The Phantom of the Monastery

Fernando de Fuentes's 1934 Mexican film begins when three people lost in a forest take shelter in a monastery. The monks who receive Alfonso, Eduardo and Cristina are strange, and as the night goes on the behaviour of all three begins to change. The film is among the early examples of horror in Mexican cinema. The monastery set, the candlelight and the long corridors come from the European gothic tradition, but the narrative is built on a Catholic idea of sin and punishment, which gives it local ground. De Fuentes was among Mexico's first major directors and was making his revolution trilogy in the same years. This film may look far from that seriousness, but it is technically ambitious for its moment; the camera movement and the lighting are notable. Who it's for: those who like early Latin American horror and gothic atmosphere. Who it's not for: viewers expecting modern horror pacing; the film is slow and rests on dialogue.