DVD Collectors Online

The Witch's Mirror, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Witch's Mirror (El espejo de la bruja)
Year of Release: 1960
Directed By: Chano Urueta
Starring: Rosita Arenas, Armando Calvo, Isabela Corona, Dina De Marco
Genre: Horror

Overview:
A benevolent witch (Isabela Corona) enchants a magic mirror to protect her adopted daughter Elena (Dina de Marco) from her cruel husband (Armando Calvo). When the incantation fails and the girl is murdered, the witch vows revenge using every unholy principle of the supernatural that she can conjure. An unforgettable foray into black magic, high spookery and dazzling storytelling, CasaNegra is proud to present The Witch's Mirror restored and remastered for the first time on DVD in a brand new transfer - including the blasphemous resurrection of the slain Elena!

My Thoughts:
The first half of this seems like a low-budget but well-scripted gothic. At the midpoint it turns to gothic meets mad scientist horror. This is by no means bad, as the script holds together with the thread of supernatural vengeance running through all of it. It is a film of witchcraft, and the witch is a powerful force of evil. Nonetheless, she is not the villain of the film.

The budget is low, and the script derivative (Eyes Without a Face is an obvious influence) but the filmmakers create enough atmosphere and the performances are good enough to overlook that. If I've one major criticism, it's that the witch, Sara, targets the innocent second wife as much as the guilty husband. Too often women are pitted against each other by society, and Sara labels Deborah an 'evil woman' for actions outside her control. That aside, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to fans of gothic horror.

Watched For: Scavenger Hunt 19, Hoop-tober 3.0, Horror/Halloween Challenge 2016

Bechdel Test: Pass
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

Horror/Halloween Challenge Films: 6/52

(From Horror/Halloween 2016 Challenge on October 6th, 2016)

Party Party, a review by Rich

15/12

party party



It's New Year's Eve and Larry's parents are off to the vicarage dance totally unaware that their home is about to be the venue for the wildest party ever... Music soundtrack features tracks from numerous leading bands of the 80s, including Elvis Costello, Madness, Modern Romance, Bad Manners and Altered Images.

Superb 80's nostalgic trip, brilliant music, a cast which is like spot a who'd who of future UK TV stars, some truly brilliant comedy moments. Pretty crap film and storyline non-existent - but who cares! Great viewing for anyone who grew up in UK in the 1980's,for anyone else probably an awful movie. 


(From 25 Days of Christmas on December 16th, 2008)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

12. You're Welcome
Original Air Date: 2/4/2004
Cordelia returns to help her friends one last time after an old nemesis shows up determined to defeat Angel by overriding a secret failsafe created by the Powers That Be.

Guest Stars:
Charisma Carpenter
Christian Kane
Sarah Thompson
Ryan Alvarez
T. J. Thyne

My Thoughts:
An excellent episode. This is the 100th episode of the series. So you know they do a big one for that. Which also means I only have 10 more episodes of this series to watch now. In this episode we get closure of the Cordelia storyline as well as the Lindsey storyline. And I think they did an excellent job on both... especially with Cordelia. That character really grew since the self-centered character of the early days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 24th, 2010)