror films of the classic Mexi-Horror era. This film is oozing with the lush atmosphere, bizarre imagery and beautiful, shadowy photography which many of the Mexican horror classics of this era are known for. Like several other classic Mexican horror films, this one also plays off the the old Mexican folklore tale of Llorona, the weeping ghost/witch of the Mexican countryside. Real horror buffs will see (during the opening scene) a striking similarity between this film and Mario Bava's masterpiece, Black Sunday. The setting, where the Witch lives is actually a old Mexican Hacienda Mansion. I think the scenes where this "Haunted" mansion is depicted rivals that of the old Gothic castles which were typically used as settings in the European classics, mainly the Christopher Lee Dracula films. It just looks different but is creepy as can be. There is also some dreamy, almost psychedelic like sequences also not unusual during this period. Combine all this is the mutated, malformed man kept prisoner in the mansion, the boney flesh-eating hounds, Abel Salazar (Brainiac) playing the heroine and Rita Macedo playing the Witch you have a film any horror fan is not likely to forget.

You may think your Blu-ray has skipped to the halfway mark of this zippy and atmospheric Mexican horror film, for the first scene dives headlong into a sea of horrors involving a blank-eyed woman and her violent ward who set upon a group of travellers. After the credits have rolled, we only then focus on the origins of the characters, all shot in splendidly stark monochrome.

The story is simple. Married couple Amelia (Rosita Arenas) and Jaime (Abel Salazar) travel to a vast country house owned by Selma (Rita Macedo), Amelia's aunt. Selma is a witch who uses the couple to resurrect 'la Llorona' (the crying woman). That's all you need to know.

This is a good, solid, spooky film, very carefully made and impressive, especially for its time. Horror and destruction come to an impressively realised head toward the climactic moments, and director Rafael Baledón is in no rush to spare the audience a moment.

My score is 7 out of 10.

Curse of the Crying Woman, The (1963)

** (out of 4)

Another Mexican horror film but this one here really didn't do much for me. A young woman and her husband are invited to a castle by the girl's aunt but the aunt is wanting her help in bringing back the title character. This film runs just over 75-minutes and I could have sworn it was 75-hours. The movie goes very slowly and it never really captured me and pulled me into the thing. The opening sequence didn't work for me and the mystery behind the title character never got me interested either. The camera-work was nice and the visuals were good but that's about it.

An early Mexican horror film based around the La Llorona legend. A young woman (with her new husband) visits her Aunt at her remote mansion in the Mexican countryside. There have been several unsolved murders in the area, the bodies completely drained of blood. As it becomes clear the Aunt has an ulterior motive for inviting her niece to stay, the niece realises she only has so much time in which to escape a hellish destiny.

The whole thing is beautifully shot in black and white, with an atmosphere comparable to Hollywood's 'old dark house' movies of the 1930s and 40s. Director Rafael Baledón was a big horror fan and it shows; a sequence where a character walks through a curtain of cobwebs without disturbing it (leaving the person following to fight their way through) is lifted straight from Bela Lugosi's Dracula, whilst another is very reminiscent of Dwight Frye's whipping of Boris Karloff in Frankenstein. In addition, a scene with two males fighting whilst two females look on from a higher point is set-up exactly like the scene where two vampire girls watch the fight between Peter Cushing and David Peel in Hammer's Brides of Dracula, which came out just three years before.

The sets for the mansion interiors (where most of the movie takes place) are great. Of the cast, the beautiful Rita Macedo is terrific as the aunt, with a hugely commanding presence - so commanding that she completely overshadows Rosa Arenas and Abel Salazar as the niece and her husband. Arenas is particularly wooden; she's very pretty, but she acts as though someone's constantly whispering into her ear what she should do next. A big minus is the ridiculously drawn-out climax (to the point of it becoming boring). There's also some poor miniature work in respect of the mansion. But, overall it's very enjoyable. Rita Macedo definitely steals it. 7/10.

I almost feel the urge to spontaneously start a Mexican Wave in honor of this SUBLIME Gothic horror movie! When listing the most important classic horror titles and their countries of origin, people automatically think about Italy (with Mario Bava and his "Black Sunday"), Spain (with about a million Paul Naschy films) and naturally Britain (with the legendary Hammer and Amicus production studios). Mexico understandably always gets left out, but it truly deserves to be mentioned too, if it were only for THIS movie alone! "The Curse of the Crying Woman" is nearly flawless Goth-horror and features all the aspects that make the genre fans' mouths water. Filmed in beautiful black & white and bathing in an uncanny atmosphere, this movie is compelling from start to finish and several eerie images will haunt your thoughts even long afterwards. The story is simplistic, yet effectively creepy, the decors & set pieces are overwhelmingly sinister and the make-up effects are surprisingly convincing. No wonder this film often gets compared to Mario Bava's aforementioned milestone "Black Sunday". If you take the wise decision of purchasing "The Curse of the Crying Woman", you may expect to see endless dark forests, old mansions, ominous thunderstorms and – of course – a sardonic mythical storyline that tightly connects all these elements together. On the night of her 25th birthday, beautiful Amelia and her husband arrive at her aunts' Selma reputedly "cursed" house. Amelia has been looking forward to be reunited with her aunt since years, but she doesn't know that the sole reason of her invite is to serve as the final sacrifice to resurrect an ancient witch. Throughout the years, Selma became obsessed with the powers of Marina; an evil bitch that lures woods-travelers with her cries and kills them. Even if the young couple manages to avoid the curse, they still need to defeat Selma's horribly scarred servant and the mutated monster in the attic. The tension & atmosphere are masterfully built up, especially during the first 45 minutes. Director Raphael Baledón then seems to lose his tight grip on the story a bit around the hour, but he immediately rectifies himself again with an unforgettable climax. The sequence with the chiming bell alone is worth a standing ovation! Mesmerizing horror experience, recommended to fans of the genre all over the world.

