Thursday, November 21, 2024

The House That Burns At Night.

“El Charco” is a notorious brothel where a man can come in & have a good time all night long. El Charco is notoriously known by many people on both sides of the border and has been in control by an aging woman named Celia (Carmen Montejo) and it is always watched over by an older man whom always is outside. 

After killing a drug dealer, morphine-addicted prostitute Alazana (Sonia Infante) commutes to El Charco in hopes of landing a job there & to hide out as well. Alazana is then taken in by Celia and her young companion Eleazar (Salvador Pineda)—a strong & charismatic man that Celia loves like a son; and like a lover as well. 

As time goes by, all seems to be going well at El Charco and with Alazana as well. The many men who come in to El Charco have a good time dancing, drinking & of course fucking all of the stunning women who work there. On a typical night of dance numbers & many drunken attendees with Charco women on their sides; Eleazar kills an American undercover cop and gets rid of the body in the nearby river & hides out in the United States for several months. While Eleazar is away, Alazana has taken care of the aging & ill Celia and gaining her trust this way. Alazana then takes control of El Charco and when Eleazar returns; he’s not too fond of Alazana taking control of El Charco at all since he feels it belongs to him and this then leads to a rivalry where they both try to off each other out & then proceed to form a love/hate relationship. Alazana needs Eleazar as a lover & a way to rid of her heavy drug use. Eleazar just wants to not be alone & feel good about himself. 


La Casa Que Arde De Noche (aka "The House That Burns At Night") is based on a novel of the same name by prolific novelist & screenwriter Ricardo Garibay whom is known very well with writing many intriguing stories and particularly with this novel that features much eroticism & melodrama in a scripted manor. It was only natural for a film portrayal to be made and producer/actress Sonia Infante acquired the rights through her production company and her partnership with the great Rene Cardona Jr handling directorial duties. This team-up with Sonia and Rene Jr bringing this story to life couldn’t have been more perfect since the film came out so well and perhaps is even better than the original novel itself. The film features plenty of tasteful sexual activity & nudity, vulgar dialogue, stunning cinematography (making the brothel setting look so classy & sleazy as fuck at the same time), and featuring an all-star cast that played their parts so well. The two leads—Salvador Pineda & Sonia Infante are the best of all since their chemistry together is admiring & damming. You feel their distaste for each other, but also feel their heavy sexual tension as well. 


As mentioned before, the movie features plenty of sexual activity & nudity and not only provided by the leads, but also by memorable appearances of Mexican vedettes Lyn May, Michelle Dubois, and Jeannette Mass. With the exception of Carmen Montejoevery female in the film is nude or barely covered up in the skimpiest lingerie pieces. All eye-catching of course. 


La Casa Que Arde De Noche is perhaps one of Rene Cardona Jr’s best films of the 1980’s. Rene Jr was the type of director who always wanted to make his films stand-out & dealing with heavy topics, and with La Casa De Que Arde De Noche; this one goes all out in heaviness and it is a film from his lengthy filmography that truly stands out. 



Purchase La Casa Que Arde De Noche on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome