San Antonio native Marcella Ochoa’s script is part of Blumhouse’s next horror anthology series
- Courtesy of Marcella Ochoa
She might have left San Antonio when she was a child, but screenwriter Marcella Ochoa has always considered the Alamo City home. In fact, during a trip to San Antonio in January to speak about her short film “My Name Is Maria De Jesus” at Trinity University, Ochoa received a call from her manager with some big news.
Blumhouse Productions, a production company that is known for producing horror movies like Insidious, The Purge, Get Out and Happy Death Day, wanted to buy a script Ochoa and her writing partner Mario Miscione penned.
“San Antonio brings me good luck,” Ochoa told the Current this weekend. “We were so thrilled when we got the call. It was so amazing and gratifying to have such a well-known company in the horror world interested in our work.”
The film, Madres, sets its story in a migrant farming community in California during the 1970s. It follows a Mexican-American couple who are expecting their first child, but become frightened when the wife starts experiencing strange symptoms and visions. Madres is directed by first-time feature filmmaker Ryan Zaragoza and stars Ariana Guerra (TV’s Helstrom), Elpidia Carrillo (Predator), Tenoch Huerta (Sin Nombre) and Evelyn Gonzalez (TV’s The Conners).
According to Deadline, Madres will be released on Amazon Prime along with The Manor, Black as Night and Bingo, which make up the second half of the Welcome to the Blumhouse eight-film genre anthology. Already in post-production, Madres does not have a release date yet, but will debut sometime in 2021.
Before moving from San Antonio, Ochoa attended school at St. George Episcopal and Locke Hill Elementary School. While her stay was short, she says San Antonio “will always be my hometown and have a special place in my heart.”
“The best memories of my childhood are in San Antonio with my family and grandparents going to the River Walk or the Kiddie Park and eating at Luby’s or Mexican Manhattan,” Ochoa said. “Even after we moved away, we would still go back every year for Thanksgiving, Christmas and in the summer. I always feel so inspired by my Mexican culture every time I go back to San Antonio. I am incredibly honored by how supportive the city is towards me and my projects.”
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