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Mexican horror movies We go back to the thirties at least. During its early years, Mexican horror often had an indie feel, and was often overshadowed by more melodramatic fare. However, as the years went by, many Mexican horror films developed cult followings and became popular in other countries. There are also Mexican directors who have become icons of the horror genre.
Some movies take advantage of their Mexican setting, using the country’s folklore and history to tell a good scary story. Starting in the 1950s, it became common to mix the genre with “luchador” films. Others take on strange influences or even combine the two. Many famous films use a lot of magical realism and show that real monsters are not necessarily real monsters.
10 Macario (1960)
Macario is a supernatural film, often hailed as one of the greatest Mexican films of all time. Story is story godfather of deathPlayed on the Day of the Dead holiday. The title character, Macario, is a poor woodsman suffering from poverty and famine. While eating a stolen turkey, Macario is confronted by three men who, unbeknownst to him, are God, the Devil, and Death itself. After they each ask for a share of the turkey, Macario only shares with Death, believing it will distract Death from claiming it.
Amused, Death gives Macario a magical water that can heal any disease. However, death must allow him to use it each time by appearing at the patient’s feet. If death appears on a person’s head, then he is doomed to death. Unfortunately, problems arise when Macario becomes famous for his healing prowess. In danger of being burned as a witch, Macario can save himself by saving the Viceroy’s child. Unfortunately, the child is claimed by Death.
9 Poison for Fairies (1986)
in Veneno for hadasor Poison for fairiesVeronica is a young girl who is fascinated by stories of witches. A lonely girl from a wealthy family, Flavia, transfers to her school. Envious of Flavia and her family’s prestige, Veronica convinces Flavia that she is a witch. After Veronica takes credit for several strange events, including the death of Flavia’s piano teacher, she is easily able to intimidate Flavia into giving her what she wants.
Eventually manipulating Flavia into inviting her to a family trip, Veronica reveals that her plan is to make the titular poison of fairies, the legendary rival of witches. However, Veronica quickly pushes Flavia away, eventually condemning herself to a trial by fire. The film is known for its visual style that rarely shows the faces of adults, allowing viewers to see the world from a child’s perspective.
8 Even the wind is afraid (1968)
Hasta el viento tiene miedoalso known as Even the wind is afraid, is a 1960s Mexican horror film credited with bringing the genre back to life in Mexico. Set at an all-girls boarding school, a girl named Claudia is haunted by a voice calling her name and visions of a hanged woman. A group of students decide to investigate a horoscope that appears in Claudia’s nightmares. However, when they are caught, the cruel headmistress traps them in the school during spring break as punishment.
However, it soon transpires that another student was cruelly forced to stay home during the holidays and missed saying goodbye to her dying mother. Now, her spirit is haunting the tower and she wants revenge, even by using one of the students to get it.
7 The Stone Book (1969)
El libro de piedraor stone book, you see Julia becoming a governess to young Sylvia, who has recently lost her mother. Julia soon learns that Sylvia is focusing on a stone figure of a boy in the garden, whom she calls “Hugo”, though Julia thinks Hugo may be an unseen neighbor boy.
Strange events begin to happen, such as Hugo being able to bring home a necklace Julia lost in a lake, a dog dying under mysterious circumstances, and a dead lizard coming back to life. Sylvia soon claims that Hugo is the son of an old wizard who turned him to stone. When Silvia’s stepmother is mysteriously murdered, the statue is finally attacked. This comes with tragic consequences, as someone else will have to take his place.
6 The Crying Curse (1961)
Damn crying A Mexican horror movie about one of Mexico’s most famous ghost stories, “La Llorona”, “The Weeping Woman”. A young couple, Amelia and Jaime, visit the ranch of Amelia’s Aunt Selma just before the woman’s twenty-fifth birthday. But the true nature of the place soon becomes apparent, as a woman howls in the night, and it is revealed that Selma practices witchcraft.
In this version of the story, La Llorona was executed as a witch and was Doña Marina, the mother of Selma and Amelia’s family, with Selma even watching over the dead mummy’s remains. Salma needs her niece to help perform a ritual that will rejuvenate the Marina neighborhood. There are references to various movies and horror stories throughout the movie, including the ending Straight From Usher’s house falls.
