Blumhouse Taps Issa López to Write, Direct ‘Our Lady of Tears’

Blumhouse is developing “Our Lady of Tears,” a film based on a recent article about a mass hysteria epidemic that spread through an all-girls boarding school.

Issa López (“Tigers Are Not Afraid”) is set to write and direct the film. The project is an adaptation of a story published by Epic Magazine and Vox and written by Daniel Hernandez. The outbreak, which may have had supernatural roots, took place at a strict Catholic school on the outskirts of Mexico City and afflicted a group of young women who came from impoverished families.

Blumhouse is the producer of such horror hits as “Get Out,” “Us,” and “The Purge.” Epic’s journalism has inspired a number of big and small screen projects, including the Oscar-winning “Argo.”

“The moment I read the Epic article, I knew I wanted to tell this story,” Lopez said in a statement. “I myself attended a Catholic school in Mexico City. I grew up on a steady diet of supernatural visitations and miracles, and of the real life horrors that young girls who grow up in poverty face every day in Mexico, and around the world. Having the chance to tell that story with Jason and his team, producers of such socially incisive genre classics like Get Out, and of so many true horror gems, is a huge privilege. I couldn’t be more excited about this movie”

Blumhouse founder Jason Blum will produce with Epic’s Joshua Davis and Arthur Spector, the founders of the company. Epic co-founder Joshuah Bearman will executive produce. “Our Lady of Tears” will be produced by Blumhouse in association with Epic Media.

“The Blumhouse team was enthralled by the original article and Daniel’s deep reporting around such a terrifying and heartbreaking story,” said Blum. “Ever since I first watched ‘Tiger’s Are Not Afraid,’ I have wanted to find a project to collaborate on with Issa and I knew this was a perfect fit. I can’t wait for audiences to see her take on this material,”