The upcoming movie adapts Andrés Barba’s same-titled novel.

In República Luminosa (titled A Luminous Republic in English), “a remote island town is terrorized by 32 feral children who emerge out of the surrounding jungle.”

Here’s a more detailed synopsis from Deadline: “The thriller follows events in the town as the children shatter the peace. Speaking an unknown language and defying social norms, they spark panic among the locals. As Daniel, the town’s official, struggles to restore order, his search for answers spirals into obsession.

“Tension reaches a breaking point when the children vanish, abducting the town’s youth, including Daniel’s stepdaughter. Daniel’s desperate pursuit leads to a hidden, luminous and anarchic civilization where children live entirely without adults or rules.

“His attempt to reclaim control triggers a catastrophic clash, destroying his moral compass and the very family he fought to save.”

Jayro Bustamante achieved widespread acclaim with his 2019 movie La Llorona – not be confused with the Warner Bros. horror movie The Curse of La Llorona – which was nominated in the Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language category at the 78th annual Golden Globes.

The post ‘República Luminosa’ – Jayro Bustamante’s Next Horror Movie Unleashes Feral Children appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The legend of La Llorona is fairly straightforward. A mother scorned by her thoughtless husband seeks an unthinkable revenge. Hoping to cut him to the emotional bone, she drowns their children in the river. Immediately regretful, the Weeping Woman joins her offspring in death, inadvertently dooming herself to an eternity of sorrow. Dressed in white, she’s said to lurk around bodies of water searching for her beloved sons. If she can’t find them, she’ll steal other children, dragging them to their own watery deaths.  

This vilified woman may not loom large over the horror genre, but she does front a handful of disparate films. Some eschew the water element entirely, finding new ways to depict infanticide. Others present her as just another sinister figure populating a demonic world. Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona repurposes this distressing tale to revisit a devastating chapter in Guatemalan history. Rather than a solitary woman weeping for her lost children, his La Llorona weeps for the hundreds of thousands killed in the Mayan Genocide.

In the latest episode of Bloody Disgusting’s Murder Made Fiction podcast, Jenn and Joe conclude their coverage of the La Llorona legend with Bustamante’s powerful film. They’ll discuss pathetic men, complicit women, and the inescapable consequences of large-scale violence. 

Wanna connect with the show? Follow us on social media @murdermfiction (Twitter & Instagram) or send us an email: murdermadefiction@gmail.com

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The post Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona” Weeps for a Shattered World [Murder Made Fiction Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The film will be released on Shudder on November 22, 2024.

Rita follows a 13-year-old “who, while fleeing a neglectful household, is placed in an oppressive state-run orphanage. Rita’s arrival provides a glimmer of hope to the girls inside, who share a prophecy that an angel will appear to release them. Encouraged by one another, the girls plan an escape to claim their freedom and expose the orphanage’s abuses of power. Based on the true story behind one of Guatemala’s most harrowing tragedies — the orphanage fire of 2017, which took the lives of 41 girls — Rita shines a light on the brave orphans whose fight for survival inspired a nationwide outcry for justice and reform.”

Giuliana Santa Cruz, Alejandra Vasquez, Ángela Quevedo, Isabel Aldana, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kénefic and Maria Telón star. 

Bustamante, no stranger to filtering sociopolitical themes and history through the lens of genre film, went through an extensive national casting call to assemble the film’s cast of child actors.

“Working with Shudder from the beginning felt like the right connection, as I found a distributor that shares the belief that cinema is more than just entertainment or a commercial product,” Bustamante told Deadline. “Since we launched LA LLORONA, Shudder has shown a great ability to handle my films, making them available to viewers through various channels, recognizing that the genre in cinema can be used to generate a powerful, positive, and thought-provoking social impact.”

Stated Shudder’s SVP of Acquisitions and Production Emily Gotto, “We are so proud to continue our work with Jayro, who has proven time and again to be a fearless filmmaker whose dedication to his homeland has put a spotlight on the rich talent and complicated history of Guatemala. RITA again demonstrates Jayro’s deft handling of the horror genre as a catalyst for powerful storytelling, and we can’t wait for the film to leave an impact on audiences.”

Producers of the film include Bustamante, Jonathan King for Concordia Studio, and Gustavo Matheu.

The post ‘Rita’ – Shudder Acquires New Fantasy Fable from ‘La Llorona’ Filmmaker Jayro Bustamante appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Academy announced tonight, “Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category for the 93rd Academy Awards.  Films from 93 countries were eligible in the category. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category. In the nominations round, Academy members from all branches are invited to opt in to participate and must view all 15 shortlisted films to vote.”

The films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Quo Vadis, Aida?”
• Chile, “The Mole Agent”
• Czech Republic, “Charlatan”
• Denmark, “Another Round”
• France, “Two of Us”
• Guatemala, “La Llorona”
• Hong Kong, “Better Days”
• Iran, “Sun Children”
• Ivory Coast, “Night of the Kings”
• Mexico, “I’m No Longer Here”
• Norway, “Hope”
• Romania, “Collective”
• Russia, “Dear Comrades!”
• Taiwan, “A Sun”
• Tunisia, “The Man Who Sold His Skin”

What this means is that Shudder and Bustamante are *closer* to being nominated for an Academy Award, with the list above soon being whittled down to the final list of nominees.

Nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced on Monday, March 15, 2021, and the 93rd Oscars® will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2021, televised live on ABC.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review of La Llorona last year, “Bustamante delivers a sobering evocation for justice, and in the case of La Llorona, it’s by the hands of a folkloric vengeance seeker.” You can check out Shudder’s official trailer down below.

“Indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house—his haughty wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives.”

Elsewhere on the horror front, Benjamin Wallfisch‘s score for The Invisible Man has made the “Original Score” shortlist, with Love and Monsters making the “Visual FX” shortlist.

The post Jayro Bustamante’s Horror Movie ‘La Llorona’ Has Made the Oscars Shortlist for Best International Film appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Of course, whether or not the film is actually selected as a nominee is ultimately in the hands of the Academy. Deadline also notes, “[La Llorona] is the second film by Bustamante to get his country’s Oscar submission, after his debut feature Ixcanul in 2015.”

La Llorona is a Shudder Original, debuting this past August. Yes, that means there’s a conceivable future wherein Shudder is up for an Oscar nomination next year. Here’s hoping!

Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review of the film earlier this year, “Bustamante delivers a sobering evocation for justice, and in the case of La Llorona, it’s by the hands of a folkloric vengeance seeker.” You can check out Shudder’s official trailer down below.

“Indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house—his haughty wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives.”

Maria Mercedes Coroy, Margarita Kenefic, Sabrina de la Hoz and Julio Diaz star.

The post Jayro Bustamante’s ‘La Llorona’ Submitted for Potential International Feature Film Oscar Nomination appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Retired general Enrique is finally facing trial for the genocide of indigenous Mayans three decades ago. Though he maintains that he was fulfilling his duty to wipe out guerillas to his proud wife and skeptical daughter, his increasingly senile behavior puts the household at risk. That’s before devastating courtroom confessions by surviving victims of Enrique’s past crimes find him guilty. Hordes of angry protesters threaten to invade, causing Enrique’s family to barricade themselves inside their lavish home. When their staff flees, only a loyal housekeeper remains. As Enrique’s horrible past draws mounting ire from the outside world, the arrival of a new, mysterious maid coincides with a supernatural force that aims to unravel the family entirely.

All must confront their responsibility in Enrique’s past actions.

Enrique and his past are based on Guatemala’s not so distant past, merging fiction with harsh historical truths. Director Bustamante, and co-writer Lisandro Sanchez, keep the horrors of Enrique’s political reign at the forefront of this slow-burn narrative. There is an eerie atmosphere and some subtle moments of supernatural horror, but there are no jump scares to be found here. Nor is this Enrique’s story; he’s suffering Alzheimer’s and nearing the end of his long life. He hears La Llorona’s cries, and he will need to reckon with his past before the movie is through, but the narrative focus is on the women in his life. The grown and successful daughter questions the truth in her father’s versions of events. The proud wife clings tight to her husband, despite the anger his lecherous ways bring to the surface. The innocent granddaughter is oblivious to any of the sordid family history and has taken a strong liking to the strange new maid; the loyal maid who stayed when all others stuck to their convictions and fled.

While much of the imagery is powerful, and the historical context adds potency to Bustamante’s message, the languid pacing can often make the runtime feel longer than it is. The genre elements are minimal, too, making it more horror-lite political drama than actual horror. The third act doesn’t offer any real surprises either and wraps up far too tidily. Moreover, it lacks closure for certain characters that never were given the room to develop in the first place.

Bustamante delivers a sobering evocation for justice, and in the case of La Llorona, it’s by the hands of a folkloric vengeance seeker. Certain aspects of the story are emotionally powerful, while other threads feel underdeveloped. The predictability of the overarching direction means the slow-burn pacing can drag, and the horror elements are very minimal. If you go in expecting something more historically relevant and genre adjacent, it’s easier to find an in to a narrative that’s not always easily accessible.

La Llorona begins haunting Shudder on August 6.

Editor’s Note: This Sundance review was originally published on January 25, 2020.

The post [Review] Shudder’s ‘La Llorona’ is a Slow-Burn Haunting of the Political Variety appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

La Llorona brings the politically-charged terror to Shudder on August 6.

Meagan Navarro wrote in her Sundance review of the film earlier this year, “Bustamante delivers a sobering evocation for justice, and in the case of La Llorona, it’s by the hands of a folkloric vengeance seeker.” You can check out Shudder’s official trailer down below.

“Indignant retired general Enrique finally faces trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house—his haughty wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter—weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young Indigenous maid arrives.”

Maria Mercedes Coroy, Margarita Kenefic, Sabrina de la Hoz and Julio Diaz star.

The post Director Jayro Bustamante’s Take on Classic Fable ‘La Llorona’ Heads to Shudder in August [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.