The Curse of La Llorona sent shivers in me even at the parts where I knew about the terror! The film is directed by Michael Chaves who also directed the Nickelodeon animated series, Chase Champion (2015), and this is his first film. He has upcoming The Conjuring III for next year. It is co-written by Mikki Daughtry, who also co-wrote this year’s romantic movie, Five Feet Apart, and her co-writer on that film, Tobias Iaconis. Llorona, the supernatural presence that is a driving force in Latin and Mexican folk lore, is tricky. For one the pronunciation, the best I can make out is “La” and “y-rona”, the two l’s make an “y” sound, and her name is quickly said.
The movie opens in Mexico in the year 1673. This is the time of the exploration of Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, a fur trader who followed the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico. We see two boys in white shirts playing and their parents. They dance in a circle, we see the mother’s necklace, but we don’t see her face. She is betrayed by her husband and we have one son covering his eyes. He finds that he is alone in a field and tries to find his family. He finds his mother in her white dress drowning his brother. She reaches out for him.
The movie opens in Mexico in the year 1673. This is the time of the exploration of Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, a fur trader who followed the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico. We see two boys in white shirts playing and their parents. They dance in a circle, we see the mother’s necklace, but we don’t see her face. She is betrayed by her husband and we have one son covering his eyes. He finds that he is alone in a field and tries to find his family. He finds his mother in her white dress drowning his brother. She reaches out for him.
This shifts to 1973 Los Angeles, three hundred years later, we get kids playing. There is Chris (Roman Chistou) and Sam (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen). The Conjuring (2013) was set in 1971. It is the first movie for Chistou and Kinchen also starred in the sci fi film Self/less (2015). The effectiveness of the scares rest on them, there is tension in their scenes, and they seem like normal kids. They are trying to get ready for school by their mother, Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini).
Previous roles for Cardellini include the wife of Hawkeye, Laura Barton in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and of course Lindsay Weir in Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), but I seemed to remember her as Velma taking on the supernatural in the live action Scooby-Doo (2002). Her character is a social services case worker and takes care of children. This of course ties into the subject of the movie and also we find out she’s a widower. Her husband, Officer Gomez, has died. It seems to be that he died on duty, but the circumstances are unclear. Her boss, Detective Cooper (Sean Patrick Thomas), assigns her case to Donna (Irene Keng). Thomas was in Dracula 2000 (2000), Save the Last Dance (2000), and the Reaper (2009) television series. Keng was in the television lawyer drama Harry’s Law (2011-2012).
Previous roles for Cardellini include the wife of Hawkeye, Laura Barton in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and of course Lindsay Weir in Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), but I seemed to remember her as Velma taking on the supernatural in the live action Scooby-Doo (2002). Her character is a social services case worker and takes care of children. This of course ties into the subject of the movie and also we find out she’s a widower. Her husband, Officer Gomez, has died. It seems to be that he died on duty, but the circumstances are unclear. Her boss, Detective Cooper (Sean Patrick Thomas), assigns her case to Donna (Irene Keng). Thomas was in Dracula 2000 (2000), Save the Last Dance (2000), and the Reaper (2009) television series. Keng was in the television lawyer drama Harry’s Law (2011-2012).
Anna says she has established trust with the Alvarez boys. Cooper sends her over to the Alvarez house since there is concern over the mother, Patricia, and has an officer go with her. Anna goes to the house and tells the officer to stand aside. She is surprised by the haunted look of Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez), nervous behind her chained door. Velasquez might be known as Anck-Su-Namun in The Mummy (1999), but she was also in Arrested Development (2003-2004) and The L Word (2008). Anna notes the key on a chain around Patricia. Anna makes her way through the house and finds a locked door with strange symbols. This reminded me of “The Howling Man” (1960) episode of Twilight Zone, but Anna senses that Patricia locked away her kids in an abusive situation.
Patricia sees Anna and knocks her down. The officer breaks in and pulls Patricia away. In the struggle, Anna has taken the key and opens the door. Inside is the two kids, Carlos (Oliver Alexander) and Tomas (Aiden Lewandowski). This is the first movie for the actors who have worked in television. Anna notices that they have welts on their arms. We get the perspective of Anna in trying to protect the kids, but of course we know that this unleashes the horror of La Llorona. Patricia says that she was protecting them and that they will die. She returns home, her son Chris is in his father’s office pretending to be like him, upstairs we get Anna helping her daughter Sam rinse her hair in the bathtub. This scene comes up later so that if kids watch the movie they will never take a bath again!
