Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Mexico, 1975 (Rapiña, Darker Than Night), Mexico, 1986 (Poison for the Fairies)
Director: Carlos Enrique Taboada (All Films)
Cast: Ignacio López Tarso, Germán Robles, Norma Lazareno, Rosenda Monteros (Rapiña), Claudia Islas, Susana Dosamantes, Lucía Méndez, Helena Rojo, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Julián Pastor, Alicia Palacios, Tamara Garina, Enrique Pontón (Darker Than Night), Ana Patricia Rojo, Elsa María Gutiérrez, Leonor Llausás, Carmen Stein, María Santander, Ernesto Schwartz, Rocío Lazcano (Poison for the Fairies)

Release Date: March 28th, 2023
Approximate Running Times: 113 Minutes 26 Seconds (Rapiña), 102 Minutes 13 Seconds (Darker Than Night), 89 Minutes 57 Seconds (Poison for the Fairies)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $59.98

Rapiña: "Woodcutter Porfirio has always accepted his meager existence, however one day while working in a remote, forested mountain, Porfirio is the sole witness to the crash of a luxury plane. Desperate to escape his circumstances, he seizes the opportunity to loot the wreckage with his neighbor and co-worker, Evodio. But soon, best laid plans lead to treachery and murder…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Darker Than Night: "Ophelia has just learned of the death of her Aunt, whom she had never trusted. In a sinister twist of fate, she has now inherited her Aunt's estate, along with all of its tenants, living and dead. Inviting her three close friends along, Ophelia moves into the gothic house. But shortly after disregarding her Aunt's posthumous requests to care for Bequer, the house cat, their lives are turned upside down as horrors reveal themselves and a supernatural force starts to violently pick off the girls one by one!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Poison for the Fairies: "When young Flavia arrives at her new school she is quickly befriended by Veronica. What starts out as an innocent friendship turns terrifying when Veronica reveals herself to be a Witch. Unsure of the truth, Flavia enters into a manipulative relationship as Veronica's accomplice as the line between what is real and imagined blurs and leads to a spiral of magic, death, sacrifice and murder!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfers, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from their 35mm original camera negatives".

Rapiña comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 40.2 GB

Feature: 30.8 GB

Darker Than Night and Poison for the Fairies come on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.3 GB

Feature: 23.3 GB (Darker Than Night), 21.7 GB (Poison for the Fairies)

The sources used for these three films are similar. All three have some source-related imperfections, and Vinegar Syndrome has done a great job ensuring that these moments are not intrusive. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity is solid, contrast and black levels are strong, there are no issues with compression, and grain remains intact.

Audio: 4/5

Here's information about the audio, "The following presentations of Poison for the Faries, Darker Than Night and Rapiña were sourced from the best available sound elements. However, due to element degradation and poor storage, substantial damage occurred throughout, resulting in intermittent hiss and crackling. While extensive efforts were made to reduce this interference, due to its being mixed with dialog and music, only limited amounts could be removed without harming the integrity of the final mixes."

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mx in Spanish, and included are removable English subtitles for each film. Considering the limitations of the audio, Vinegar Syndrome has done a great job minimizing any shortcomings. That said, dialog always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the disc with Rapiña include a video essay with genre film scholar Valeria Villegas for Rapiña (14 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), a video essay with Valeria Villegas for Darker than Night (14 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles), and  a video essay with Valeria Villegas for Poison for the Fairies (14 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a forty page perfect bound book (limited to 6,000 units) with an essay titled Blacker Than Night: Shadows and Cats written by Oralia Torres de la Peña, an essay titled From Folk Horror to Gothic Thriller: Carlos Enrique Taboada’s Poison for the Fairies written by Samm Deighan, an essay titled Behold the Duke of Mexican Horror Cinema: Carlos Enrique Taboada Walker written by Abraham Castillo Flores, and a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (limited to 6,000 units).

Summary:

Rapiña: Though Carlos Enrique Taboada is arguably one of the most recognizable names from Mexico’s golden age of horror cinema in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. A film like Rapiña is not a horror film, despite being part of a trio of films being billed as Mexican Gothic. It is best described as an allegory about greed.

