During the eighties and nineties, endless titles of the horror genre invaded our homes. Whether it was through the material found in video stores or that which was broadcast on different open television channels, many films caused us nightmares, or caused long sleepless nights fearing monsters and masked assassins. One of them was Even the wind is afraid.
Michael Myers and Halloween, Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on the street of hell, Jason Voorhees and Friday the 13th and Leatherface in The Texas Massacre they taught us to fear blood. These guys were the very embodiment of evil and they demonstrated it with bloody violence. It was difficult to fall asleep after watching them viciously kill everyone in their path.
At the same time that they made slain bodies the reason to engender panic, Mexican filmmaker Carlos Enrique Taboada taught us to be frightened by the sound of the wind, the darkness of the night and a female voice repeating “Claudia, Claudiaaaaaa”. He didn’t need knives, power saws, and sharp claws to steal our peace of mind with Even the wind is afraid.
And he did from the beginning of the movie. A pair of dangling feet, the silhouette of a hanged woman, a window opened by the force of the air, the leaves of the trees moving abruptly and the terrifying scream of Claudia (Alicia Bonet) immediately introduced us to the fright that disturbed us. On the one hand, we knew that we were going to get scared in the constant attempt to discover where that prologue was leading us. On the other, it was practically impossible to resist not knowing who was the cause that even caused him fear of the wind.
Relying on the photography of Agustín Jiménez, the music of Raúl Lavista and a simple story from beyond the grave, but well counted with different elements (a boarding school for young ladies, a cruel director, a dark tower), as well as the performances of an extraordinary cast headed by Marga López, Carlos Enrique Taboada directed a film that held viewers captive with pure psychology and suggestion.
While it is true that in the end it was known what was behind this horror story, the public was terrified. In fact, one of the characters mentions that it is better to forget everything that has happened, words to which Claudia responds that it will be very difficult. And he was right! Taboada’s great trap, whether or not that was his intention, was to turn the viewer into Claudia. Nobody went to sleep calmly after having seen and heard what she lived.
Released in 1968, the film gained fame two decades later due to its broadcast on broadcast television. It was thanks to the “idiot box” that could reach millions of homes and new generations to cause trauma among lovers of the horror genre. Incidentally, its continuous transmission contributed to value Mexican cinema, in addition to Taboada’s contribution to horror with the elements available to him. Hence, a sector of moviegoers considered him cult or based on his style to tell urban legends.
Haven’t you seen them? You can do it. Remember that you must close the windows of your house well because when you see it, the wind is likely to panic.
* In this national month you can be scared with this movie in Tubi’s platform.
Raya and the Last Dragon
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