EDITOR’S NOTE: 100 Cries of Terror was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, August 12, 1972 at 1:00 a.m.
There are two distinct stories packed into this chilling Mexican portmanteau, 100 Cries of Terror (Cien gritos de terror), a film that embraces the macabre styling of classic Gothic horror.
The first segment, Pánico—hey, how about that title?—is a classic tale of murderous deception. It centers on a man, played by horror icon Joaquín Cordero (Dr. Satan), who is desperate to sever ties with his wife so he can run off with his new lover. But in the twisted realm of classic cinema thrillers, things are never that simple. The couple moves into a secluded home surrounded by the eerie landscapes outside Mexico City, setting the stage for psychological torment. What begins as a calculated scheme involving fake intruders, dragging chain and feigned fright quickly spirals out of control. Greed, paranoia and shifting loyalties lead the characters into a nightmare of double-crosses, where the boundary between a staged haunting and a genuine supernatural visitation blurs entirely. When characters start dying of sheer terror, the plot morphs into a delightfully wicked exercise in poetic justice.
The second segment, Miedo Supremo (translated variously as Supreme Fear or The Crypt of Terror), shifts from psychological murder plots into the realm of morbid claustrophobia. A man visits a burial crypt and becomes accidentally trapped alive inside the mausoleum walls. As he searches for a way out in the pitch-black catacombs, he makes a terrifying discovery: he is not alone in the dark. Surrounded by the dead and the decaying, he realizes that someone—or something—else shares his stony prison. It’s a claustrophobe’s ultimate nightmare, dripping with dread, damp stone and the desperate struggle for survival against mounting madness.
Translated internationally as 100 Cries of Terror, this 1965 feature is very much an homage to the timeless literary and cinematic tropes of Edgar Allan Poe. From premature burial and creeping paranoia to guilt-ridden murderers haunted by their victims, the film wears its Gothic influences proudly on its sleeve.
Director and screenwriter Ramón Obón was a vital architect of Mexican genre cinema. Before stepping behind the camera for this project, Obón made a name for himself as a prolific writer, notably scripting The Living Coffin (El ataúd vivo), another cornerstone of Mexico’s Golden Age of horror. Sadly, 100 Cries of Terror marked a tragic milestone in his career: it was the first feature film he directed, and tragically, he passed away not long after its completion, cutting short what promised to be a brilliant directorial run.
Despite its vintage charm and cult status among international horror aficionados, the film remains something of a hidden gem today. That nearly changed a decade ago. Back in 2014, there was an exciting buzz surrounding a planned modern remake of the movie, with Reversal director J.M. Cravioto attached to helm the project. For fans of Spanish-language frights, it sounded like a dream revival of a classic property. Unfortunately, like many ambitious cinematic revivals, the remake never materialized, fading quietly into development hell.
You can watch this on YouTube.
