Remember those SAFETY films we sometimes had to watch in class? How to use electricity without burning down the house? Water safety? Drivers ed? This plays like one of those. Actually follows the rules of the form, right down to overacting, people getting FREAKED when things go wrong...and the inevitable BAD STUFF when the poor saps DON'T obey the RULES. In this context, the film is almost fascinating. It's like it's a health film from some alternative universe where this stuff REALLY WORKS..and they HAVE to put out public service movies, to prevent people from having street fights between good and bad spirits... The dialog is up to K. Gordon Murray's usual high standards of total overkill, and the special effects actually have a kick to them..Of course, you get more questions then answers...like just who IS that dude at the door??? The whole film has a nice slow eerie vibe that builds right up to the end..and if you liked to wait for the car crash, the electrical fire, or the drowning in the safety films, this one won't disappoint.
12 Reviews
Mother Knows Best
EdgarST13 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
A verbose supernatural melodrama with an agenda: to warn us spectators of the "dangers" of occultism and to avoid practicing spiritualism. It includes a long, wordy scene where a spiritualist leader explains the excellences and virtues of this practice, its connection to all religions, or the link between good spirits and classical music. But outside of those dark rooms and into the house of a middle-class Mexican family, the story that is told is far more interesting than all the proselytizing, or the sessions with Ouijas and fainting mediums: a young man asks his parents to mortgage their home to open a crop dusting business. He does so after the party of their silver wedding anniversary, when the father had finally given his wife the title deeds as a present. Against what she was warned during the first séance we see, the mother, who is a domineering, manipulative and ambitious woman, tells her husband to do what their only child says. Trouble follows, and pretty soon the mother is asking the Devil for money, bringing tragedy to her family. Using the W.W. Jacobs' tale "The Monkey's Paw" to round up the script, in its scariest moments the movie sometimes made me remember Maurice Tourneur's "La main du Diable" and Robert Florey's "The Beast with Five Fingers", but quite often it is the typical family melodrama with tearful histrionics the Mexicans cherish. Unfortunately the script takes so much time to give lectures about spiritualism, that there is not much left for the "real thing", and the final act is incredibly fast. The copy by VCI Entertainment in Spanish is very good, but Augusto Benedico (as the priest) has disappeared from the prologue. The movie begins when the husband goes to church to tell the priest what has happened. Benedico is only seen in a brief close-up that dissolves to the past, as the husband narrates what happened to his family. Director Benito Alazraki, who made an auspicious debut with the motion picture "Raíces" (Roots) in 1954, was no stranger to horror. He had made before (also for producer Guillermo Calderón) the cult classic "Muñecos infernales" (The Curse of the Doll People) that went for pure horror, but in "Espiritismo" he was subject to the Calderón's fore-mentioned agenda.
Rather tired and lifeless supernatural horror offering
kannibalcorpsegrinder17 September 2012
A group of friends gathering a friend's large mansion to dabble in the black arts find themselves under attack by a series of supernatural attacks related to one's purchase of a cursed artifact.
Agonizingly slow Gothic effort, probably slower because of the language barrier but even still, the amount of ghostly activity in this one isn't high at all and really doesn't have a whole lot to do anyway, leaving this to consist of endless scene-after-scene of them standing around talking to each other in different rooms around the house about what's going on. When it gets to the good stuff, namely the séance scenes, this one becomes all the better since it's all first-rate stuff, and those séances are just magical all around without much improvement to be done on them. Though, without a lot of horror elements to be found, this one doesn't have any real lasting impact at all.
Today's Rating-Unrated/PG: Violence
Agonizingly slow Gothic effort, probably slower because of the language barrier but even still, the amount of ghostly activity in this one isn't high at all and really doesn't have a whole lot to do anyway, leaving this to consist of endless scene-after-scene of them standing around talking to each other in different rooms around the house about what's going on. When it gets to the good stuff, namely the séance scenes, this one becomes all the better since it's all first-rate stuff, and those séances are just magical all around without much improvement to be done on them. Though, without a lot of horror elements to be found, this one doesn't have any real lasting impact at all.
