Fernando Méndez's El Vampiro (1957) was an atmospheric but predictable horror heavily influenced by Universal's classic vampire films; the sequel, The Vampire's Coffin, was a routine effort that lacked the gloomy gothic vibe of the original. The director's next horror, Misterios de ultratumba (AKA Black Pit of Dr. M) was anything but conventional, a one-of-a-kind, unpredictable slice of the macabre with twists and turns throughout.
Rafael Bertrand plays Dr. Mazali, who has an agreement with his fellow physician Dr. Jacinto Aldama (Antonio Raxel): whichever one of them dies first must enable the other to discover what is beyond death by allowing them to visit the afterlife and then return. Aldama is the first to cark it, and so Mazali contacts his spirit via seance: the dead man leaves a cryptic message, saying that Mazali must wait three months for a 'door to close', and that strange events will occur in the meantime. And that is precisely what happens.
To say any more about the plot would be to ruin the experience, but here's a few of the things that go to make this such a wonderfully original and unmissable movie: a mist-shrouded lunatic asylum; a crazy gypsy woman with the strength of ten men; a male nurse horribly disfigured by acid (the actor sporting excellent make-up); a chilling execution by hanging; a graveyard scene in which a dead man crawls his way out of his grave; and a cool full-body-burn stunt. All that and the very lovely Mapita Cortés as Aldama's daughter Patricia.
8.5/10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb. Well worth checking out.
Rafael Bertrand plays Dr. Mazali, who has an agreement with his fellow physician Dr. Jacinto Aldama (Antonio Raxel): whichever one of them dies first must enable the other to discover what is beyond death by allowing them to visit the afterlife and then return. Aldama is the first to cark it, and so Mazali contacts his spirit via seance: the dead man leaves a cryptic message, saying that Mazali must wait three months for a 'door to close', and that strange events will occur in the meantime. And that is precisely what happens.
To say any more about the plot would be to ruin the experience, but here's a few of the things that go to make this such a wonderfully original and unmissable movie: a mist-shrouded lunatic asylum; a crazy gypsy woman with the strength of ten men; a male nurse horribly disfigured by acid (the actor sporting excellent make-up); a chilling execution by hanging; a graveyard scene in which a dead man crawls his way out of his grave; and a cool full-body-burn stunt. All that and the very lovely Mapita Cortés as Aldama's daughter Patricia.
8.5/10, rounded up to 9 for IMDb. Well worth checking out.