There’s something special about a film that balances its elements just right to accomplish magic realism. Unfortunately, Laura Casabé’s The Virgin of the Quarry Lake misses that balance. At moments, the horror film feels like it’s trying to dabble in the surreal and the fantastical before it melts back into the skin of a tense teen drama. Set in 2001, The Virgin of the Quarry Lake turns a coming-of-age story into a supernatural tale of violence, but it’s the muddying of genres that ultimately makes the film fall short of the massive potential it has.
What Is ‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ About?

Image via Sundance

The Virgin of the Quarry Lake follows a teenage girl named Natalia (Dolores Oliverio) in Buenos Aires. Natalia (or Nati as she’s called) spends her summer break sending instant messages at the local computer lab, helping her Grandmother, Rita (Luisa Merelas), around the house, and hanging out with her friends. Currently, the object of Nati’s fancy is Diego (Augustín Sosa), who both of her friends also have a crush on. The problem is Diego seems a lot more interested in the older Silvia (Fernanda Echevarría), a woman who seems to know everyone and has done everything. As Nati slowly uncovers the truth about Silvia, which admittedly isn’t hard once you’ve heard Silvia’s boasts, she makes bolder attempts to be with Diego.
At home, Rita has recently brought in a young boy named Kechu, whose mother is in the hospital. Although Nati is initially annoyed by the presence of a little boy walking around the house, she develops a close bond with him, and in the sweltering heat of summer, the two form a sibling-like connection. As Kechu’s family story plays out, we also learn more about Nati’s own parents, who have seemingly abandoned her, and Nati’s bizarre and inexplicable connection to the supernatural.
‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ Is Led by a Powerful Performance

Image via Sundance

While The Virgin of the Quarry Lake is flawed in many ways, one place where it stands out is Dolores Oliverio’s performance. Playing a young woman on the brink of adulthood and finding her own sexual satisfaction, Oliverio is able to embody all of the insecurity and ennui of a teenager while also encompassing the witchy and weird vibe that Laura Casabé is going for. Oliverio employs an intense stare that will give you the heebie jeebies and when weird things start happening around her, her unflappable cool only serves to make her more intimidating despite her young age.
At the same time, Luisa Merelas as Rita is a superb addition. Some of the film’s strongest moments are when Rita and Nati are in a scene together. The two women have a natural kinship and chemistry on screen, which only helps when the narrative falls short of filling in the gaps. Additionally, Fernanda Echevarría’s Silvia is perfectly annoying. Echevarría plays Silvia with a confidence that only comes with age, but little by little, we see the brittle exterior break away and we can see her for who she really is. There’s a cruelness between Silvia and Nati that is electrifying; both women are vying for the same man and yet the best scenes on screen involve the two of them sparring (either verbally or emotionally) and Diego acts more like set dressing.
‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ Is Bogged Down by Too Much Story

Image via Sundance

The film falters is when we actually take a look at the plot. There are essentially two stories. The one being told at home with Rita and Kechu — along with a mysterious curse on the neighborhood that is barely explained or explored beyond thematically — and then the one with Nati, Diego, Silvia, and her friends. While the stories are interesting, both needed fat trimmed from them. Specifically, the story at home could have done without the mysterious neighborhood curse. Although it makes for a bloody beginning to the film, it does not serve the ultimate purpose of the film as a whole and never comes back around. Instead, the film should have focused on the dynamic between Rita, Kechu, and Nati specifically.

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Similarly, the film includes two best friends for Nati, but the characters quickly lose purpose and feel more like dead weight. Despite coming in at 95 minutes, Quarry Lake still feels like it’s dragging when we’re in scenes with Nati’s friends. Their relationship doesn’t feel very close; if they’re meant to be romantic rivals to Nati for Diego even before Silvia, it’s not very obvious. It’s clear that outside of Silvia, Diego has eyes for Nati, the other two are just there. It often feels like Laura Casabé is trying to do too much. There are hints of the supernatural, commentary on Argentina in 2001, a love triangle, and then the topic of female sexuality. It’s just too much, and yet there are scenes that could be cut from the film without affecting the story’s totality.
Laura Casabé Doesn’t Know What She Wants ‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ To Be

Image by Jovelle Tamayo via Sundance Institute

In many ways, there’s a sort of blending of subgenres in The Virgin of the Quarry Lake. At times, it’s a teen drama, then at other times, it’s a psychological thriller, and then it’ll bleed into supernatural horror. And it’s not like these subgenres haven’t come together before in a successful way, but Casabé wants to tell too many stories, and it not only hinders the pacing of the film, making a short feature drag, but it takes too long to get to the actual point. The film’s climax and conclusion come out of nowhere seemingly, though it’s violent, bloody, and glorious all the same. Nati exacts her revenge on those who have wronged her, and the film fully leans into the supernatural elements that make it engaging. But that energy isn’t felt in Quarry Lake as a whole.
One of the weakest aspects of the film is Benjamin Naishtat’s script, which is bloated with too much and there isn’t enough room for the concepts to breathe. There’s one scene with Kechu where it implies something awful might happen to him in the future, and rather than linger on that and let Nati stew on it, it is almost immediately pushed aside. Similarly, when we learn about Diego and Nati’s past, it is a revelatory moment, but one that’s treated so casually that it is barely noticeable despite it offering answers to questions we’ve had since the film started. Too much of Quarry Lake is spent on scattered exposition that we never really get the development of Nati, the most important character. Ultimately, the concept behind The Virgin of the Quarry Lake might have embodied Mariana Enriquez’s short stories, but it feels too jumbled and fails to meet its full potential.
The Virgin of the Quarry Lake premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The Virgin of the Quarry Lake

Despite having an intriguing concept, ‘The Virgin of the Quarry Lake’ fails to tell a cohesive story which hinders the final product of the film.

Release Date

January 27, 2025

Runtime

90 minutes

Director

Laura Casabé

Writers

Benjamín Naishtat

Dolores Oliverio

Uncredited

Pros & Cons

Powerful performances from Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, and Fernanda Echevarría.

A weak script that involves too many subplots, making the story feel jumbled.
Too many characters and extraneous scenes that should have been cut to make a more succinct story.