Madres (2021) 🚀 🎉

: The film uses the "gothic" tradition to reflect anxieties specifically regarding the bodies of brown women and reproductive autonomy. 4. Critical Reception

: The exploitation of language barriers and the withholding of medication to coerce women into signing sterilization forms. Madres (2021)

: Rather than being malevolent entities, the "ghosts" Diana encounters are the spirits of past victims attempting to warn her of the impending danger at the local clinic. 3. Themes of Reproductive Rights and Justice : The film uses the "gothic" tradition to

: The true horror is not demonic but human—specifically, racist medical practices and eugenics . : Rather than being malevolent entities, the "ghosts"

The film’s climax reveals that the high rate of miscarriages and infertility in the community is not a result of a curse but of non-consensual medical procedures . This narrative choice highlights:

While some reviewers found the film's construction "sloppy" or its scares "rote," others praised it for using the horror genre to illuminate a topic many viewers might be unfamiliar with . Its power lies in its final act—punctuated by footnotes before the credits—that connects the fictional narrative to the real-life atrocities committed against marginalized women.

The film follows Diana (Ariana Guerra), an expectant mother who moves from Los Angeles to a rural farming community in the Golden Valley. Diana’s struggle to fit into the local community—exacerbated by her inability to speak Spanish—serves as a backdrop for the film's exploration of Latina identity and isolation . The 1970s setting is crucial, as it mirrors real-world events in Los Angeles where Mexican mothers were coerced into sterilizations without informed consent. 2. The Shift from Supernatural to Social Horror