A staunch if conniving Catholic wife becomes a husband-cum-taxidermist’s worst nightmare in this ‘60s Mexican cult classic that plunges us into the depths of anger and frustration as well as laying bare the hypocrisy of religious faith in creating false narratives.
Review #2,846
Dir. Rogelio A. Gonzalez
1960 | Mexico | Crime, Comedy, Horror | 84 min | 1.85:1 | Spanish
Not rated – likely to be PG13 for some disturbing themes
Cast: Arturo de Cordova, Amparo Rivelles, Elda Peralta
Plot: A taxidermist decides to murder his wife after having to put up with her after twenty years of hellish marriage.
Awards: –
Distributor: –
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Slightly Dark – Marital Crisis, Gaslighting; Religious Hypocrisy
Narrative Style: Straightforward
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Cult Mainstream
Viewed: MUBI
Spoilers: No
A ‘60s Mexican cult classic, The Skeleton of Mrs. Morales promises just that, bones and all.
Pablo is a local taxidermist who occasionally prepares human skeletons for doctors to use in medical research. Beloved by his friends who keep him drinking into the night, and a nice chap who plays with kids in the community square, Pablo, however, has one major problem: his wife.
With an injured leg that causes her to stay at home most of the time, Gloria is the kind of woman that makes me glad that I’m single, unburdened and contented.
She dislikes Pablo’s job, shuns his desire for intimacy and is such a staunch Catholic that her best confidant is the town priest. One wonders if there is something more going on between them.
She tells her churchmates that her husband is a despicable man with a bad temper, occasionally parading the ‘bruises’ on her face. All that isn’t true—so you can imagine how Pablo feels about his situation.
“What a husband you’ve got.”
Rogerio A. Gonzalez, a prolific studio director of over 60 films, plunges us into the depths of anger and frustration with his most celebrated work, rendered with menacing shadows and conniving faces.
While not exactly an all-out horror movie, Skeleton is frightening—and perhaps daring—in ways beyond genre limitations. The hypocrisy of religious faith is laid bare as sin begets sin, and the blind leads the blind.
One of the biggest assumptions of religion is that it is inherently good and beyond reproach—but what if it teaches us not to love but hate, to be offended by what disgusts us?
Compelling in its own morbid way, Skeleton warns us not to create false narratives. At the same time, it calls for a moral redemption that is just as elusive as a missing body, fostering interesting ambiguities in the narrative.
Grade: B+
Trailer:
Eternality Tan 