Hola! In May, we took a tour through Italy with the Danza Macabra box set from Severin Films. This month, we're heading south of the border for the Mexico Macabre box set from Indicator...
The Mexican horror films I’ve seen have enough thrills and chills that I felt comfortable investing in the Mexico Macabro box set from Indicator. The first one out of the box, Misterios de ultratumba or Black Pit of Dr. M (1959) did not disappoint. The crystal-clear black and white presentation and the creepy setting continue to be the high points of these Gothic films from south of the border.
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What I admire more about Black Pit of Dr. M, though, is the originality of the story, for that era, at least. It doesn’t waste any time and hooks us right away with a secret deathbed pact between Dr. Mazali (Rafael Bertrand) and his colleague, Dr. Aldama (Antonio Raxel.) Whoever dies first must find a way for the other to experience the afterlife, but return without dying. We don’t need to know anything else to know that bad things will happen.
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After a seance in which the spirit of Dr. Aldama possesses a medium and provides a date and time for “the experiment,” the story suddenly shifts to a beautiful young dancer, Patricia (Marita Cortes) and a handsome young man in the audience who is instantly smitten. It seems they’ve both had dreams about the other without ever previously meeting. But what does this have to do with a death pact between two older men?
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Patricia’s last name is “Aldama;” she is the dead doctor’s daughter. In fact, his spirit lingers to manipulate events leading to the date and time of the experiment. Eventually, seemingly unconnected characters, opening and closing doors, and destiny will surprisingly lead to a finale in which Dr. M will meet his destiny. It’s a fairly complex plot, but presented simply. It’s never confusing or difficult to understand what’s happening.
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Oh, and I failed to mention that the action takes place in an asylum with a violent woman who’s calmed by a music box… until its lid slams shut and the room becomes quiet. And there’s a doctor who becomes a madman when his face is scarred during a fight with the woman and she breaks a beaker of acid on his face. There’s murder and mayhem and an innocent man is arrested when he’s found holding a woman with a knife sticking out of her chest.
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My only reservation about Black Pit of Dr. M is a characteristic that seems common among the Mexican horror films I've seen so far. There’s a pace that’s not exactly slow, but has more frequent "back-and-forth scenes" than we’re used to in the United States. Otherwise, this one has a good plot, a compelling story, decent acting, more than competent camerawork, and buckets of atmosphere. It would be hard not to recommend this film.
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