Blacker Than the Night

Ofelia inherits a large house in Mexico City from her dead aunt. The will carries one condition: the aunt's black cat, Becker, must be cared for. Ofelia moves in with three friends. The cat is neglected and dies, and things in the house begin to change. Carlos Enrique Taboada writes and directs. Taboada is the defining figure of Mexican horror, and his method is not today's. No blood, no jump scares. The fear comes from the silence of the house, from corridors that go on too long, and from nobody believing anybody else. He made Hasta el viento tiene miedo and Veneno para las hadas in the same vein; together the three form the core of Mexican gothic. The interesting thing is where the punishment comes from. What takes revenge here is not a person but a broken promise. Throughout, the film leaves open whether the deaths come from the ghost or from the women's own fear. A 3D remake appeared in 2014 and left nothing like the mark of the original. Who it is for: viewers who want seventies Latin American horror and gothic tension built slowly. Who it is not for: the pace really is slow and the effects belong to their decade. Measured against modern horror it will look very quiet.