Événement

THE WITCH'S MIRROR

Dir. Chano Urueta, 1962.
USA. 72 min.

"A melody straight from hell!"

The Witch's Mirror is one of those films whose imagery will crawl deep into a crevice of your mind and live there forever. Every tempestuous night, billowing night gown and thick swell of fog will remind you of Sara and her goddaughter Elena. The film begins with the plight of Sara who through a pact with the devil has found out that her goddaughter will be murdered by her husband Eduardo. After pleading with the devil to intervene, she is told that destiny must run its course, but that doesn't mean that Sara cannot avenge the death of her goddaughter.

The Witch's Mirror benefits from the talents of Carlos Enrique Taboada (The Book Of Stone) and Alfredo Ruanova (The Curse of Nostradamus) who both are prolific horror screenwriters, and the direction of Chano Urueta who is responsible for many other Gothic Horror films such as The Brainiac (1961) and The Witch (1954). Their collaboration endues the film with a very soft nightmarish quality that resembles early surrealist film.

What makes The Witch's Mirror a unique entry into the Mexican Horror genre or for that matter the Horror genre in general is that unlike many other films concerning the occult there is no "rectifying" moral ending. An example is the 1962 film Espiritismo which tells the story of a woman who turns to the occult to help her family. By the end of the tale her alliance with the occult has caused the destruction of her family. Right before the end credits begin to roll the camera pans over to a closeup shot of Christ on the cross and a voiceover begins to say that if this film can turn just one soul away from the occult the makers of the film have done their duty. Taking this into account it is absolutely fantastic that a film like The Witch's Mirror exists. Throughout the entire film it is made very
clear that Sara and Elena are dealing with the devil. Whether favorable or unfavorable certain events take place and in the end both Sara and Elena are vindicated. There is absolutely no punishment element except for that individual who should be punished i.e. Elena's husband. Long live the infernal powers!