Director: Michelle Garza Cervera
Screenplay: Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo
Starring: Natalia Solián, Alfonso Dosa, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Sonia Couoh
Country: Mexico
Running Time: 97min
Year: 2022
BBFC Certificate: 15
Valeria wants a child. After seeking spiritual guidance she finds herself pregnant and, as she and her partner Raul look toward the future as parents, Valeria begins to feel isolated and distant, shunned by her family who don’t believe she has it in her to be a mother and pushed aside by her husband who’s focus is only on the baby. As Valeria begins to reconnect with her earlier, rebellious life she begins to see bizarre images of a woman who looks shockingly like her, her legs broken, stalking her. Is Valeria going crazy or is she cursed?
I’m a big fan a of exploring horror from other countries, particularly stories that have a tinge of folk horror which can often provide insight into social and societal differences to our own culture. Huesera intrigued me with its premise but what I actually found was a more complex and layered film than I expected.
It almost feels a little unfair calling Huesera a “horror” story as while there are some aspects of horror here, the more supernatural part of the plot is very much secondary to the aspects of familial drama which sit alongside it. Make no mistakes, this is very much a horror story, but the psychological and physical changes that Valeria endures is just as much a contributor to the horror than the ghostly visitations she has. The story of a pregnant woman possibly going a little mad might feel a little trophy here, but ultimately Huesera uses this trope to explore the concepts of adulthood, conformity and depression.
It can be heavy stuff with Valeria’s growing isolation being the main focus of the growing tension, undercut by her uncertainty around parenthood and her life choices; coupled with a lack of empathy and support from her family, including her husband this creates a narrative that’s agonizing to watch as this woman suffers with only a handful of people who sympathise with her. It should resonate with anyone who has watched a partner go through the trauma of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood and can be painful at times.
There’s a lot of darkness here that parents may recognise and the film explores some incredibly uncomfortable themes. In some aspects it shares similar themes of parental angst to the 2022 Spanish film The Coffee Table, albeit far less extreme.
The film also peppers the story with flashbacks that speak of a life lost, Valeria’s punk kid past giving way to a domesticated adulthood with a desire to recapture her youth, the queer love she once lost and the things that once defined her. This coupled with Valeria having “moved on” in other ways, leading a more middle class lifestyle than that of her working class sibling and parents, as well a life of conformity only leads to the sense of isolation and regret that surrounds her as a character.
But Huesera is also a supernatural film and it manages to be more than capable in that respect as well. The atmosphere and scares are suitably creepy with a lot of the horror visuals playing subtly at the edges of the frame, a clever decision from director Michelle Garza Cervera to maintain the ambiguity, and the thematic elements of The Bone Woman with frequently snapping limbs is unsettling both on an audio and visual level. But while the story is loosely based around this Mexican folk legend of La Huesera, it doesn’t necessarily dig deep into the folk aspects of it which may turn some horror fans off who are perhaps expecting a more straight, spooky creature feature.
I’ll admit, I initially didn’t gel with the first half of the film because of this assumption; the story is, after all, largely marketed for its supernatural aspects; but pushing them into the background a little and focusing on where Huesera is really drawing its horror from led to a far more rewarding and far different experience than the one I was expecting. This is perhaps where Huesera can fall a little short as the horror would almost be better played with a more surrealist and ambiguous aspect which dials into the fragile state of Valeria’s psyche.
Thankfully it’s a great looking and sounding film, with some gorgeous cinematography. The colour palettes and use of light and shadow add depth to every scene and Cervera shoots with a lot of claustrophobic angles, allowing the user to dig into Valeria’s isolation. There’s also some fantastic wide open shots as well, particularly in the opening scene as Valeria makes a pilgrimage to the statue Our Lady of Guadalupe to bless her attempt at pregnancy which is stunning to look at.
The soundtrack also adds to the themes of the story, with the audio design making the more overtly horror sequences standout, undercut with a haunting score from composers Gibrán Androide and Cabeza de Vaca. We also get some fantastic use of music from Mexican post punk bands which is captivatingly evocative, underscoring the juxtaposition between Valeria’s current, homely, “normal” life and the counter cultural existence she misses.
Huesera can be an uncompromising film that doesn’t shy away from the darker side of parenthood, but the more overly supernatural aspects of the story do often feel at odds with the more family drama side leading to a somewhat uneven tone that can distract a little from the overall themes of the story, causing Heuesera to not always hit the mark. The brilliant cast are fantastically watchable, though and Natalia Solian stands out as Valeria. Her presence in every scene, often having to play out multiple emotions at once is a great achievement and she absolutely carries the film.
Bonus Features
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentary by film critic Kat Ellinger
- Internal Anguish and Images of Womanhood, a brand new video essay by film critic Anton Bitel
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Colin Murdoch
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by film critic Kat Hughes
Huesera is a fascinating film, one that rewards further reading to gain a deeper understanding of the themes and images; thankfully Arrow have brought a small but compelling selection of features to this Blu-ray with the commentary and video essay being essential viewing as they did deeper into the visual and narrative subtext in the film. All of this is bundled into a lovely limited edition package which is sure to please collectors.