“Huesera” Review: Body Horror Fights Pregnancy Anxiety

Michelle Garza Cervera stars in her first narrative feature, Huzera, is Natalia Solyan’s range of facial expressions. The actress plays Valeria Hernández, the heroine of this ghastly body horror, with a cunning, focused determination. See the look of disgust in her eyes as he meets the gaze of a child playing in the doctor’s office. See how she purses her lips when she finds out she’s pregnant. Watch him fall at the thought of turning his woodworking shop into a daycare.

It’s fair to say that Valeria doesn’t want children. And it’s no exaggeration to announce Huzera It is primarily about the emotional knots of pregnancy and subsequent motherhood. But that’s just a scratch on the surface of Cervera’s work. She goes deeper and Huzera It turns out to be a more insidious film: an intelligent study of desire and self-delusion.

Society’s expectations worry Valeria, who at the beginning of the film is desperate to get pregnant. He lives in the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, where he leaves an offering and prays for the boy. His actions are accompanied by a choir whose rendition of the popular Mexican anthem “La Guadalupana,” a song about the virgin mother, takes on a sinister tone. The camera pans to show the complete statue of Guadalupe before moving to another scene where a similarly shaped figure bursts into flames.

Transitional takes a dark and twisted turn Huzera It captures and anchors us in the atmosphere of Mexico City, but it doesn’t prepare us for the film’s truly terrifying moments, the moments that turn familiar events into evil. Valeria and her husband, Raúl (Alfonso Dosal), spend the days after their trip anxiously awaiting the results of their latest pregnancy test. When a couple discovers they’re officially expecting, excitement quickly turns to anxiety. Beds must be purchased, rooms must be renovated, family members must visit.

When Valeria performs these rituals, her stomach swells and nightmare scenarios begin. Corpses appear, ghosts keep knocking on her door, and Valeria mysteriously wakes up bruised and twisted. The child she is expecting has been possessed by an evil spirit who is trying to torment her. This way, Huzera Delighted to continue the tradition of films like rosemary baby Or the stories of Argentine writer Samantha Schweblin, works that play with the relationship between pregnant bodies and demonic forces and, on a deeper level, the anxieties about motherhood and bodily autonomy.

The threat of physical violence disturbs Valeria’s sense of reality. The line between real life and fantasy is blurred. In what feels like paranoia, he makes more questionable decisions. The server you wrote HuzeraThe script, with Abia Castillo, conveniently weaves the horrors of Valeria’s pregnancy (and subsequent motherhood) with necessary backstory. This personal story reveals that Valeria’s decisions (marrying Raoul, having a child) are considered the ultimate betrayal.

But could you avoid it? In a compressed family environment like Valeria’s-her parents sigh with relief at the news of her pregnancy; Her older sister hates her. Was there another option? These are some of the questions that swirl just below the surface. Huzera, which explores, albeit less somberly than the word suggests, society’s dire expectations of women. Valeria’s aunt Isabel (Mercedes Hernández) and her ex-friend Octavia (Mayra Battaglia) offer comfort and serve as examples of alternative options. These are women who have defied the norm and forged paths that more reflect their true selves.

Solyan’s brilliant performance is due to his character’s confidence and sensitivity towards public relations, the fact that Valeria wants him to want his normal life. An actor’s expressions and body language convey an intimacy with the rhythms of his character. This realization makes Valeria’s increasingly erratic behavior all the more relevant, upping the ante on an already disturbing story.

Huzera It premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, where Cervera won the Nora Ephron Award (for Best Film Director) and the award for Best New Narrative Director. This is a well-deserved recognition for those who, together HuzeraHe immediately advertises himself as an artist worth watching.