The Witch's Mirror

This was gruesome fun even with the uneven pacing and overacting.

Re-watched this as I was too tired on 1st try, and it is a pretty good Mexican gothic, but it doesn't bring anything new to the table. It draws from films such as Rebecca and Eyes without a Face. It's competently made and visually pleasing, especially the mirror scenes. There's a lot of plot for such a short runtime which forces to keep up the pace; perhaps at the expense of character development. The film could also have benefited from a more charismatic actor in the role of the husband.

A man kills his wife… seemingly forgetting his housekeeper is her godmother, as well as a high priestess of Satan. Shenanigans ensue. There are a hundred film references here (from Suspicion’s poisoned milk to Orlac’s deviled hands) yet it still retains its own quality - because there’s an inescapable baseline cruelty: When a doctor exhumes a grave, he’s excited because the woman was buried alive, so the flesh is fresher. Most striking is that the witch has the moral high ground the entire film.

O espelho da bruxa estreava há exatos 60 anos no México. Longa curtíssimo, mas efetivo sob uma perspectiva que muito me apeteceu,: quem é o vilão é o médico e não as bruxas do filme que apenas se defendem e se vingam de sua vilania. E no momento a gente não quer outra coisa do que se vingar do patriarcalismo da classe médica brasileira. Box Versátil Obras-primas do Terror: Horror Mexicano.

Creepy at times, some good visuals for sure, but the actual content is pretty meh. Some strange ghost story that never feels particularly compelling or scary.

Surprisingly entertaining horror yarn with very good production design and special effects. It's a pretty standard horror revenge story in the tradition of the golden age of horror but really nails it with a European gothic feel.