“It should be the happiest time in Valeria’s life. She and her husband, Raul, have finally seen one of their longtime dreams come true: Valeria is pregnant. At first, everything seems perfect. Gradually, though, her mood darkens. With motherhood upon her, Valeria can't shake off heavy self-doubt and a pervasive dread, the latter stemming from visions of spider-like presences and other possibly supernatural threats, all of which may be the work of an entity known as 'La Huesera.' Hoping to confront these demons, she reconnects with the old, more carefree life she once gave up for Raul, including rekindling an old flame with her first love, Octavia,” reads the description for Huesera: The Bone Woman written by Matt Barone at the renowned Tribeca Film Festival website. 

The horror feature film approaches themes of motherhood, the role of women in modern society, queer identity, and body autonomy. 

The movie stars Mexican actress Natalia Solián (Red Shoes) in a stellar performance as Valeria, a young woman expecting her first child who is cursed by a sinister entity. Plunged into a terrifying and dangerous world, a group of witches emerge as her only hope of safety and salvation, but not without grave risks.

Solián is joined by Alfonso Dosal (Narcos: Mexico), Mayra Batalla (Prayers for the Stolen), Mercedes Hernández (Identifying Features), Aída López (Capadocia) and Martha Claudia Moreno.

A successful Tribeca debut

The film, which is the feature directorial debut from Mexican filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival in New York in the festival’s genre-driven Midnight section and would go on to win both the Best New Narrative Director and Nora Ephron awards. 

Following the world premiere, Huesera: The Bone Woman won both the Blood Window Award for Best Feature Film and the Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation at the internationally recognized Sitges Film Festival in Spain and the Feature Film Audience Award at the Morelia International Film Festival

The Mexico-Peru co-production is produced by Machete and Disruptiva with Señor Z, Maligno Gorehouse, IMCINE, Terminal, Simplemente, and Estudios Churubusco. It is co-written by Garza Cervera and Abia Castillo. 

Huesera: The Bone Woman will be released exclusively in theaters on Feb. 10 in major markets nationwide across the U.S. and land on VOD on Feb. 16 from XYZ Films.