movie world

Three friends -- Alfonso, Eduardo, and Cristina - are out for a hike in the woods only to lose their way. A monk in the nearby vicinity finds them and ushers them to find shelter at a remote monastery nearby, where a strange brotherhood holds regular rituals and strange things seem to be going on behind half-closed doors. Complicating things is the fact that Cristina is married to Eduardo but attracted to Alfonso, which mirrors a story told by the Father Superior about a cursed love triangle. Gradually the night spirals out of control as the newcomers discover a dark secret within the monastery walls.

The Phantom of the Monastery is slow but eerie, with atmosphere to burn. It was filmed in real monasteries including one in Mexico City that displays authentic mummified corpses of monks of olde. That spectacle was the producer’s inspiration to make the movie, according to writer Oro. It’s unclear whether the dessicated mummies we see are originals or theatrical mock-ups. They look very convincing. When the supernatural and ghoulish imagery arrives it really carries a charge.

Director: Fernando de Fuentes
Cast: Enrique del Campo, Marta Roel, Carlos Villatoro
Country: Mexico
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery

BD25 | 1080p AVC | 01:25:14 | 21.4 Gb + 3% rec
Language: Spanish
Subtitles: English

Extras:
• Audio commentary with genre-film experts, critics and authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (2022)
• The Devil in the Detail : Abraham Castillo Flores, head programmer of Mexico’s Morbido Film Fest, considers the impact of this early horror classic (2022, 18:01)