The narrative revolves around two poverty-stricken woodcutters. They live simple lives where their needs are addressed and luxury items are never considered. One day, their lives are turned upside down when fate intervenes and they come across a plane wreckage. From there, these two men stole everything valuable from those who died in the plane crash. Will their newfound wealth improve their lives, or will it become an albatross around their necks?

At one hundred and thirteen minutes in length, the narrative moves along at a deliberate pace that allows moments ample time to resonate. And though some may find the narrative slow moving, the result is a deeply rewarding cinematic experience whose payoff perfectly brings to head the moments that preceded.

Though the entire cast delivers solid performances. It is the two leads, Ignacio López Tarso (The Paperman) in the role of Porfirio, and Germán Robles (El Vampiro) in the role of Evodio, whose performances standout. Of these two characters, Porfirio has the more dominant personality, while Evodio passively goes along with Porfirio’s schemes.

Though the visuals let the story at hand take center stage. There are a few striking moments. The scene where Porfirio first comes across the crashed plane and the camera pans across the carnage The scene where Porfirio and Evodio’s robbery of the dead is interrupted by two men who have stumbled upon the wreckage And an unforgettable finale in which Porfirio, Evodio, and their two wives make a treacherous trek to avoid law enforcement who are looking for them. Ultimately, Rapia is an extraordinary morality tale whose moment of truth lingers on in your mind.

Darker Than Night: In its opening moments, Darker Than Night establishes a forbidding tone that perfectly builds tension that culminates in a sensational finale. And though the narrative is a satisfying blend of horror and melodrama, there are some who might be turned off by the deliberate pacing.

The narrative revolves around a woman who moves into her recently deceased aunt's home with her three finds. Shortly after their arrival, things start to go awry when one of the women does not abide by her aunt’s final wishes regarding her cat.

Content-wise, Darker Than Night has all of the elements that are synonymous with Gothic horror cinema. Notably striking visuals that are overflowing with atmosphere Also, Darker Than Night fits firmly into the old dark house horror sub-genre.

The cast is all very good in their roles, especially Alicia Palacios in the role of Sofia, the deceased aunt’s housekeeper, who stays on to help around the house. This character is reminiscent of the Mrs. Danvers character from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. Another performance of note is Claudia Islas, known as the "Mexican Brigitte Bardot," in the role of the protagonist Ophelia.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where Darker Than Night does not excel. The premise is superbly realized, and an excellent ending provides a perfect coda. And though most of the carnage is subdued compared to what one would expect from a film from the 1970s, The kill sequences are beautifully executed, and their lack of ferocity does not lessen their impact. Ultimately, Darker Than Night is a textbook example of Gothic horror cinema and a must see if you're a fan of this genre.

Poison for the Fairies: Throughout cinema’s history, there have been a number of films that feature ‘bad seed’ children. And at the heart of Poison for the Fairies is a Grimm-like fairy tale.

The narrative revolves around two young girls, an orphan named Veronica, who is a witch, and Flavia, whose family recently moved to town. From there, they form a friendship in which Veronica exerts more power over Flavia.

How a film opens can make or break it. The opening moments, shot in black and white, are reinforced by a burst of bloody red when a character's throat is slashed. That said, this moment does a superb job of setting the tone for what follows.

Though there are characters who interact with Veronica and Flavia, none of them amount to anything more than secondary characters that don't leave a lasting impression. That said, the two leads, Ana Patricia Rojo in the role of Veronica and Elsa Mara Gutiérrez in the role of Flavia, are both amazing in their roles.

From a production standpoint, Poison for the Fairies is a film where everything falls into place. The premise is well-executed, the narrative does a great job building momentum, and an excellent finale provides a very satisfying conclusion. Another strength of Poison for the Fairies is how the bulk of the visuals are told from a child's point of view. Ultimately, Poison for the Fairies is a deeply rewarding cinematic experience that fans of Gothic horror cinema are sure to enjoy.

Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada is an exceptional release from Vinegar Syndrome that gives all three films strong audio/video presentations and there is a trio of informative video essays, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer