The Book of Stone

Julia is hired as a governess to look after Sylvia, a wealthy man's daughter. The child says the stone statue in the garden is called Hugo and that she talks to him. Julia calls it imagination at first, and then there is no explanation left for what happens in the house. Carlos Enrique Taboada wrote and directed. Marga Lopez plays Julia, Lucy Buj the child. It is among the best-known examples of the gothic strand in Mexican horror. The structure ties directly to the tradition of The Turn of the Screw: a child, a governess and a presence that may or may not be real. Taboada builds fear out of empty space rather than effects: a large house, long corridors and a silence that disturbs even in daylight. The statue barely moves at all, and that is the most unsettling thing in the film. It became a cult item in Mexico and has been remade several times. Who it is for: viewers who like slow gothic horror and classic ghost storytelling. Who it is not for: anyone hunting jump scares; the film rests entirely on atmosphere.