Huesera: The Bone Woman 2023

Valeria Hernandez, a talented young woodworker from Mexico, excitedly reveals to her husband, Raúl, the joyous news that she is expecting their first child. This moment fills them both with delight and anticipation for their growing family. A few months passed, and Valeria decides to take Raúl to visit her family for a heartfelt Mother’s Day celebration. However, during the visit, she begins to notice an unsettling compulsive habit: neurotically cracking her knuckles. Dismissing it as mere stress, Valeria tries to push through.

That evening, as the couple settles in for the night, a terrifying event unfolds. Valeria witnesses a shocking scene from her window—an anonymous woman from the building across the street jumping off the balcony, her legs gruesomely breaking upon impact. Strikingly, the woman appears unperturbed, emitting harsh, bone-cracking sounds. Stricken with fear, Valeria notices something even more horrifying: the woman is devoid of eyes and a mouth, prompting sheer terror to course through her veins. She awakens Raúl in panic, but when he looks, the woman has mysteriously vanished.

As the days roll on, the haunting visions of this faceless woman continue to plague Valeria, disrupting her sleep and mental peace. In a bid for help, she confides in her aunt Isabel, who, believing in Valeria’s plight, takes her to see Ursula, a local curandera. After a ritual, Ursula assures Valeria that relief will soon be on its way. However, with a foreboding tone, Ursula hints at “another way” should Valeria’s condition worsen, leaving her both hopeful and anxious.

Fast forward a few days, Valeria finds herself babysitting her sister Vero’s young children while she and other family members head to a party. During this seemingly mundane task, Valeria’s terror revisits her. She experiences another vision of the elusive woman, now hauntingly present in the very home she is supposed to protect. In a state of sheer panic, she locks the children in an upstairs room and hits the panic button her father had given her to summon help. However, when the neighborhood watch arrives, they find no trace of the faceless apparition, but the family dog lies dead, having been cruelly strangled. This chilling incident leaves the children traumatized, and Valeria’s relationship with her family falters; Vero expresses her doubts about Valeria’s ability to parent effectively.

Valeria turns to Isabel again, the only one who seems to understand her fear and desperation. Wanting to consult Ursula once more, she races against her fears, but Isabel cautions her, acknowledging that the “other way” might come with dire consequences. Amidst a dinner party where tensions run high, Valeria steps away to cope with her mounting stress, only to face another shocking event—the crib she made for her unborn child suddenly ignites in flames. Despite her emotional outburst, Raúl directs blame at Valeria, citing her turbulent past with Octavia, a high school friend with whom she once shared an intimate relationship.

In a whirlwind of conflict and emotions, Valeria’s life takes a harrowing turn as she goes into labor and delivers a baby girl. The joy of motherhood eludes her, overwhelmed by her prior haunting experiences. One fateful night, as Raúl is away, Valeria succumbs to the stress of constant crying and her fractured spirit. In a fit of reckless energy, driven as if by an otherworldly force, she places her newborn in the fridge before retreating to bed. Panic ensues when she awakens to find her daughter missing, only to discover her miraculously unharmed shortly thereafter. This shocking episode drives her to seek Octavia again and reconnect with Ursula.

Valeria, the baby in tow, along with Ursula and Isabel, venture into a dilapidated facility nestled within the woods. Here, they undertake an ominous ritual—Valeria undergoes submersion in water as part of the ceremony. Surfacing from the depths, she discovers an unsettling revelation: the world around her has changed, and she finds herself lost in the woods, following her baby’s cries towards a surreal sight—a mass of contorted, naked, faceless figures that engulf her, warping her physical being. Ultimately, Valeria visions herself draped in a cloak, walking away while ablaze—a harrowing metaphor for her internal struggles.

Upon awaking with both her and her child safe, Valeria reunites with Raúl but realizes she must forge her own path. With a heavy heart, she hands their baby to Raúl, prepares her belongings, and walks away, leaving him to raise their daughter alone, a poignant ending to her tumultuous journey through motherhood and self-discovery.