MISTRESS OF BONES is a short film Directed and Edited by Gigi Saul Guerrero, written by Shane McKenzie, with Cinematography by Luke Bramley. It’s a beautifully shot and intense love story to the Gods of the Old World. Good versus evil is played out in an explosive and vibrant way, including moments that feature the use of animation.
Grave-robbers, played by Michel Issa Rubio (“Snowpiercer“) and Edwin Perez (El Gigante), are on the verge of unearthing an ancient Aztec amulet from the dead. This amulet possesses an evil the world has not seen and has laid hidden for centuries. Once it is awakened and unleashed it is the duty of our hero the “Mistress of Bones”, played by Nicole Muñoz (Van Helsing, Pyewacket) to contain and return this evil that has been let loose into our world of the living.
Nicole Muñoz plays Mictecacihuatl, La Santa Muerte the Queen of the Underworld. In Aztec Mythology her role is to watch over the bones of the dead. Nicole Muñoz gives us a Queen who is fearless but also allows us these beautiful moments of vulnerability. One moment in particular, before putting her mask back on, we see old fears die and a new strength reborn. MISTRESS OF BONES is something I didn’t know I was craving until I was given this small taste.
I write this review at an important time in our History. In my apartment off of Sunset Blvd I can hear the honks of cars celebrating a Biden and Harris victory. As people celebrate, you can hear the joy in their voices. Part of that joy is due to a woman of color, Kamala Harris, being the first in her elected office. Representation and Pride of where you come from matters.
Gigi Saul Guerrero is a woman who was born in Mexico City and proudly and emphatically injects the spirit of her heritage and culture into everything she does. With each project she presents to us, these beautifully complex actors set fire to the screen and leave us blinking with those images burned into our minds. While for the past six months the world has been in lockdown due to quarantine, which would stunt creativity in the best of us, Gigi used that time to create and bring us a piece of folklore and mythology all impressively within the tight confines of a short film.
The attention to detail and cinematic beauty is something that film makers struggle to do in feature length blocks let alone in a short amount of time. MISTRESS OF BONES gives most of us an education into the rich beauty of the Aztec mythology, and a sense of pride to others who know these tales as part of their own stories. Unearth the story and follow along with the MISTRESS OF BONES at Crypt TV.
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