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Before color-saturated,
lurid, Italian 'giallo'
films became synonymous
with latin horror,
black-and-white
film-makers in Mexico,
Spain, Italy and
the United States
were putting their
own spin on Hollywood's
newfound fascination
with the gothic.
In America, director
Enrique Ávalos
created a spanish
language version
of Universal Pictures'
Dracula that bested
the English version,
save for the lack
of Bela Lugosi in
the title role.
(pictured, top)
In 1962, Italy's
contribution to
the ever-growing
fascination for
gothic vampire tales
was Slaughter of
the Vampires (pictured,
middle), a film
that mixed beautiful
prey with an entertainingly,
though unintentionally
melodramatic vampire
to create a classic
of sexy, atmospheric
fun.
Mexico's Curse of
the Crying Woman
lacks the exposed
flesh of 'Slaughter,'
but it excels in
its surreal, gothic
telling of a scary
Mexican folk-tale
about a mummified
witch and the scheme
to induce her innocent
ancestor to revive
her shrivelled,
eyeless corpse.
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