Isabel (Maribel Guardia), a naive young housewife isolated from the world, sees her fantasies of black lace take a nightmarish turn one fateful night when she's stalked by a killer in an apartment high rise populated by the hedonistic, opportunistic, and perverted.
This Mexican-made movie is a mild, claustrophobic black comedy with a feminist slant that has the wide-eyed heroine surrounded by the type of men women need to be liberated from. Ruben (Jaime Moreno), the fantasy man Isabel meets on the street when she does manage to break out, could free the princess imprisoned in the penthouse if he wasn't on the make but her innocence and loyalty get in the way. Paradoxically, the premise can also be perceived as a slightly misogynistic morality tale warning of the dangers of trying to find fulfillment outside the home and marriage. Isabel's possessive, violent husband (Gonzalo Vega) is right in thinking it's a dangerous world out there for an unescorted wife and the maid (Claudia Guzman), along with three single gals in an apartment below, illustrate the reasons why men don't trust women in the first place. Fantasies don't come to fruition in this film and when the beautiful, long-haired Isabel crosses paths with another neighbor (Claudio Obregon), a perverted masher with a hair fetish who's crimes against women escalate, some suspense builds as the tale reaches a climax that exposes private traps in a "No Exit" kind of way. This well-made film with a hint of Almodovar won an "Ariel" (Mexico's "Oscar") for Best Supporting Actress (Guzman) with nominations for Best Actress & Best Score. There's some very brief nudity, one killing, and almost no violence but holds the interest nonetheless. The title refers to a specific incident and although neither horror nor giallo, TERROR AND BLACK LACE isn't bad but isn't reely a dark-themed tale which is surprising for an ostensible black dramedy.
