NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray (March 2023): Vinegar Syndrome have transferred three films in their Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada package to Blu-ray. Poison for the Fairies (1986) and Darker Than Night (1975) are shared on the first Blu-ray. Rapiña (1975) is on the second Blu-ray. They are all cited as being "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from their 35mm original camera negatives." They looks quite good in 1080P - not overly grainy but some pleasing textures. Colors are rich and aside from a brief sequence in the opening credits of Darker Than Night (see below) - remarkably clean. These have high bitrates and look comparable to Vinegar Syndrome's usual high standard. All good.

NOTE: We have added 136 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Vinegar Syndrome use DTS-HD Master mono tracks (24-bit) in the original Spanish  language. Poison for the Fairies had a score by Carlos Jiménez Mabarak, the last of his 15 film composure credits. Both Darker Than Night and Rapiña had scores by Raúl Lavista (The Whip Against Satan, Island of Lost Souls, The Atomic Fireman, Women's Prison, The She-Wolf etc.) He worked prolifically during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, and was credited on more than three hundred different productions. The scores range from dramatic to subtle supporting the films suspenseful moments. The audio is clean and exported authentically flat via the lossless transfers. Vinegar Syndrome offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-rays.

On the second Blu-ray disc Vinegar Syndrome include three 1/4 hour visual essays by Valeria Villegas - one for each film.  She covers quite a lot discussing the history of CONACINE (Corporación Nacional Cinematográfica), tropes of haunted mansions, black cats, witches etc., the Gothic narratives, red/blue negative flashbacks, director / writer Carlos Enrique Taboada and much more. She has a Master’s Degree in Cinema Studies from the University of Stockholm, Sweden with a thesis titled El mero chingón; The portrayal of Mexicanness as an identity discourse and its transformation through narco narratives in film, television and music. Valeria quotes Silvia Federici and I found the three visuals essays entertaining and revealing. The hard case package also includes a 40-page perfect bound book with essays by Oralia Torres de la Peña, Samm Deighan and Abraham Castillo Flores.

Vinegar Syndrome's Mexican Gothic: The Films of Carlos Enrique Taboada Blu-ray package is a treat to explore more, underexposed, Mexican genre cinema. It whets the cinephile appetite for Indicator's upcoming Mexico Macabre: Four Sinister Tales from the Alameda Films Vault, 1959–1963 coming out at the end of May. Taboada is best known for his supernatural and suspense films that had female lead characters and gothic romanticism. Rapiña looks at greed and human ethics, and was one of the director / writer's most successful films. It seems obvious that Taboada influenced directors like Guillermo del Toro and you can see some Lucio Fulci in his style. I hope another volume of Taboada's complex work comes to Blu-ray with Even the Wind is Afraid and The Book of Stone. The three very appealing films, Poison for the Fairies (1986), Darker Than Night (1975) and Rapiña (1975), avoid sexploitation and gore but genre fans will certainly embrace. Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze