70's Mexican Horror Part One - (Juan López Moctezuma Edition)

THE MANSION OF MADNESS

(1972)

Overall:  GOOD

Juan López Moctezuma's directorial debut The Mansion of Madness, (La mansión de la locura, House of Madness, Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon), is an absurd affair as only it should be, both for being about a lunatic asylum and being helmed by an Alejandro Jodorowsky alumni, (Moctezuma was one of the producers on El Topo).  The tour we get of Dr. Maillard's vast abode that openly houses a wealth of certifiably insane "patients" are the best, most striking moments.  We meet people dressed and acting like soldiers, others building inventions out of scrap metal, others keeping guard in smoke-stacks, and a man who thinks he is a chicken.  After that, it gets weird.  There is a high priest fellow who is made to look remarkably like Aleister Crowley and such a Crowley reference is hardly an isolated incident as Dr. Maillard quotes "Do what thou wilt".  Also, the entire "mansion" of the title acts as a heathens den of unsupervised maniacs running amok and doing just that; "what they wilt".  Also, there is some naked dancing, farm animals, and occult ceremonies as well there should be.  The problems can easily be justified, (if one is feeling generous), as enhancing the surreal tone.  Goofy music accompanies random scenes that are scattered around otherwise horrific ones and Cladio Brook gives an overtly eccentric yet borderline annoying performance.  Pacing wise, it dips a bit too often as well, but the overall wacky nature is enjoyable to be sure.

MARY, MARY, BLOODY MARY

(1975)

Overall: MEH

The first American co-production and English language film from Mexican director Juan López Moctezuma, Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary is a contemporary set, exploitation vampire movie with none of the surreal insanity of his other two cinematic works that surrounded it.  The story involves a painter who is genetically prone to blood-drinking, embarking on a killing spree that moronic police detectives never trace back to her, though to their credit, another lunatic is also running around at the same time draining bodies of blood.  Unfortunately the movie feels its length, meandering with drawn-out scenes set to daft soundtrack choices that range from lush, romantic soft jazz to California light rock to generic horror movie music.  The demise of each victim is predictable in a slasher film sense, such kills scenes are small in number as well as mostly minimal in their violence, and the story itself is a snore.  For genre fans, poor John Carradine collects another easy paycheck within the last five minutes, (assuming a body double was used for his character's minuscule amount of prior scenes where his face is completely disguised), and he does get to gulp down dark red blood with pathetic, patchy makeup on his face in the movie's goriest scene, so that is at least something.

ALUCARDA
(1978)
Overall:  GOOD

Unique in an over-the-top, gnashing of teeth way,  Juan López Moctezuma's Alucarda, (Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas, Alucarda, the Daughter of Darkness), arguably contains the most screaming per-second in any horror film. The Mexican convent setting exists in the caves and the bedrooms therein are simply large enough holes to house a bed and give you some leg room to thrash your body around, Devil-possession style.  The penance room looks like a dungeon or a catacomb and the actual church is the most disturbing location of all which is almost pitch black save for numerous, eerily lighted, life-sized crucifixes that are realistically detailed.  Then there is the comparatively brighter lit crypt where Satan and his demon lot are laying around in coffins, statues, or the very walls, just waiting for some poor orphan girls to stumble upon it.  Let us not forget the gypsies who appear out of nowhere and dance around in a naked, demon-raising ceremony.  Back to the screaming, every female character either spends all of their scenes or ninety percent of them foaming at the mouth while praying to the Lord, (or in the case of the two leads), praying to the Dark Lord.  Also, the nuns are wrapped up head to foot like mummies in bloody bandages, being extra bloody in the crotch area, (whatever that is all about).  So kind of like Ken Russell's The Devils meets anything by Alejandro Jodorowsky.