5 The Look alike (2015)
The lookalikes It is an era piece set in the 1960s. Eight people find themselves stuck in a bus stop. A terrible rainstorm breaks out as they try to flee to Mexico City. Strange events start to happen, not the least of which is the characters turning into look-alikes. The characters come across a comic book story where aliens steal humanity’s personality, which seems to materialize.
The lookalikes Notably from a lot of classic horror and science fiction works, such as Twilight Zone And external borders. A piece of history, the film is set notably around the time of the Tlatelolco massacre, a choice allegedly made to emphasize the Mexican setting and mimic the social nature of 1960s films.
4 Tigers Aren’t Afraid (2017)
in vuelfenor Tigers are not afraidDirected by Issa López, a young Estrella lives in the middle of the Mexican drug war, highlighted by a shootout that interrupts a fairy tale-themed school assignment. A teacher comforts her by giving her chalk, which she claims can grant her wishes. After her mother’s disappearance, Estrella wishes to see her again and is soon haunted by visions of her mother as a ghost. Estrella then joins a group of orphans after she catches one of them, Shine, stealing from her home.
However, Shine will only allow her to join the group if she kills Caco, a vengeful crime boss who wants a phone that Shine stole from him. Wanting to get out of it, Estrella finds that Kaku is already dead, but her mother’s spirit warns her that his killer will soon come after her. It soon becomes apparent that the phone contains a video of Caco’s boss, Chino, killing a woman. To make matters worse, it was Chino who killed Kako and the woman in the video is Estrella’s mother. Even Estrella’s wishes seem to backfire. However, in this ghost story, ghosts may not be the bad guys.
3 Chronos (1993)
Chronos It begins with an alchemist creating a device that can grant eternal life. In fact, he died only centuries later when he was trapped in a collapsed building. Decades later, an antiques dealer, Grace, comes across a mechanical device resembling a beetle, which he injects with a strange solution. Grace soon regains health and vitality, but at a cost: a new thirst for blood.
When Grace is attacked by the others searching for the device, he appears to die, only to wake up to the undertaker, just before he is about to be cremated. It soon becomes clear that Grace’s new enemies want to stab him in the heart. Chronos It was directed by Guillermo del Toro and was his first feature film. While it’s technically a vampire movie, as Grace finds himself effectively transforming into one, the word “vampire” isn’t said at all.
2 Devil’s Backbone (2001)
Satan’s backbone is a Spanish-Mexican film, written by Guillermo del Toro, set at the end of the Spanish Civil War. A young boy, Carlos, is taken to a remote orphanage besieged by troops. While there, Carlos begins to have distressing visions of strange apparitions and ominous whispers, while learning of another child, Santi, who has gone missing.
Meanwhile, the menacing forces plan to locate the gold hidden inside the orphanage. Ghost and gold are linked: Santi is killed by the orphanage guard when he comes across him looking for gold. Now, Santi’s spirit wants revenge, while his killer is ready to destroy the entire orphanage if he has to. The villain’s golden lust will be his doom, but no one guarantees a happy ending in this story.
1 Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Pan’s Labyrinth is a Spanish-Mexican fantasy horror film directed and written by Guillermo del Toro, set a few years after the Spanish Civil War. One fairy tale claims that the daughter of the King of the Underworld visited the mortal world and died, but her spirit may return one day, with mazes built in preparation for the event. A young Spanish girl, Ofelia, whose mother has remarried, encounters fairies and a Faun who believes she is the lost princess.
Ofelia has to complete three tasks to return to the kingdom, including taking a dagger from the monstrous pale man. Meanwhile, Ophelia’s mother dies, leaving her at the mercy of her evil stepfather, Vidal. The hardest task will be the third, the sacrifice of her newborn half-brother. Ofelia refuses and ends up shot by Vidal. The story ends on an ambiguous note. Ofelia dies in the real world, but may have returned to the underworld as the princess with the right, after proving herself by refusing the third task.
