Ep# 55 - Mexican Horror Films in the 60s

By the beginning of the ‘60s, Mexican Horror had developed its own distinct tropes, evolved from old Universal monster movies to create formulaic crowd pleasers with plenty of gothic atmosphere and vengeful supernatural creatures. But by the end of the ‘60s, they were already expanding into more original films that thoughtfully approached terror and dread in a way that’s reminiscent of modern horror techniques. So take a listen and don’t worry – this frightening trip is punctuated with moments of comedy and romance and endless bouts of wrestling along the way.

As promised, in this episode Bart and Jenna brave the unknown and journey to the land of Mexican Horror films to peek through their fingers at vampires, werewolves, ghosts and murderers – all of whom speak Spanish! With luchadors and lycars to protect them, they discover that there’s much to love about the genre than these scaredy cats expected.

The following films are discussed:

• Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960)
El esqueleto de la señora Morales
Directed by Rogelio A. González
Starring Arturo de Córdova, Amparo Rivelles, Elda Peralta

• Santo vs. the Vampire Women (1962)
Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro
Directed by Alfonso Corona Blake
Starring Santo, Lorena Velázquez, María Duval

• La Loba (1965)
Directed by Rafael Baledón
Starring Kitty de Hoyos, Joaquín Cordero, Columba Domínguez

• Pedro Páramo (1967)
Directed by Carlos Velo
Starring John Gavin, Ignacio López Tarso, Pilar Pellicer

• The Scapular (1968)
El escapulario
Directed by Servando González
Starring Enrique Lizalde, Enrique Aguilar, Carlos Cardán

• The Book of Stone (1969)
El libro de piedra
Directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada
Starring Marga López, Joaquín Cordero, Norma Lazareno

Also mentioned:

• The Ship of Monsters (1960)
La nave de los monstruos
Directed by Rogelio A. González
Starring Eulalio González, Ana Bertha Lepe, Lorena Velázquez

• The Brainiac (1962)
El barón del terror
Directed by Chano Urueta
Starring Abel Salazar, Ariadne Welter, David Silva