HUNTRESS, THE (LA CAZADORA)
(director/writer: Suzanne Andrews Correa; cinematographer: Sarasvati Herrera; editor: Gilberto Gonzalez Penilla; music: Tomas Barreiro; cast: Adriania Paz (Luz), Teresa Sanchez (Ximena), Jennifer Trejo (Alejandra), Eme Malafe (Jaime), Guillermo Alonso (Det. Rosales), Leidi Gutierrez (Clara), Suri Gutierrez (friend of Alejandra); Runtime: 86; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Edher Campos, Mynette Louie, Gabriella Maire; Zafiro Cinema; 2026-Mexico/USA-in Spanish with English subtitles)
“Paz delivers an emotionally moving performance.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
This well-made revenge thriller is set in Mexico and is based on real events about an avenging angel who in Juárez in 2013 kills two bus drivers and sends a letter to a newspaper as “Diana the Huntress of Bus Drivers” warning that potential perpetrators were being watched and wouldn’t get away without someone coming after them.” It’s the auspicious feature film directorial debut of Mexican-American filmmaker Suzanne Andrews Correa.
The film opens in Juárez with Luz (Adriania Paz) wearing a baseball hat and a blonde wig, killing a bus driver who raped her and the 17-year-old factory worker Clara (Leidi Gutierrez) on his bus. She ditches her costume and gets a ride to her tech factory assembly line job in the taxi of her boyfriend Jaime (Eme Malafe).
Since the murder takes place on the bus route where she reported her assault, she’s questioned by the inept and pompous private detective Rosales (Guillermo Alonso) hired by the Americans who own the factory where she works.
Luz supports fellow victim Ximena’s (Teresa Sánchez) outcry against the rapists and tells her not to give up hope. Ximena is searching for her own missing daughter but realizes she’s probably dead. As a result, Luz takes precautions to protect her 14-year-old daughter Alejandra (Jennifer Trejo) from any retaliation.
The local authorities are corrupt and do nothing about the rapes. Luz therefore feels she must do something radical to stop them because there’s no justice in Juarez for women.
The gripping thriller accepts vigilante justice as an answer to poor policing. It tells a tense story about how badly women are treated in a backward patrician society.
Paz delivers an emotionally moving performance.
It played at the Sundance Film Festival.
REVIEWED ON 3/5/2026 GRADE: B+
dennisschwartzreviews.com