(1975)
Dir - Carlos Enrique Taboada
Overall: MEH
Though it overstays its welcome at an hour and forty-two minutes in length, writer/director Carlos Enrique Taboada's Blacker Than the Night, (Más Negro que la Noche, Blacker Than Night, Darker Than Night), manages to create an eerie atmosphere with its bare-bones, quasi-silly story. Things kick off with a wacky old, rich Aunt leaving her vast inheritance and estate to her niece who promptly moves in with her three girlfriends. As said niece even mentions when given the news, there is always a "catch" with such things and the stipulation here is that she take care of her Aunt's cat Bequer; a cat who all of her pretty roommates unfortunately end up immediately hating. The pacing drags with inconsequential, repetitive banter and one or two side plots that easily could have been omitted to keep things moving, but Taboada delivers the goods when it comes to the supernaturally-charged set pieces. Most of them are fantastically shot with ominous shadows laying over the actor's faces, in drawn-out fashion, and to creepy silence. On paper, a movie about an eccentric, old dead person getting revenge on attractive young ladies who do not care for her pet feline is assuredly ridiculous, but the treatment is admirably subdued and effective where it counts.
(1975)
Dir - Gilberto Martínez Solares
Overall: GOOD
Straightforward for 70s nunsploitation where "Satan temps a nun" is exactly what is going on, Gilberto Martínez Solares' Satanic Pandemonium (Satánico Pandemonium) is one of the most satisfying of such movies. Cecilia Pezet, (who only appeared in a handful of film and television roles for a few years before retiring from acting altogether), carries virtually all of the proceedings. On screen almost 100% of the time and running the gamut of emotions from alarmed, terrified, and repulsed as the celibate nun of her sisterhood, she then becomes diabolical, furious, and lustful when the wicked temptations grab a hold of her. Watching the struggle unfold relentlessly throughout, Pezet is exceptional with most of the outcome being successfully shocking and horrific. There are a few eyebrow-raising moments, particularly taking into account Mexico's censor-heavy time period. Nudity and torture aside, there is also lesbianism, pedophilia, and racial abuse thrown in. Blasphemy abounds though with Enrique Rocha's Lucifer being pitch-perfect as his almost cliche-like sinister charm makes it crystal clear who he is supposed to be long before he ever admits his name. The film is also beautiful to look at, with very colorful set pieces that conflict splendidly with the utterly evil goings-on.
(1978)
Dir - Alfredo Zacarías
Overall: WOOF
This Roger Corman-financed, non-union Mexican equivalent of Warner Bros. The Swarm, (which was released a mere five months earlier), is the aptly titled The Bees; one of the most relentlessly dumb nature horror movies from the 1970s if not ever. B-movie regulars John Saxton and John Carradine are present with the former practicing yoga in his Enter the Dragon outfit and the latter utilizing a ridiculous German accent for no reason. Originally slated to be written and directed by Jack Hill, Alfredo Zacarías instead stepped in and the script, (which both parties concocted), is loaded with more hilarious inconsistencies and moronic details as to seriously raise the question as to weather or not this is a thinly disguised comedy. The pesky insects in question immediately sting some people to death while ignoring others and develop their own language, forcing Saxton's character to plead with the United Nations to "listen to what the bees have to say" in order to turn the world over to their new honey-making masters. There is also a sub-plot with greedy businessmen, plus Angel Tompkins jokes around and flirts with John Saxton immediately after her husband, (played by Mexican horror regular Claudio Brook), was just brutally murdered. With an ending that is both laugh-out-loud abrupt and absurd, a bee attack every two and a half minutes, completely inappropriate musical cues everywhere, and arguably Carradine's most embarrassing, (or greatest), performance, this assuredly belongs in the "bad movie hall of fame".
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