Huesera

This should not be categorized as a horror movie. You can see from other reviews that people are upset at their expectations not being met. Although it does have some horror-like scares, it is a different experience altogether, more of a character study. However, the way that the story unfolds requires patience and an open mind. There are some allegorical elements that are not explicitly made clear in the movie. This could lead to some viewers feeling like the story leaves too many details unexplained. I thought it was well-written and gave an interesting look into the experience of a young Mexican woman dealing with the limited options imposed on her by family and society. The few supernatural elements sprinkled in are a smaller part of the story, which is mostly a psychological drama. I ended up liking the main character, so that influenced my enjoyment of the film, but not every viewer is going to understand or support her choices.

Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022) is a Mexican horror movie that I recently watched on Shudder. The storyline follows a young lady with a checkered past who has settled down with a good man and decided it's time to have a baby and start a family. Unfortunately, some things from her past may come back to haunt her and spoil her plans.

This movie is directed by Michelle Garza Cervera (Mexico Barbaro 2) and stars Natalia Solián (Red Shoes), Alfonso Dosal (Narcos: Mexico), Mayra Batalla (Prayers for the Stolen), Sonia Couoh (Potosi) and Mercedes Hernández (Identifying Features).

The storyline for this movie is fairly straightforward but well executed. The acting is very good, the settings are well selected and the story is well paced. The horror elements have great sound effects and some worthwhile open wounds that make you cringe. The last 15 minutes of the movie does a great job flipping on its head and contains fantastic horror elements. The people at the end of this movie are very creepy and perfectly executed...though I wish the movie got there faster. I also wish they dug a little deeper into the main character's past and into the things she needed to do to survive.

Overall, this movie is very average with a few worthwhile horror elements. I would score this a 5.5-6/10 and strongly recommend it.

Boring and irritating are the words that can resume this movie perfectly.

Maybe my disappointment came from the high expectation I had with this one. Anyway, it is what it is.

All characters are unpleasant, even the children. The pace, the bad choice of giving the viewer information drop to drop just to make the length longer... I barely endured it - I needed to pause three times to check how long left to finish.

The main problem is that the film had big ambitions but failed to achieve them. It focuses a lot on symbolism but, in the end, leaves so many elements loose here and there that the message arrived with noise, interfering with the understanding.

Not to mention the quality of a big part of the production. Frankly, some scenes seem to be picked off some unfunny comic sketch.

Huesera, the directorial debut of Mexican filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera, presents itself as a film exploring the desire to be a mother and the consequences of having a child, all within a horror premise. However, the result is a movie that, although ambitious, leaves much to be desired.

One of the standout elements is undoubtedly Natalia Solián's performance. Her acting effectively conveys the nerves, fears, and trauma of being a first-time mother. Solián grabs the viewer's attention by making every emotion and doubt of her character feel genuine. The issue, however, is that the script and narrative don't support her.

The biggest problem with Huesera lies in its pacing and storytelling. The film becomes boring and tedious at several points, especially when it delves into areas where horror should be at the forefront but isn't. The lack of a consistent atmosphere of fear causes the film to lose its focus. The horror elements are missing, which leads to the film losing the tone it initially promised.

The script, on the other hand, is another weak point. The story feels incomplete, with many narrative gaps. There are moments where it seems material was cut during post-production, leaving unanswered questions and unexplained events. This affects the coherence of the plot.

This movie is lost between trying to create, horror, and a female empowering movie about motherhood. Sadly, is none of them. Instead we get an annoying and irresponsible 30yo lady who at the beginning wants to be a mother, the. Regrets it because when she was young she drop a baby to whom nothing happened. She hallucinates strange hunting images in an attempt to stop her pregnancy(?). It's hard to care about her journey when all she does is avoid responsibility and constantly cries to make herself look like the victim. I laughed at the dumb dialogue and stupid decisions that everyone makes. This is lost film that doesn't know what it wants to be. Even if it attempts to be political, which is not, is just an immature person who doesn't what she wants.