69 Days to Halloween- 1950 El Hombre Sin Rostro

Over the next 100 days, I will present one movie of significances in horror, suspense or thrillers for each year from 1919 to 2018. The next film presented here is the 1950 Mexican horror crime thriller "El Hombre Sin Rostro" starring Arturo de Cordova, Miguel Angel Ferriz and directed by Juan Bustillo Oro.

El Hombre Sin Rostro (1950)

Dir- Juan Bustillo Oro

This crime thriller focuses on a detective with a complicated past searching for a serial killer who appears to him in visions without a face. The murders weigh heavy on him as he faces criticism from his superiors and the press. He turns to a psychiatrist to help him understand his visions as the details of his past reveal secrets that may tie into the motives of the killer. This Mexican horror drama utilizes dream sequences that show the troubled life of the detective especially with his mother and his inability to settle down. The sequences with the faceless killer are presented in a surrealist and expressionist manner in an era when film noir was at its peak.  This movie premiered 10 years before Psycho showed us a similar mother dominated soul who may be troubled mentally.