Huesera – Shudder Review (3/5)

HUESERA: THE BONE WOMAN is a new horror-drama from Mexico. A movie about becoming a mother and not feeling at home in this new role. Nightmares and strange visions plague Valeria and she seeks help. A chillingly realistic story. Read our full Huesera movie review here!

HUESERA: THE BONE WOMAN is a Mexican horror drama about motherhood. Or rather, it’s about finding your way again once your life has changed drastically. In that sense, it’s eerily similar to Baby Ruby which I did find worked better in many ways. However, the stories are also very different in many ways, so a direct comparison isn’t exactly fair.

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Our review of Baby Ruby which works extremely well >

With a runtime of 93 minutes, this never drags on for too long or takes too many wild turns. Instead, it focuses on how sometimes, the things we dream of, aren’t what we truly want or need. That might sound very fluffy, but the “subtitle” of The Bone Woman does become a quite physical manifestation of this issue. And those chilling visions will haunt you!

Continue reading our Huesera movie review below. The film premieres theatrically on February 10, and on VOD on February 16, 2023.

A very real and present kind of terror

There are scenes in Huesera that stays with you. And not just the imagery, but the feeling it awakes in you. The sound of a baby crying or a new young mother, who feels like everything she does is wrong. And also feels like she might be going crazy.

Not sleeping – and having nightmares when you do or terrible visions when you don’t – is enough to drive anyone over the proverbial edge.

Yes, Huesera: The Bone Woman is a very uncomfortable movie to watch at times. During these moments, the horror is obvious. Whether it’s a classic horror moment or more of a psychological horror moment that some would label drama. And isn’t everything drama, when you get to the bottom of it anyway.

For me, the worst moments are when the baby is involved. Don’t worry, I’ll give the “Does the dog die?!” answer right now; The baby does not die. This is not that kind of movie. But clearly, Valeria is scared that she might hurt her baby because she feels so out of control in her own life.

Nightmares and strange visions

As the viewer of Huesera: The Bone Woman, you might find yourself thinking “This is clearly just a nightmare!”. However, our main character Valeria doesn’t know this. And sometimes, she has visions while she’s wide awake. Moments like these – when she witnesses terrible things that may or may not be real – obviously makes her doubt her sanity.

These moments worked really well for me. Most people can relate to not being believed when they feel they’re simply telling someone their truth.

And then there’s that sweet little baby, Valeria has given birth to. She clearly loves her baby, but also wants to desperately run away from the life she suddenly finds herself trapped in. A life where she is no longer the most important person – not to anyone around her – and where her every action is watched, questioned, and criticized.

Natalia Solián (Netflix mini-series Somos.) does an amazing job of portraying Valeria. This movie would not have worked if she hadn’t managed to breathe life into this character in such an organic and realistic way. Also absolutely brilliant is Mercedes Hernández as her aunt Isabel. The only person who stands by Valeria in an unwavering and unconditional way.

Watch Huesera: The Bone Woman in theaters & on VOD – later on Shudder

Michelle Garza Cervera is the director of Huesera: The Bone Woman and she also wrote the screenplay with Abia Castillo. This is the first feature film from Michelle Garza Cervera as both writer and director, but she has directed both short films and TV series in the past. Michelle Garza Cervera won awards for Huesera at both the Sitges, Torino, and Tribeca Film Festivals.

This is the first credit on the IMDb resume of Abia Castillo, but both are working on a new movie in pre-production.

The entire cast works remarkably well and even when you get irritated or annoyed with characters, you can take a breath and see things from their point of view. We follow Valeria (Natalia Solián) so obviously, we have sympathy for her. However, when watching the movie, you can also sympathize with the father of the baby (Alfonso Dosal).

It takes skill, in terms of both writing and directing, to create a story with characters that are all relatable in some way. I am certain the ending of Huesera will divide people. But hey, isn’t that always the case when it doesn’t just have a happy ending where everything is explained and works out perfectly fine?!

From the direction to the eerie cinematography, where light and shadow are in constant battle, to the very creepy sound design that features sounds of bone cracking, Huesera is bound to be a movie you both watch and feel. This is probably also why the movie won the Audience Award at Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico.

Huesera: The Bone Woman premieres in theaters on February 10 and on VOD on February 16, 2023. On May 12, 2023, the movie will also be available on Shudder.

Details

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera
Writers: Michelle Garza Cervera, Abia Castillo
Stars: Natalia Solián, Alfonso Dosal, Mayra Batalla, Mercedes Hernández, Aída López, Martha Claudia Moreno