* Special word of thanks to loyal IMDb-user G.B, for helping me to obtain this new personal favorite.

Rafael Baledon's "La maldicion de la Llorona" (called "The Curse of the Crying Woman" in English) has the look of a Vincent Price movie, despite everyone speaking Spanish. Portraying a young bride Amelia (Rosita Arenas) and her husband Jaime (Abel Salazar) stopping at the home of her aunt Selma (Rita Macedo), where an evil spirit known as the Crying Woman has taken over, the movie really makes you long for the era. True, the movie's totally corny, but it's as fun as can be. The scenes where Selma's eyes change are actually quite creepy.

So, this is a cool example of the movies from that most unique age of cinema (in every place on earth). All that I can say is: muchas gracias, Mexico!

"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!

The DVD outfit known as Casa Negra is now a very solid 3 for 3 with me. The first two releases that I saw from these guys, "The Brainiac" (1961) and "The Witch's Mirror" (1960), are both fine Mexican horror films (particularly the latter), featuring pristine-looking restorations and excellent subtitling. And the third DVD that I just watched, "The Curse of the Crying Woman" (1961), is perhaps the best of the bunch. In this one, Abel Salazar, star of "The Brainiac," is teamed with Rosita Arenas, the female lead of "The Witch's Mirror." They play newlyweds who come to visit Rosita's Aunt Selma, played by the very handsome Rita Macedo. What they don't realize is that Selma is a ghoulish witch of sorts who is hell-bent on using Rosita to resurrect an ancient sorceress known as The Crying Woman.... Anyway, it is just remarkable how many elements of classic horror films are present in this one. The picture features a creepy-looking hacienda, rats, spider webs, monstrous hellhounds, a scarred and hulking butler, eerie organ music, several witches, a magic mirror, a crazed attic prisoner, secret passages, a trapdoor and on and on. Shot in gorgeous B&W, the film also features art and set decoration that very effectively convey a miasma of evil. A trippy flashback scene that comes roughly halfway in is truly startling, and there are at least one or two moments guaranteed to make you jump out of your skin. Director Rafael Baledon's direction is impeccable, and the film builds to a tour de force finale that will probably leave you cheering and clapping in your own living room. Oh heck, why mince words? This is a horror masterpiece, plain and simple. Gracias, Casa Negra!

After she arrives at her family's estate in the countryside, a woman begins to suspect something sinister about her newly-arrived cousin who seems to fit the local of a murderous, wailing woman all too well and tries to stop her nefarious plans.

This was a really enjoyable and entertaining effort that gets a lot right. One of the biggest pluses here is the extraordinary Gothic atmosphere at play, where the majority of the film takes place on a multilevel hacienda full of secret passage-ways, cobweb-infested tunnels, staircases into the other levels and so much more here that there's plenty of creepiness to get hooked on before adding in the dungeons full of rotting corpses with mashed-up faces, stringy hair and a loss of general bodily form that look effectively decayed and rotting away with sickly skin and just a look of complete and utter mess, effectively making for a great look here overall when placed into the setting of the house. As well, the look of the swamp where the creature appears is absolutely chilling and really sets off the opening ambush well with it's fog-laden surroundings, feeling of unease and general design that seems to make escape impossible. When combined with a large amount of action, from an opening ambush in the swamp, the journey through the hidden mirror in the bedroom and the encounter with the reanimated servant all conspire to give this a spectacular feel where it doesn't really slow down the pace at all. The fact that this still features a ton of jump scares is impressive, with images disappearing in front of a mirror and the unaffected still interacting with with real-time person who's not giving a reflection, hands emerging behind unsuspecting victims and even the work in the finale, where three separate brawls break out around the crumbling villa and a mad dash erupts to get out alive. While all this stuff works well, the fact that the rubber snakes in here look quite lame and really unconvincing, part of the whole special effects work that just looks really cheesy and fake and definitely looks really bad at times but not enough to detract from the more important matters.

Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence.