Muñecos infernales

When some stupid foreigners steal a religious object in Haiti, divine retribution is swift. A paean to the menacing beauty of deep, dark shadows, of rooms veiled in gloom. A cautionary tale with an anti-colonial subtext. A true classic of Mexican horror that remains profoundly disturbing and eminently entertaining!

Never ever steal a religious object, especially not from a culture you don’t understand! But that’s exactly what some guys here do in Haiti, for which they are cursed by a Voodoo priest, and tracked down by his henchmen: four dolls brought to life.

Death is imminent when they appear out of the shadows… Is there a way to stop this small army of divine retribution? Abraham Merritt’s novel Burn, Witch, Burn! (1932) serves as the inspiration for a horror yarn featuring little people. Benito Alazraki, one of Mexican cinema’s finest stylists during its classical period, turns this cautionary tale into a haute scarefest, a paean to the menacing beauty of deep, dark shadows, of rooms veiled in gloom and umbra. A true classic of Mexican horror as it has managed to remain profound and disturbing after six and a half decades!

– Olaf Möller

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