THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN

 

The Mexican legend of "La Llorona", or the Crying Woman, has been the basis of several films. THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (original title LA MALDICION DE LA LLORONA) is an excellent black & white 1961 Mexican film dealing with the character. 

The movie starts with a pre-title sequence that Mario Bava would be proud of. A horse-drawn coach travels through a forbidding forest in the middle of the night. The driver and the three passengers are murdered by two strange beings. After the opening credits, another coach arrives at a remote large house, carrying a young woman named Amelia (Rosita Arenas) and her new husband Jaime (Abel Salazar). Amelia has been asked to come to the house by its occupant, her aunt Selma (Rita Macedo). Amelia is unnerved by the house's weird atmosphere, and by her aunt's servant, a club-footed disfigured hunchback. Selma soon reveals the real reason why she asked her niece to arrive: she and Amelia are direct descendants of the Crying Woman, and Amelia is to be used in a midnight ritual to revive the horrible creature, whose remains happen to be in the house's cellar. As the clock moves toward 12, Amelia tries to fight off urges to carry on the legacy of the Crying Woman, while trying to save herself and her husband at the same time. 

Devotees of classic Gothic horror will find plenty to enjoy here, with an expressionistic haunted wood, a creepy-sounding organ, rats, bats, cobwebs, an imposing bell tower, and a climax that literally brings the house down. Rita Macedo gives a rip-roaring performance as Selma, a woman determined to gain ultimate power by bringing the Crying Woman back to life. She reveals the Crying Woman's history in an eerie sequence where the picture is in negative image, and Selma has also reduced her husband to a bestial wretch who is kept chained in a cell (of course he manages to get out). 

Director Rafael Baledon keeps things hopping--the entire story takes place in one night. Not only did Abel Salazar play a major role in the movie, he also produced it (by this time he had plenty of experience with south of the border Gothic horror). 

Rosita Arenas played the damsel in distress in THE WITCH'S MIRROR, and she does the same thing here--but at least she didn't have to suffer as much. The art direction and cinematography are up to par with many more famous American and English Gothics made during the same period. 

This was the first time I had viewed THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN, and like THE WITCH'S MIRROR, I was very impressed with it. The Mexican Gothic horrors made during this period have a energetic quirkiness all their own, and while they certainly have a unique take on traditional elements, they're never boring. If you think you've seen everything when it comes to classic monster movies, a few examples of Mexican Gothic will broaden your horizons.