From Omeleto.
A woman investigates an artifact.
THE RED STONE is used with permission from Jaime Jasso. Learn more at https://instagram.com/la.piedraroja.shortfilm.
Carmen is an archaeologist working in Guadalajara, appointed by the government to examine and study a set of pre-Hispanic artifacts commissioned for the upcoming Independence Day anniversary in 1909. These artifacts are currently housed in a grand, ornate mansion, where Carmen works, accompanied only by her housekeeper Leonor.
One particular artifact catches Carmen’s attention: a mysterious statue of an idol, rumored to be cursed. As the night unfolds, Carmen delves deeper into the secrets of these objects — and unleashes an eerie, sinister entity with an agenda of its own.
Directed and written by Jaime Jasso, this stunning horror short is both a specific and deep immersion into Mexico’s complex history and heritage and a breathtakingly realized Gothic monster tale, complete with a darkly evocative mansion and a spine-tingling musical score. Both major narrative strands are beautifully intertwined, amplifying one another with equal parts resonance, suspense and remarkable craftsmanship.
The storytelling takes its time to build atmosphere, luxuriating in the haunting environs of the mysterious mansion that Carmen wanders within, as well as the intricate and fascinating objects that she is studying. The more deliberate pace immerses us in the history of the artifacts and their environment — it’s almost as if Carmen is encased in ancient history, sealed off from the more modern world around her. Played by actor Denisse Corona with nervy intelligence and a cultured curiosity, Carmen eagerly studies objects that draw on Mexico’s indigenous past, but they’re also being used in the service of its current Porfirian regime, which arguably favored modernization at the expense and erasure of the past.
As Carmen handles the artifacts, she awakens some restless spirits. One of the film’s major achievements is its astonishingly realized monster, a masterpiece of grotesquerie that’s riveting and hideous in equal measure. Rendered with special effects of considerable imagination, it’s visually arresting and unsettling in both its appearance and movement, both for the audience and for Carmen. The creature is not just a monster but a specter of cultural dismemberment and desecrated ritual. It’s a stunning evocation of an unbounded, untameable, powerful past — one that won’t be corralled or erased all too easily, and one that demands acknowledgment.
Spellbinding, hypnotic and visually sumptuous, THE RED STONE — or LA PIEDRA ROJA — examines a menace that isn’t external or even psychological, but one inherited via culture and history. Part of the film’s power is how it endows this monster with a force that isn’t just symbolic but mystical or even spiritual — a grievance of the past against the present. It leverages its absorbing storytelling not just to pull viewers through a pulse-pounding journey, but to create a feast for the senses — one that evokes the rich, complex history of Mexico. There are enough riches to fill a longer, larger narrative format, but for now, it’s a tantalizing experience in itself, plentiful with beauty and agony.
