BLACK PIT OF DR. M (Fernando Méndez, 1959)THE WITCH’S MIRROR (Chano Urueta, 1961)THE BRAINIAC (Chano Urueta, 1962)THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (Rafael Baledón, 1963)Release date: 29 May 2023 (OOP date: 20 December 2023)Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set (World Blu-ray premieres)
These four macabre titles from the vaults of one of Mexico’s best-known film companies offer uniquely Mexican takes on the ghosts, witches, and monsters familiar to fans of horror cinema and fiction.
Fernando Méndez’s
Black Pit of Dr. M (
Misterios de ultratumba) sees a doctor make a pact with his dying colleague in order to learn the secrets of the afterlife. In Chano Urueta’s
The Witch’s Mirror (
El espejo de la bruja), a murderer is tormented by the ghost of his dead wife, whilst in Urueta’s
The Brainiac (
El barón del terror), a nobleman executed for necromancy returns in diabolical form to eradicate the lineage of his killers... by sucking out their brains! Finally, in Rafael Baledón’s
The Curse of the Crying Woman (
La maldición de la Llorona), a young bride visits her aunt's Gothic mansion, where she finds that she is the descendent of one of Mexican folklore's most terrifying figures.
With their star-studded casts, beautiful photography, eerie production design, and bone-chilling atmosphere, these films have terrified audiences for decades, and are now available in this strictly limited, individually numbered Blu-ray box set, which includes an array of new extra features – including four new audio commentaries, and rare English-language dub tracks – as well as a set of art cards and a fully illustrated 100-page book.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURESBLACK PIT OF DR. M
- High Definition remaster
- Original Spanish mono soundtrack
- Audio commentary with film programmer, curator and Mexican horror cinema expert, Abraham Castillo Flores (2023)
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Preserving a Legacy (2023, 20 mins): Daniel Birman Ripstein discusses the history of Mexico’s celebrated Alameda Films, and reflects on his relationship with his grandfather, the legendary producer and company founder Alfredo Ripstein, who also made a vital contribution to the preservation of Mexican cinema heritage
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Black Pit of Dr Méndez (2023, 26 mins): Eduardo de la Vega Alfaro, academic and author of Fernando Méndez, 1908–1966, discusses the life and career of the pioneering filmmaker
- Original Spanish-language theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE WITCH’S MIRROR
- High Definition remaster
- Original Spanish mono soundtrack
- Alternative English mono soundtrack
- Audio commentary with film historian and Mexican cinema specialist David Wilt (2023)
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Rosita Arenas at Mexico Maleficarum (2022, 13 mins): the celebrated actor in conversation with film programmer, curator, and resurrector of twentieth-century Mexican horror cinema, Abraham Castillo Flores, filmed at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in October 2022
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Mondo Macabro: ‘Mexican Horror Movies’ (2001, 23 mins): episode of Pete Tombs and Andy Starke’s fondly remembered British television series, providing an overview of Mexican genre cinema from the 1950s to the 1970s
- Original Spanish-language theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles for the Spanish soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE BRAINIAC
- High Definition remaster
- Original Spanish mono soundtrack
- Alternative English mono soundtrack
- Audio commentary and brain nibbling with publisher of From Parts Unknown and screenwriter of Los campeones de la Lucha Libre, Keith J Rainville (2023)
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¡Qué viva Chano! (2023, 24 mins): academic, author and film scholar Eduardo de la Vega Alfaro discusses the upbringing and unique path of avant-garde, multi-talented iconoclast Chano Urueta
- Original Spanish-language theatrical trailer
- Image galleries: rare fotovela contemporary to the film release, with new accompanying English translation, and promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles for the Spanish soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
THE CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN
- High Definition remaster
- Original Spanish mono soundtrack
- Alternative English mono soundtrack
- Audio commentary with academic and Latin American horror specialist, Valeria Villegas Lindvall, also known as Morena de Fuego (2023)
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The Daughters of La Llorona (2023, 26 mins): actor, producer and singer Julissa de Llano Macedo and author Cecilia Fuentes Macedo remember the peculiar relationship they had with their mother, Mexican screen icon Rita Macedo
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Daydreams and Nightmares (2023, 20 mins): academic, author and film scholar Eduardo de la Vega Alfaro discusses the prolific career of actor-writer-producer-director Rafael Baledón
- Original Spanish-language theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English translation subtitles for the Spanish soundtrack
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- World premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition exclusive 100-page book with new essays by José Luis Ortega Torres, David Wilt and Abraham Castillo Flores, an archival essay by Andrew Syder and Dolores Tierney, an obituary of Abel Salazar, and film credits
- Limited edition exclusive set of five art cards
- World premieres on Blu-ray
- Limited edition box set of 6,000 individually numbered units for the UK and US
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BBFC cert: 15
REGION FREEEAN: 5060697923414
