Amelia(Rosa Arenas)returns to her Aunt Selma's urgent request, bringing along her new husband Jaime(Abel Salazar). She has been away from her Aunt Selma(Rita Macedo)for quite some time and informs Jaime that the childhood she remembers wasn't a happy one. Amelia has no idea, not one single clue what horrors awaits her and Jaime. Selma is a practicing witch holding on to the moment Amelia turns 25 because this specific point and time will supposedly draw a dead(..but dormant)spirit of the "Crying Woman" back from the dead. You'll hear throughout the film about what Selma longs(..and is assured)to receive, her omnipotence at the sacrifice of her niece of course. Obviously, this isn't great news to Amelia, but finding out that the "Crying Woman" witch is a blood descendant sure doesn't help matters. Selma lets Amelia know right away that her blood will force her will to remove a certain spear from the rotted corpse of the witch..when this moment happens, she'll die. If grappling with this terrifying ordeal isn't enough, Amelia and Jaime have a monstrously scarred evil brute named Juan(Carlos López Moctezuma)to worry with as well. Another surprise for the couple is a caged monster up the stairs just waiting to get out! Could this monster be Daniel(Enrique Lucero)Selma's supposedly dead husband, horribly mutated by witchcraft?Despite hokey make-up effects and lame dog-attack sequences, director Rafael Baledón is able to build a tense situation amongst the cob-webs, dust and madness within this creepy mansion. It has that pure Gothic effect one craves when searching for atmospheric horror. The story itself is quite gripping as it follows the seemingly inescapable situation regarding our heroine who must somehow defeat powerful forces she hasn't prepared for. The film has a terrific setting with a marvelous climactic battle between Juan and Jaime as a bell in the tower of the mansion rings so loudly, the walls begin to cave! The real star is Rita Acedo as the demented Selma who has this cold, crazed look that never leaves her eyes. The flick has an unusual make-up effect where we often see Selma's real face where her eyes are missing with this black void filling her sockets. All hell breaks at the end in the old style of the 30's Universal horror pictures where chaos sends the setting(..often a castle, in this film a massive, creaky, rat-infested mansion)into rubble, while certain characters die.

"La Maldiciòn de la Llorona" is underrated for strange reasons here in Mèxico. As many people know, "the legend of La Llorona" is an urban myth from the XVIII century that to these days is very popular, and if you visit some pueblitos from Mèxico, some people swear that they have had spectral encounters with La Llorona.Thank you CasaNegra! for giving the respect this movie deserves and commercialize it worldwide. You're doing a favor to the Horror community of the world."La Maldiciòn de la Llorona" has little to do with the legend or myth and focuses more on a Gothic story that deals with some sort of witchcraft, a pact with The Death, and the curse of La Llorona.The production values of this movie are simply great and way ahead their time. The Gothic look of the mansion, of the forest, the backyard, and the rooms from the mansion are visually stunning. The art direction and cinematography add a lot for the movie's creepy atmosphere. The ghoulish sounds add a naive touch to the movie but surprisingly fit with the movie's macabre tone. Also, the make-up and effects are fantastic. The make-up of Fernando, Selma (her eyes), Juan, and La LLorona looks great and creepy. And special mention and recognition for the flashback sequences where Selma explains Amelia all the horror of her past. The wolf-man looking in the mirror, the inquisition scene, the devil's appearance, etc. are nightmares material. Excellent scene that makes me wonder if it inspired somehow movies like "The Ring" or music videos like NIN's "hurt". Anyways, the production values are fantastic.Oh and there's room for gore. Minimal, almost non-existent but beautiful gore. The scene where the demonic dogs attack the police men is memorable in the aspect of gore.The ending is probably among the best, even top 10, in Mexican Horror cinema history. The way the bell tolls every time as an indicator that the blade needs to be pulled out from La Llorona is great, creepy but great. The tension, and great f/x in the ending are simply memorable. I wonder if they used a model of the mansion in order to make it look like it was crumbling. Amazing scene for it's time I must say.The acting is at it's finest although it looks cartoonish at some points but it's fine overall and fit with the movie. Rosita Arenas delivers a good performance as the cute but brave Amelia. She was nice to look at. Abel Salazar is a good actor and delivers a good performance but at some points I felt he was a wimp and a man without strong attitude. Carlos Lòpez Moctezuma is simply great as the deformed Juan. But Rita Macedo steals the show with her memorable performance of aunt Selma. She's wicked, evil, but also intriguing, mysterious, beautiful.I urge you fellow IMDb user to watch this fantastic Mexican Horror movie in order to experience a visually stunning Gothic experience and also witness how Mexican horror has it's own gems. This is among the best Horror movies from this country along with Macario, Hasta El Viento Tiene Miedo, and Beso de Ultratumba (among many others).The movie starts with a memorable opening sequence where Aunt Selma (in her ghostly form) and her loyal subdit Juan (a Mexican version of a deformed Quasimodo) attack a large and luxurious carriage. It seems that it was their modus operandi in order to kill people and later offer their blood to La Llorona.Young Amelia returns from Mèxico after a long period where she lived and studied in Europe. She returns with her husband and stays in her aunt Amelia's mansion. Immediately after the couple settles, they start to experience strange events. For example, Amelia while looking in a mirror, suddenly sees her possessed aunt's reflection and then converts in a rotten corpse. Amelia asks Jaime to leave the house and he agrees when suddenly aunt Selma explains to Amelia why it is extremely important for her to stay. She tells her about the curse of La Llorona and her diabolical intentions of resurrection and eternal power. Meanwhile, Jaime discovers a horrible "secret" in the secret room of the typical Mexican "Hacienda" or mansion. Jaime finds out that aunt Selma's husband, Fernando, didn't die as she said; he is hidden and locked in a cell where he is tortured by Juan anytime he tries to escape or anything. Little does aunt Selma knows that Fernando later manages to escape and beat the hell out of Juan in a memorable scene. After a series of events and explanations, Amelia "agrees" to perform the ritual that will bring back La Llorona to life. Will she do it? What will happen when La Llorona returns from the dead? Join Amelia in this fantastic tale that has to do with death, witchcraft, and ambition. The ending will leave you crying in fear, just La Llorona.Also, special mention for the spectacular DVD commentary from CasaNegra's vice president. The comments were very fortunate and gives you more details about this great movie.

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.

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.