Very atmospherical and entertaining horror from the Golden Era of Méxican Horror Filmmaking
and based on the uniquely Méxican folklore about the Crying Woman, the Wailing Mother.
La Llorona. But for sure the belief in this myth do exist in other Central American countries
too, and maybe also in parts of South America ? A girl from Honduras told me that her mother
and aunts were scared of the Crying Woman and that they had heard her wails at some time.

Maybe this is something parents tell their kids to scare them, as "if you're not behaving as a
good child the Llorona will come and take you" ? In other parts of the world maybe whatever
scary will come and take you if you're a bad kid, as in Thailand "you better behave or else
Zee Oui (the cannibal) will get you". Films about the Llorona myth had been filmed before in
México and also Hollywood made it's version, an abominably bad one "The Curse of la
Llorona" in 2019 with an overload of awful CGI effects.

But this Méxican classic is very atmospheric (but not the first one about La Llorona in México)
and with a very intense and impressive pre-credit intro scene. We get to see a mystic woman
dressed in black and with some nasty-looking Great Dane dogs at her side, La Llorona, watch
a horse carriage pass by. Accompanied by her wailing her underling, her servant attacks the
coach and kills the driver and the dogs kill the three passengers, including a little girl.
That scene must've been shocking in it's time. Later we understand that the Llorona also is
Selma (The Great Rita Macedo) and her disfigured servant is Juan (Carlos López Moctezuma).

Shortly after this horrifying incident a woman, Amelia (Rosita Arenas), known for i.a. her role
as Flora the re-incarnated Aztec priestess Xochitl in the 1957 Aztec Mummy Trilogy, and her
husband Jaime (Abel Salazar, El Baron in "The Brainiac") arrives to a dilapidated mansion.
The house close to the murders, and they have been invited by Selma, Amelia's aunt, who
lives alone with her servant. Amelia is Selma's only relative and she tells Amelia that both
of them are direct descendants to the sorcerer woman, La Llorona, and that this witch woman
the indigenous Marina (Beatrice Bustamente) is about to be re-animated from the dead.

This film is a great horror and with some pretty good special effects with Selma flying arrival
to the cellar, the falling bell, the dog attack on the policemen (a scene that could've inspired
Dario Argento for pianist and dog scene in Suspiria), the house falling apart and exploding
(also a scene that could've inspired Argento for the Suspiria ending) and Llorona's eyes.

The Indikator Blu-ray presents the film in 4:3 fullscreen ratio, in black & white, and with
spanish or english LPCM audio with english subtitles, region all.
Extras: Audio commentary by Morena de Fuego, The Daughters of La Llorona: Julissa de
Llano Macedo and Cecilia Fuentes Macedo remembering Rita Macedo (25 minutes, in
spanish with english subtitles, 2020) - My Note:
Probably the weirdest and saddest reminiscing ever by Cecilia Fuentes Macedo, a very odd
woman but quite interesting
Eduardo de la Vega Alfaro: Daydreams and Nightmares (18 minutes, spanish with subs,
2023), Theatrical trailer and Image gallery

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The old US Casa Negra Panik House DVD edition presented the film in 4:3 fullscreen ratio,
in black & white, with spanish audio and with english subtitles.
Extras: an audio commentary by Michael Liuzza, an informative text and picture essay
booklet about La Llorona, a collector card, a text essay about director Rafael Baladon,
biographies and a picture gallery