The 2001 economic and social meltdown in Argentina has been extensively depicted in local cinema. Pioneering films of the so-called New Argentine Cinema that renovated the country’s cinematic storytelling — like Pablo Trapero’s Crane World and Adrian Caetano and Bruno Stagnaro’s Pizza, Beer & Cigarettes — tapped into the frayed social fabric of the time, marked by unemployment, collective malaise and crime. 

Yet so far, no Argentine film had transmitted that social angst like Laura Casabé’s Virgen de la Tosquera (Virgin of the Quarry Lake; 93 minutes), a coming-of-age horror tale based on two short stories from renowned author Mariana Enriquez’s book, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed — Our Lady of the Quarry Lake and The Cart. 

Like an atmospheric, dark version of John Carpenter’s Carrie set in the Buenos Aires........

© Buenos Aires Herald