Today's Rating-Unrated/PG: Violence
Surprisingly decent Mexican horror, but not for fans of modern fright...
rixrex9 July 2009
If you prefer more modern horror films where the gore is significant and the action is fast, you might not like this at all.
It is an eerie, yet slow-paced, retelling of the famous Monkey's Paw story, with some significant differences. What it has going for it is great atmosphere, a literate plot, some nice performances, and some well-done séance sequences with apparitions.
In this case, the paw is replaced by a disembodied human hand, which is a nice, gruesome touch. The aspect of the three wishes given to the holder of the paw (hand) is not relevant here, as instead the story involves calling upon satanic powers to grant financial benefit. There's no limit of wishes granted, but the sacrifice of one's soul for the desires granted.
Fans of older-styled pre-1950s horror ought to enjoy this.
It is an eerie, yet slow-paced, retelling of the famous Monkey's Paw story, with some significant differences. What it has going for it is great atmosphere, a literate plot, some nice performances, and some well-done séance sequences with apparitions.
In this case, the paw is replaced by a disembodied human hand, which is a nice, gruesome touch. The aspect of the three wishes given to the holder of the paw (hand) is not relevant here, as instead the story involves calling upon satanic powers to grant financial benefit. There's no limit of wishes granted, but the sacrifice of one's soul for the desires granted.
Fans of older-styled pre-1950s horror ought to enjoy this.
The perfect Mexican nightlight
mesmeric22 June 2003
I bought this DVD from half.com for $1.88 and the shipping was more than that. I am a fan of movies like the Brainiac and all the wrestling horror flicks so when I read about this on a fansite, I thought I'd give it a go.
I propped the Mintek on my lap, leaned back and watched...then fell asleep. I woke up, backed up to the last scene I remembered, pressed Play...and fell asleep. The next time I woke up, I made a strong cup of coffee, then another because the first tasted so good, went back to the Mintek, pressed Play...and fell asleep.
Maybe this is one of those weird tapes like in the Ring, only instead of dying in seven days you fall asleep in 7 minutes.
What I remember was a bunch of Mexican people talking about Ouija boards with dubbed voices. There didn't seem to be much action...maybe it happened when I was asleep. Somehow I don't think so.
I recommend this movie to anyone who is having trouble sleeping.
I propped the Mintek on my lap, leaned back and watched...then fell asleep. I woke up, backed up to the last scene I remembered, pressed Play...and fell asleep. The next time I woke up, I made a strong cup of coffee, then another because the first tasted so good, went back to the Mintek, pressed Play...and fell asleep.
Maybe this is one of those weird tapes like in the Ring, only instead of dying in seven days you fall asleep in 7 minutes.
What I remember was a bunch of Mexican people talking about Ouija boards with dubbed voices. There didn't seem to be much action...maybe it happened when I was asleep. Somehow I don't think so.
I recommend this movie to anyone who is having trouble sleeping.
Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1967
kevinolzak24 September 2019
1961's "Spiritism" ("Espiritismo") was Benito Alazraki's low budget Mexican takeoff on W.W. Jacobs' 1902 classic "The Monkey's Paw" (he also directed "The Curse of the Doll People," El Santo's starring debut "Invasion of the Zombies," and the horror comedy "Frankestein the Vampire and Co."). Actually, that only plays into it during the final 15 minutes, as the exceedingly wordy exposition lasts over an hour while we watch the slow disintegration of a family due to financial hardships, the son insisting on mortgaging his mother's home for 20 years to help kick start his crop dusting business. As one might expect, everything comes a cropper when the liquidation fee rises from $2000 to $8000, poor Mamacita enduring a number of seances with like minded spiritualists, allowing for the sad story of a recently deceased friend who still hasn't come to grips with the afterlife. The final sitting finds her so distraught that she virtually conjures up Satan himself to solve all her worries, even granted a mysterious key before she leaves. It's not long before a stranger drops in unannounced with what he describes as 'Pandora's Box,' the one to which the key will fit, effectively tempting the mother to open up its contents at precisely midnight to reveal a severed hand (the equivalent of 'The Monkey's Paw') and the promise of $8000. Like Alazraki's "The Curse of the Doll People" the opening reels unspool with unceasing talk by comfortably seated characters, but while that film gets down to business during the second reel this promising entry never truly comes alive. Television's THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR did their version in 1965 in just under an hour, in which we never see the bloody results of the mother's wish, but what this film reveals is held back for the very end and not a long awaited moment sooner (thankfully in this instance the film does not shy away). Only the most patient of viewers may be rewarded but this one must admit defeat trying not to fall asleep. Making her screen debut was a teenaged Julissa, going on to be an unlikely leading lady for the legendary Boris Karloff in "Snake People," "Fear Chamber" and "House of Evil."
Seance
BandSAboutMovies11 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Benito also directed Munecos Infernales, Santo vs. the Zombies and the astoundingly titled Frankenstein el Vampiro y Compania. This time, he's sending his movie up north where Espiritismo will become Spiritism thanks to K. Gordon Murray.
This goes the Monkey's Paw one better by having Satan himself grant the wishes. I mean, when the Lord of Lies is giving things away, that's when you start questioning things.
This movie features a character so clueless that she goes to a seance for herself, which sounds like a joke I should be saving for the next time someone wants to play The Dozens against me
This goes the Monkey's Paw one better by having Satan himself grant the wishes. I mean, when the Lord of Lies is giving things away, that's when you start questioning things.
This movie features a character so clueless that she goes to a seance for herself, which sounds like a joke I should be saving for the next time someone wants to play The Dozens against me
so... very... bad...
tripsterparadox2 January 2002
Warning: Spoilers
I knew it was going to be bad when I saw the words "English production by..." Little did I know just how bad it was.
This would be a great movie for MST3K, but not much else.
SPOILER ALERT (not that this movie could possibly be spoiled):
This is a very poor telling of a story Hitchcock told in a 1965 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("The Monkey's Paw - A Retelling")... but it's so much more.
The movie is definitely created in a "See What Happens To Johnny When He Dabbles In The Black Arts" genre, and is intended to ward people away from the evils of Spiritualism & seances... unfortunately, it's done so poorly that it comes off as a comedic satire.
This would be a great movie for MST3K, but not much else.
SPOILER ALERT (not that this movie could possibly be spoiled):
This is a very poor telling of a story Hitchcock told in a 1965 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("The Monkey's Paw - A Retelling")... but it's so much more.
The movie is definitely created in a "See What Happens To Johnny When He Dabbles In The Black Arts" genre, and is intended to ward people away from the evils of Spiritualism & seances... unfortunately, it's done so poorly that it comes off as a comedic satire.
The spirits never lie. Too bad they didn't have a good script.
mark.waltz30 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Poor dubbing and a slow moving story makes this Mexican horror film move like a peg on a dead ouija board. A loving but domineering mother seeks aide from the dangerous world of spiritualism which seems to be destroying the life of everyone around her. The actors dubbing the original stars make no effort to match lips, sounding like they are in a cartoon, and the main actors within the film are obviously awkward about the subject matter. The film takes forever to really get going so nodding off becomes a great possibility. This seems to be world religion for dummies, not telling the viewer anything they do not know, and when they do, it's things they do not want to know. Nearly a complete waste of time.
