There's something inherently anachronistic, repressed and disturbing to the idea of 'feminity' in our supposedly post-gender cultures. We've seen a number of outstanding 'independent' horror films exploring this theme over the past decade, and I was looking forward to seeing what this might look like away from Anglo-Saxon conventions. Unfortunately it looks like we have reached the point were this new 'genre' is established enough to become formulaic. Huesera is certainly not a bad film: It is well acted (Solián manages to give substance to a thankless character), it is filmed well enough and both costumes and location have character without being distracting. The script is no-nonsense and to the point. In the background there are even some fine pieces of social observation (the couple's very different families, the working class 'witches'). But unfortunately, for the most part, the scenario is a patchwork of worn-out clichés: ye ol' Japanese disarticulated crawling creature, ye ol' helpless middle-class husband, ye ol' serial hallucinations prompting no concrete reaction, and so on. In 'psychological horror' you need either a new idea or a strong and original character to drive your story. Huesera is not original, and Valeria, with her Riot Grrrl mid-life crisis, is neither credible nor likable, with self-pity alone connecting her punk years and her married life. I'll gladly watch another Cervera, because it seems to me she has what it takes to make some great films. Unfortunately, this is not one of them.