After ignoring the warnings of a troubled mother, a social worker
and her two children are soon haunted by a vengeful ghost. HORROR
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The Curse of La Llorona (2019)Directed by Michael Chaves
Written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis Starring Linda Cardellini, Roman Christou, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Raymond Cruz, Marisol Ramirez, Patricia Velasquez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Tony Amendola Spin-Off of 2014's Annabelle |
The Curse of La Llorona is a prime example of wasted potential. As the ginger stepchild of The Conjuring universe, La Llorona relies on jump scares and a painfully predictable plot, never once bothering to up the ante in ways that could've made this an unforgettable ghost story. It's adapted from a Mexican folktale that's well-known in the American Southwest, and it has a solid cast in Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velasquez, and the two kids. But La Llorona is easily the worst film that this franchise has churned out, and for a number of reasons. Chief among them: It's so damn boring.
Cardellini plays Anna, a CPS worker who intervenes in Patricia's (Velasquez) case, and this leads to Patricia's kids getting drowned in a river. Patricia blames Anna for releasing her kids to La Llorona, the Weeping Woman, a ghost that targets children and drowns them. Patricia then, in act of vengeance, prays to La Llorona to take Anna's kids next. All of this build up feels so forced, like you're supposed to care about these characters, but it happens so quickly that you don't get to decide that for yourself. I appreciated the connection to Annabelle in Father Perez (Tony Amendola), but he was such an ineffective character that it didn't really matter that he was here. I liked Raymond Cruz's part, though mostly because I'll always see him as Tuco Salamanca. La Llorona isn't scary, it isn't atmospheric, and it doesn't hold a candle to even the weakest of The Conjuring films. It's just really dull, and the parts that are supposed to be scary come off as laughable because I've seen them a thousand times, most of them done better too. There's just nothing for horror lovers to appreciate here, because it's all been done to death. This film reeks of producer interference and financial priority. Nobody wanted to make a good movie. They wanted to profit off The Conjuring name, and they picked a relatively well-known ghost story that could work for them. It's sad, really. |
Who would have thought when 2013’s The Conjuring was released, it would spawn one of horror’s biggest franchises? I certainly didn’t. With that though, here we are in 2019 with The Curse of La Llorona out and Annabelle Comes Home on the way. And yes, this film is indeed a part of the franchise. Something kept out of the marketing material for whatever reason. And because of it, you’re probably wondering where it stacks with the rest of the franchise. Luckily, not the worst; but, also not the best. It’s better than The Nun at least.
Right off the bat, this film did a good job with the lore of La Llorona. Growing up in Texas, I had heard the legend of The Weeping Woman. And, trust me, it’s quite creepy. This film, being based off the very legend, honors the title character and makes her suitably scary. If only they had kept it in Mexico. The decision to tell the story in Los Angeles doesn’t work as well when you take into account how popular the folklore is in Mexican culture. Luckily, the actors do a great job with the material. I generally cared about what was happening to the characters and if they would make it out of this supernatural predicament. Now, the biggest things that kept me from loving this movie is two things. First, the jump scares. The Conjuring universe has a formula, and you can feel it here from the very beginning. Second, is the third act. The end culminates in a lot of showing of La Llorona, which makes her less scary. And, the way she may or may not have been vanquished is not very well explained beforehand, which just lead to some confusion. The best way to describe this movie is for everything that works, there are just as many things that don’t. The story is well told and the actors do great, but the end makes the title character less scary and the need to place this in Los Angeles feels like a huge missed opportunity. Still, I would recommend this to people. Especially fans of The Conjuring franchise. It’s not the worst way to kill some time. |