Gigi Saul Guerrero is signed on to direct her first studio feature. She’ll helm an untitled horror pic for Screen Gems inspired by the mythology of Santa Muerte. Deadline broke the news.
An idol in Mexican and Mexican-American folklore, Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte, or Santa Muerte, is “a personification of death… associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees,” the source notes. The “hope is to hatch a franchise for the Latin and global genre market” based on Our Lady of Holy Death.
Guerrero co-founded Luchagore Productions. Earlier this month she signed a first-look film and TV deal with Blumhouse that sees her writing and directing scripted TV and film for the studio. She made her feature-length debut with an episode of Blumhouse Television’s “Into the Dark” titled “Culture Shock.” Her shorts include “El Gigante” and “Bestia.” Guerrero helmed an upcoming episode of “The Purge,” a USA Network series based on the horror franchise of the same name. Also an actress, her onscreen credits include “Culture Shock,” “Puppet Killer,” and “Siren.”
The multi-hyphenate has spoken about why she’s drawn to the horror genre. “To take it way back, I was kept away from everything violent or related to horror. I come from a super Catholic, super Mexican, strict house. My mom and grandma are very Catholic ladies and everything is the devil, everything is a superstition,” she explained to Rue Morgue. “We are very spiritual people. I was intensely kept away from horror. When I saw my first horror film, I couldn’t understand what fear was. I was excited to feel that the movie had impacted me so much. I couldn’t understand how a movie could follow you.”
