(130) MUSEUM OF HORROR (1964) Joaquin Cordero/Rafael Baledon
6040DVD
original Mexican/Spanish
title MUSEO DEL HORROR
Director Rafael Baledon
starring Julio Aleman · Joaquin Cordero · Patricia Conde
· Olivia Michel · Sonia Infante
Stylistically
similar to the Italian thrillers of the late '60s, this film deals with
a mysterious skull-faced madman attacking beautiful young women and
abducting them from the cobblestone street near a cemetery. The police
are helpless in their investigation as the number of missing girls continues
to increase. However, suspicion soon centers around a posh boarding
house and three eccentric gentlemen living there: Professor Abramov
[a meanspirited taxidermist with a dislike for women], an actor named
Luis [now a cripple due to a career-ending accident] and Dr Raúl
[a young physician performing secret experiments on cadavers].
Despite
another significant performance from prolific Joaquin Cordero (DR
SATAN, LA
LOBA
[She Wolf], BOOK
OF STONE, 100
CRIES OF TERROR, et al), the film's biggest asset is Rafael
Baledón's direction and his success at enveloping the Mexican
19th century atmosphere with sinister realism. Rafael Baledon was a
prolific Mexican director, helming 90+ films in the three decades between
1953-84. These including some of the classic genre movies, like HELL
OF FRANKENSTEIN, CURSE
OF THE CRYING WOMAN
(La Maldicion de la Llorona) and the aforementioned LA
LOBA. Rafael began his career as an actor in 1938 and - despite
his heavy workload behind the camera - he continued performing until
his death in 1992. Rafael appeared in more than 80 movies and starred
in 13 different television series. Mr Baledon died from a heart attack
at age 74, May 1994.
A
Mexican/Spanish film with optional ON/OFF English subtitles, uncut (85
min);
fullscreen prints DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC,
playable on any USA machine. Extras include original theatrical trailer.
Violence/Sexual Brutality
Recommended for Mature Audiences
