RITA on Shudder is a dark fantasy movie from the director of La Llorona. Most terrifyingly, it’s based on a true story. And you’ll be shocked to know just how close to the real events, this story is. Read our full Rita (2024) movie review here!
RITA on Shudder is a dark fantasy movie from the director of La Llorona. The most horrible part of the movie is the fact that it’s based on a true story. Please note that there are three movies with the same title from 2024. This one is from Guatemala.
While the fantasy elements are obviously a creative choice, which highlights that we’re dealing with children, the brutal events hit close to home. After watching the movie, you’ll want to read up on the real story. You’ll probably think this movie is exaggerating how it all happened. It is not.
Continue reading our Rita (2024) movie review below. Find it on Shudder from November 22, 2024.
The horrors of being a child in this world
A 13-year-old girl, Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz), has escaped from a home where her father has abused her for years. After trying to make it on her own – with the help of a loving woman – she is forcefully placed in an oppressive state-run orphanage.
As Rita arrives, the girls who have been living in this orphanage for a long time, believe that she may be the one to rescue them all. They’re kids and believing in fairytales and prophecies has become a coping mechanism for them.
Now, they believe Rita could be the one who will lead a rebellion where they can all escape. The plan to escape is mainly to finally be free and able to expose the orphanage’s abuses of power. “Abuse” covers every single thing you can imagine – including trafficking.
The cast of Rita features many young actors, so you shouldn’t expect to recognize many (of any) of the actors. But we just might see them again. Starring are Giuliana Santa Cruz, Alejandra Vasquez, Ángela Quevedo, Isabel Aldana, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kénefic, and Maria Telón.
Rita is based on the Virgen de la Asuncion tragedy *spoilers*
In this segment, I’ll go into the true story that inspired this movie, so obviously, it will include spoilers for the events that unfold in the 2024 movie Rita on Shudder. You may want to watch the movie first and return to this segment later.
*** Below are spoilers for the events shown in Rita ***
The heartbreaking tragedy we see play out in Rita is based on the Virgen de la Asuncion tragedy from 2017 in Guatemala. This was when 56 low-income girls and adolescents were burned at the orphanage on March 8, 2017.
You may recognize the date of this tragedy as the date of International Women’s Day. This is no coincidence as the girls decided to use this day for their escape to make a point of how girls were abused in the orphanage.
They were placed in a state protection home (also called a “Safe Home”), which failed miserably at protecting any of their kids. In fact, the kids were treated as inmates and subject to abuse. As a result of the fire, 41 of them died, and only 15 survived.
This happened in 2017, but going back to 2013, there were reports of sexual violence and possible trafficking within the home.
The 56 girls in the fire were considered the leaders of the riot. That’s why they were held together in a rather tiny 4×4 square meter room. Once the fire started inside the room, police and guards waited 9 minutes before opening the door.
Despite seeing the smoke come out, smelling the burning flesh, and hearing the piercing screams of girls being burned alive. Firefighters at the scene also reported that when trying to intervene immediately, other guards made it difficult for them to enter the place.
Watch Rita (2024) on Shudder!
The 2024 movie Rita is a very dark fantasy movie that offers hope initially, but you should be ready for heartbreaking escalation along the way. It comes from writer-director Jayro Bustamante (La Llorona) who clearly wants people to know about this story.
Had he decided to tell this story in a straightforward way, it would’ve been too hard to watch. Allowing for this fairytale-inspired fantasy setting helps you accept this evil world presented to you. Although you’ll quickly realize just how dark the reality it represents is.
Rita is not an easy movie to watch, but it is a very important movie. We’re presented with a brutal and unforgivable situation as experienced by the young girls who live it. The runtime of this movie is 1 hour and 47 minutes, which I did find too long. Not by much though.
Rita is streaming on Shudder from November 22, 2024.
Details
Writer & Director: Jayro Bustamante
Cast: Giuliana Santa Cruz, Alejandra Vasquez, Ángela Quevedo, Isabel Aldana, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kénefic and Maria Telón
Plot
At an institution for troubled girls in Guatemala City, Rita finds herself at the center of an uprising by the seemingly-magical groups of girls who are sick of being exploited.
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