The Hand meets The Haunting meets The Medium
mart-4520 December 2006
Quite a neat little horror flick with a lot of mood lighting, sinister atmosphere and ghostly activities going on. Of course it's pretty ridiculous at times and hardly ever scary, but isn't that exactly what one would expect of a Mexican shocker of that era? It would have been pretty cool to be able to see it in Spanish, but to my knowledge there exists only a mediocre, yet quite watchable copy on DVD, which is an English dubbed version. The story of a woman who is warned by all the spirits at every séance to stop interfering, but who nevertheless is eager to help her son overcome some difficulties is a familiar one, but that didn't spoil the watching experience for me. 1,5 hours quite well spent, even though a modern viewer might prefer slightly more action and less talk in a horror film.
A good one to watch
aznasas4 June 2023
I liked it, maybe is not the best horror film you can watch, but certainly it is something. I'd recommend watching it. The film shows perfectly how a medium wealthy fine family starts tearing apart after an spiritism session in which they are revealed stuff in their futures. Maybe the only one thing I didn't like is that they try to make the "spiritism" look like something evil, but regardless of that they do not enphasise too much on it. There is an special scene that gave me real chills cause even though its a 1960s film and their effects could not be the best, they are terryfying when it comes to that special scene, I will not give spoilers but it is almost at the end. Till this day I remember it and I still have some chciken skin lol. Watch it, you will not regret it, its an entertaining one.
One of the Worst Out There
Michael_Elliott14 December 2011
Spiritism (1962)
1/2 (out of 4)
This Mexican-horror film is among the very worst I've seen. A mother decides to make a deal with the devil after her son gets into some financial hardships and her husband helps, which just comes back to haunted them because they might lose their home. This Mexican variation on The Monkey's Paw is one of the most confusing and boring films I've seen. Even in the American dubbed version you can't help but feel as if you're missing out on some sort of story or events that appear to be missing. The film starts off with a séance where nothing much happens but as the movie goes along you realize that what was happening in that opening sequence is actually more than anything else that follows. What really kills the film is how the story is constantly jumping around. It's as if the screenwriter really thought he had something deep to say about death but it just all comes across very childish and silly. There's one sequence where a woman is at one of the séances not realizing that she's already dead. Then we have the ending, which is beyond silly but I'll avoid spoiling it for anyone. It also doesn't help that the production was certainly very low-budget and this leads to some silly moments. There's one scene where a severed hand comes to life and we get a shot of it on the ground moving. It's easy to see that it's a full arm down there moving so the effect is just silly. There's even another make-up effect where a woman sees her "dead" self in a mirror and the effect is just laughable. The biggest problem with the film is just its lousy, unimaginative direction, which can be seen in the opening sequence where everything is a medium shot with two people in the frame. No matter how you look at it this film is among the worst of its kind with very little going for it.
1/2 (out of 4)
This Mexican-horror film is among the very worst I've seen. A mother decides to make a deal with the devil after her son gets into some financial hardships and her husband helps, which just comes back to haunted them because they might lose their home. This Mexican variation on The Monkey's Paw is one of the most confusing and boring films I've seen. Even in the American dubbed version you can't help but feel as if you're missing out on some sort of story or events that appear to be missing. The film starts off with a séance where nothing much happens but as the movie goes along you realize that what was happening in that opening sequence is actually more than anything else that follows. What really kills the film is how the story is constantly jumping around. It's as if the screenwriter really thought he had something deep to say about death but it just all comes across very childish and silly. There's one sequence where a woman is at one of the séances not realizing that she's already dead. Then we have the ending, which is beyond silly but I'll avoid spoiling it for anyone. It also doesn't help that the production was certainly very low-budget and this leads to some silly moments. There's one scene where a severed hand comes to life and we get a shot of it on the ground moving. It's easy to see that it's a full arm down there moving so the effect is just silly. There's even another make-up effect where a woman sees her "dead" self in a mirror and the effect is just laughable. The biggest problem with the film is just its lousy, unimaginative direction, which can be seen in the opening sequence where everything is a medium shot with two people in the frame. No matter how you look at it this film is among the worst of its kind with very little going for it.
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