Screenplay by Gabriel Serrano Dennis
The recent surge in indie horror films on streaming platforms and film festivals has seen some films end up hiding in the shadow of critical darlings. It’s not that the films that receive attention don’t deserve attention, but the current situation is that the number of films available for consumption often buries films that are equally worthy of attention under a pile of “content.” In this context, the fact is Jero Bustamante2019 movies lalorona That it’s still going strong five years later is a testament to the Guatemalan production’s appeal to audiences seeking political horror.
Found a home with niche horror streamer shudder, laloronaThe story of a former dictator and his family haunted by vengeful ghosts from the past is the rare horror film to be beloved by critics and horror fans alike. It even has a place in The Criterion Collection’s growing selection of horror-specific DVD and Blu-ray special editions. Building on this pedigree, Bustamante returns with another challenging political horror fable, this time leaning into dark magical realism and the specter of recent atrocities.
RitaPremiering in the United States as part of the 2024 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, the film is Bustamante’s love letter to the darker side of fairy tales and a political affront to the systems that continue to fail young victims of sexual abuse. Earlier, Rita (Juliana Santa Cruz) immediately assures the audience that this story will not end like most fairy tales, especially since reality does not allow it. When Rita arrives at a state-run facility for seemingly lost girls, she glimpses a group of young girls running through the woods like beasts, monstrous ghosts wearing black veils who begin violently merging themselves into Children in the angel group.
Rita slowly makes her way through a facility filled with fairies, wolves, rabbits, angels, and ghosts, her sociopathic and tough demeanor becoming a tool for survival. However, it turns out that these “creatures” are nothing more than abandoned and abused girls dressed in costumes suited to their particular ordeals. After all, the real monsters are the guards and social workers (demons and witches) who further abuse and harm children. Soon, Rita learns that the only way to survive, and hopefully escape, is to accept her role within the group and fight back against her oppressors. It includes some shocking moments inside an orphanage and revelations of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, which Bustamante handles with professional maturity despite the uncomfortable situations the young girls put themselves into.
A sort of Pan’s Labyrinth meet The Shawshank Redemption, Rita connect yourself with Guillermo del ToroBuild your horror/fantasy brand by putting the real and the fantastic on the same plane. Rita‘s world is all too real, a fact that haunts the characters throughout the film. Fantasy elements are treated as mundane and matter-of-fact, as is the news that Rita had two abortions at age 13. , uses the true story of the 2017 deaths of 41 girls in a Guatemalan orphanage as a catalyst for the pursuit of truth and justice.
The film’s photography was by Into Brionesis another boon that mixes stark realism with magical tones of strangeness and horror. Bustamante abandons elegantly composed shots lalorona A more handheld and face-to-face approach. despite this, Rita still so compelling laloronaBriones took full advantage of the facility’s shabby, dark corridors and lush surrounding areas. The supernatural feels organic, and the organic is magically enhanced. There’s a strange beauty to the film’s aesthetic, with the rough-and-tumble and DIY nature of the colorful costumes clashing with the rough concrete of the orphanage, and Bustamante and Briones perfectly craft a visual signature of consummate defiance.
The cast of committed newcomers does an admirable job of injecting humanity into the characters and keeping the more bizarre ideas grounded. Santa Cruz’s Rita has the difficult task of projecting a rough and incomprehensible exterior roughened by years of abuse at the hands of her father, while also showing a side of heroism and vulnerability once the angel accepts her. Equally impressive is the Alejandra Vazquez Carrillo as beibei and Andre Sebastian Aldana “La Terca”, two angelic companions, seek escape and justice for all those imprisoned. Carrillo, an actress with Down syndrome, brings a breath of fresh air to the often ostracized portrayal of children, and her attitude is integral to the story’s stark realism. Sabrina De La Hoz and Margarita Kenefik Return after collaborating with Bustamante laloronaKennefick is a brilliant “witch” and social worker whose twisted physical presence matches her cruelty.
However, despite its noble and strong message, RitaUnfortunately, while the film brings its rallying cry to the fore, the characters are cast aside. After a beautiful climactic moment, of course the film inevitably reaches a point where the fairy tale is destroyed by reality. It’s a tragic and heartbreaking ending, one that’s intentionally foreshadowed by the voiceover from the beginning, but one wishes Bustamante had used his script in a less didactic way to express his anger and plead. As it stands, the film’s ultimate goal is to awaken the conscience of its audience and shine a very powerful and necessary light on a tragedy that, if not remembered and, more importantly, not avenged, could go unnoticed. Time forgets. Unfortunately, some clunky staging and a general lack of emotion to support political action take away from the film’s appeal. despite this, Rita So heartbreakingly unique and visually stunning, its existence enriches the current genre landscape. This is a bold and specific Latin American story that needs to be told, and it continues to prove Bustamante is a filmmaker who takes us through all of its dark passages.
