El libro de piedra

A rather splendid Gothic horror that is not particularly scary but there are some really good moments and I loved it. It was especially an unusual film with the statue and the young girl. Lucy Buj the youngster is really good and unfortunately she only made half a dozen films. The director, Carlos Enrique Taboada is liked and I had seen Dark Than Night (1975) and Even the Wind is Afraid (1968) that were both rather creepy. Joaquin Cordero one of the most popular actors of Mexican cinema and made some 200 films of different genre, in this one he is probably not the most liked one of this one and seems that he understands nothing of what is going on. It is his wife, the governess and the young girl that really seem to know what is happening but never at the same time. The governess, as Marga Lopez is rather lovely and I also saw her in Even the Wind.

After years of looking for this film that is recognized as a forgotten gem of mexican oldstyle horror cinema i found it in a place where i least expected it, now it´s part of my vast collection of hard to find horror and cult films.

This classic film tells the story about a little girl Silvya (Lucy Buj) that because of her behaviour is required to be nursed by a special teacher Julia (Marga López) at home,This teacher is experienced in the field and starts looking after the child´s behavior and her friendship with Hugo,a statue of a little boy with a book that dates 10,000 years old and supposedly talks to her and make her do things, Her wealthy father Eugenio Rubalcaba (Joaquin Cordero) is very disturbed about his daughters way´s and his new wife Mariana (Norma Lazareno) is trying to cope with her step daugters ideas but fears of the statue.

All this characters play their parts well and the atmosphere in this movie is so thick that you can cut it with a knife, locations are well used and the fright factor is there all the time, This is a timeless piece of art that should be taken seriously now a days for next wave horror movie creators. It´s a must see.

Growing up in Milwaukee in the early 80s meant one Spanish channels for my parents and every Friday night was our family night. Unlike your typical family night our idea of family night meant making popcorn and jumping into bed with mom to watch "Noche de pelicula". During Halloween they showed many scary movies and this one along with "Hasta el viento tiene miedo" are engraved in my mind like GEMS in a pile of dirt. This movie is a MUST SEE! I would put this and the before named movie up their with "The Exorcist" and "The Amityville Horror" just for its raw FEAR. Many new horror movies are based on visual effects to produce fear where these classics use plain atmosphere to create a natural fear.

I swear this has to be the scariest movie I´ve ever seen in my entire life, and I´ve seen plenty, but the whole aura that is involved in the facts that surrounds the goth horror in El libro de piedra (The stone book), it´s real frightening. Maybe I should say that I watched the movie on TV when I was nine or ten, and of course left me full of chills the whole evening; and in days after. I couldn´t look at the curtains in my room at night, or to a rear view mirror. If you can see the movie sometime, you´ll understand what I'm talkin' about. The fact is that I catched again the film like four years ago; I haven't seen it in a long time, and it happened the same: I was so thrilled about the experience, that I got scared again like the very first time, and maybe even more because I was chillin' on anticipation for what I knew it was coming. And I was already on my late 20's.

Director´s Taboada, as far as I know, it´s better known outside México for some of his horror movies. Hasta el viento tiene miedo (Even the wind's scared 1968) and Más negro que la noche (Blacker than the night 75-76), are some of his finest efforts in the horror ground. And I´ve seen those two -on tv also-, but it's El libro... the greatest of them all. Of course there are some flaws in the screenplay, in the acting and in direction matters, but on the other hand, it has some of the very best tricks to create fear without the effects that has been used and abused nowadays. This movie has the magic of the psychological tease that has inspired some of Guillermo del Toro works -just see the liquid footprints on El espinazo del diablo- and all around the ghost seeking revenge theme.

Another high point of El libro... i'ts that the ending it's not your cliché finale. It's so powerful and unexpected, that instead of getting a feel of relief -you may know what I mean-, it leaves you more than shocked and horrified. Taboada was a master on this matters, and if you're ever able to check his other works, you may enjoy it as well. The first half of Hasta el viento tiene miedo it's brilliant too, and Más negro... it's good just as reference. But if you can, try another mexican horror movies like Ladrón de cadáveres (Thief of corpses), and El escapulario.

THE BOOK OF STONE opens with the new governess, Julia (Marga Lopez), getting acquainted with the family. She meets Sylvia (Lucy Buj), the little girl she'll be teaching, and is intrigued by her imagination. As Julia asks questions of family members and other staff, her curiosity only deepens, along with the mystery around Sylvia's strange behavior, and her obsession with a boy named Hugo.

Director Carlos Enrique Taboada does a superb job of creating a building atmosphere of supernatural dread. There are some effective images / locations, like the enormous, abandoned church building. The story is creepy, and Lucy Buj plays her role with an odd sort of menace. Ms. Lopez plays Julia as a strong character, rather than someone who is hysterically superstitious. She really has to be convinced that something spooky is going on.

This movie has been compared to THE INNOCENTS, and that's appropriate. Mostly due to the governess / child relationship, mixed with paranormal occurrences. However, this movie stands on its own as a terrifying piece of horror cinema with an unforgettable finale...