Customer Reviews

The Curse of the Crying Woman (La Maldición de la Llorona)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First of all, this is an awesome movie. A throwback Mexican classic, the settings and cinematography alone are amazing. The best part of this package, though, is the quality with which the DVD is produced. The technology available today has transformed what would be a grainy VHS copy into a collector's item. And for the movie? Easily one of the best Mexican horror movies ever made. Enough said.

While perhaps not as vividly graphic as CasaNegra's other excellent release "The Witch's Mirror", "The Crying Woman" has it's own Gothic pleasures to offer. Obviously filmed on a lower budget, this only enhances the decaying atmosphere of the film which takes place in a decaying, dusty old house in a desolate wooded countryside. There, Selma-a mysterious "black widow" who's a direct descendant of La Llorona (the legendary "crying woman" who had supernatural power)-waits for her niece to arrive whom she will pass on the legacy to, whether she wants it or not. When the niece does arrive, all hell breaks loose. There's a weird clubfooted caretaker, a couple of massive bloodthirsty hounds, a crazed man-beast locked away in a cell, the putrifying corpse of La Llorona herself in the dungeon waiting to be released in new form, and there's Selma herself who casts no reflection and can change into a bat creature as well as roam the countryside with her hounds---her eyesockets black and empty. "The Crying Woman" is what it is: a highly enjoyable, low budget b&w straight-up horror film with loads of atmosphere. The DVD print is flawless. Kick back and enjoy.

casanegra entertainment has done a wonderful job restoring these 2 horror classics from south of the border"the curse of the crying woman" and "the witch's mirror".on august 29th casanegra is releasing 2 more dvd classics--"brainiac" and "the black pit of dr.m".if it is any indication how these first 2 were restored,these are going to be truly worth waiting for--casanegra si!!

This movie instantly took me back to those quality black and white movies I grew up with. I didn't even mind that the movie was in subtitles. I quickly forgot that part when I was watching it. This movie has me wanting more and more of this type of horror. I truly wanted to cry when the movie was over. I thank God that this was converted to a CD format. It is a classic cult film for all those who love wonderful crafted movies and gifted directors, producers and actors.

This is somewhat interesting as a window into Mexican film-making of the late 50's and early 60's, but, it's mostly a yawner to watch, even in the original Spanish. (the dub is, predictably, atrocious)

This seemed to be filmed as television serials would have been at that time- lots of static front shots of the sets and actors walking up and down the stairs OF the sets. (the when-will-it-end? extended shot of the club-footed assistant clumping the dog down the stairs is laughably indulgent in this way) Yes, the sets are wonderful and not at all cheap-looking, but, after a few minutes, it's like watching a play and this kills the mood. NOT the best aspect to mimic when attempting to capture the mood of some of the early Universal horror films.

Sadly, some of the scenes with more creative, moving camera use are sabotaged by, for example, the shadow of a crew person moving against the wall of the dungeon! This is a (perhaps the only) unfortunate result of such thorough and crisp film restoration. You see the joins of the makeup effects. You can't miss the wires on the flying witch.

Melodrama is a big element of this type/era of Mexican cinema, and this film is THICK with it. And, it's often laughable.

However, despite the quaintness and creakiness of the effects, they can be quite striking and powerful (as in another Mexican horror film of the period, EL ESPEJO DE LA BRUJA.). One cheap but wonderfully effective touch is the use of a projection of glaring, cartoonish eyes around the heroine. And the perfect, haunted-house-ride scare of the corpse-faced witch flying at the camera which "transforms" into the black-eyed villainess. (yes, as long as you accept or ignore the wires)

It's unfortunate that the acting and camerawork often do not match the obvious loving care that went into the construction of both the interior and exterior sets.

To cap it off- the audio commentary is a disappointment as well- awkward and rather boring for the most part- missing numerous opportunities to share facts about bit players and such. Some people's voices and demeanor lend themselves to good commentaries. This fellow's does not, despite his close involvement and knowledge.

Classic Mexican Horror movie. Its got witches, man-eating dogs and a IGOR like servant. Seriously, this movie is OK. Kind of like one of those old Vincent Price movies. The acting and the special effects of the movie leave much to be desired, but then again for its time I guess it was high tech. For the price not to bad.

When i was little growing up in Mexico, there was a legend about The crying woman, the story was horrble and sad, I was always intrigued by this leyend. then I watch this movie with my cousins one afternoon and men, I was terrified.
That was when i was 11, I always wanted to see this movie again, So I was surprised and happy, when I came a cross here on Amazon.
Very Happy with the movie, price and fast shipping.
Thank you,very,very Much.!!!

Maybe this was good for it's time, and it definitely had it's moments, but quite frankly the plot was a little contrived and silly, and the charcters had very little reason to do what they did. They seemed very forced by the plot. I don't want to get into spoilers but there were a few times during the movie I actually laughed at. If you like black and white, I would recommend the haunting, or Carnival of souls over this one.

I first saw this movie 38 years ago and was scared to death. Twenty years ago it was on TV and my 2 sons thought I was such a baby for saying it was scary. Needless to say, they were going to show me, but didn't last five minutes before they were begging me to turn off the TV. This is the most frightening movie you will ever watch. Try it.

La Llorona, the weeping woman, is an urban legend that is very popular amongst my Hispanic culture. The tale speaks of a woman who had unimaginable beauty and an overall good life with her two children and her husband. That is, until the day the woman became jealous of the affection her husband began to give to her children, ignoring the woman and making her feel "unwanted". Her revenge was to kill both of her children by drowning them in the nearby river. After realizing her mistake, she began to weep for her now deceased children, a curse that was placed on her for all eternity. The story is told to little children, telling them not to go outside late at night or else La Llorona may take them away, mistaking them for her own children. That pretty much sums up the tale of La Llorona, however, this film seems to stray away from anything relevant to the original tale.

"The Curse of the Crying Woman" depicts a woman named Selma and her servant Juan (a somewhat crippled, burnt man) who go out at night performing murders on civilians and passer-byes of her "cursed home". These acts continue until Selma's niece, Amelia, comes home for a visit. Selma has plans for Amelia and begins to reveal to her niece the truth behind their family lineage. Selma states that she has been studying the works of La Llorona, and is now just like her. She casts no reflection in the mirror, and has an ever growing lust for blood and murder.

Twists and turns take place at every turn, with a strange "monster man" being locked in the bell tower, to a rotting corpse of La Llorona being stored in the basement of the home. The film never really feeds off of the true legend of which it is based off of, instead turning the tale into more of a witchcraft, monster movie story similar to Frankenstein meets Dracula.

The acting is decent and the filming is done quite well for being filmed released in 1961. However, the lackluster plot and boring story which seems to drag along, makes the film lack anything coherent enough to warrant an actual purchase. For a film based off of La Llorona, it really has almost nothing to do with the woman, and she rarely makes an appearance in the film at all.

If you're looking for a few good La Llorona films, check out "The Wailer 1" (the sequel is horrendous) and also look into purchasing my personal favorite La Llorona film, "KM 31 (Kilometro 31)". For fans of the urban legend looking for something scary, look to those films instead of this one. For someone who just wants to enjoy a cheap, B style horror flick with some friends, then "The Curse of the Crying Woman" may provide enough entertainment to justify a rental.