Patricia sees Anna and knocks her down. The officer breaks in and pulls Patricia away. In the struggle, Anna has taken the key and opens the door. Inside is the two kids, Carlos (Oliver Alexander) and Tomas (Aiden Lewandowski). This is the first movie for the actors who have worked in television. Anna notices that they have welts on their arms. We get the perspective of Anna in trying to protect the kids, but of course we know that this unleashes the horror of La Llorona. Patricia says that she was protecting them and that they will die. She returns home, her son Chris is in his father’s office pretending to be like him, upstairs we get Anna helping her daughter Sam rinse her hair in the bathtub. This scene comes up later so that if kids watch the movie they will never take a bath again!
It is night at the hospital for foster children. Carlos sees his brother walking down halls, the lights flicker out, and follows him. Of course, La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez) has drawn them out! Ramirez has worked mostly in television including episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1. Her make-up reminded me of The Nun, I didn’t realize this was in the Conjuring Universe, but her pale face with yellow eyes has black tears down her face. The scares of film, after years of horror movies, are in the shivers caliber. It is in line with The Conjuring setting scenes with normal lighting and holding back the music to bring in the terror. Kudos to the cinematography by Michael Burgess who worked on The Conjuring 2 (2016) and Michael Bishara who scored Insidious: The Last Key (2018) and Annabelle (2014).
Anna gets the call to identify the bodies of the Alvarez boys drowned in the L.A. river. She drives over with her kids in the station wagon and tells them to stay in the car. Anna is horrified to see the bodies in plastic. Patricia is brought to the scene by the police and she blames Anna for their deaths since she tried to stop La Llorona. Curiosity gets the better of Chris and he leaves the car to look at the crime scene. He hears crying at a fenced area. La Llorona is known as the Weeping Woman! She reaches out to Chris and holds his arm, burning him, he runs back to the car with the sleeping Sam. His desperation at keeping La Llorona out is heart pounding!
Anna gets the call to identify the bodies of the Alvarez boys drowned in the L.A. river. She drives over with her kids in the station wagon and tells them to stay in the car. Anna is horrified to see the bodies in plastic. Patricia is brought to the scene by the police and she blames Anna for their deaths since she tried to stop La Llorona. Curiosity gets the better of Chris and he leaves the car to look at the crime scene. He hears crying at a fenced area. La Llorona is known as the Weeping Woman! She reaches out to Chris and holds his arm, burning him, he runs back to the car with the sleeping Sam. His desperation at keeping La Llorona out is heart pounding!
Chris explains the burns to his mother as a fall. Keeping such a disturbing encounter a secret is part of the film. In the morning, Anna goes to the services for the children, attending it is Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz) who is blowing smoke, called despojo, to ward away negativity from a woman. Cruz has starred in an episode of The X-Files, Alien: Ressurrection (1997), and Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999). We later find out that is a cuandero, a Mexican shaman, who has left the church and may be the only person who can help Anna and the children. Father Perez (Tony Amendola) offers Anna a cross necklace, but she says that only her husband was religious. The films that Amendola starred in include The Mask of Zorro (1998), The X-Files, and also a cameo in Annabelle that ties in the Conjuring Universe.
Sam hears crying and looks over the backyard door to an empty street. Her umbrella is pulled away by the wind. She finds La Llorona and her arm is also burned. Anna interviews Patricia who has sent La Llorona after her children! The perspective of an American family might be for the audience, but the legend is kept intact. The threat to the children and their vulnerability is what heightens the scares. I left the theater with my heart thumping and when I opened the door to my home, I fully expected to see a woman in white with a pale, screaming face! Instead, it was an empty hallway. I expected this film to be full of genuine scares and I got them.
Sam hears crying and looks over the backyard door to an empty street. Her umbrella is pulled away by the wind. She finds La Llorona and her arm is also burned. Anna interviews Patricia who has sent La Llorona after her children! The perspective of an American family might be for the audience, but the legend is kept intact. The threat to the children and their vulnerability is what heightens the scares. I left the theater with my heart thumping and when I opened the door to my home, I fully expected to see a woman in white with a pale, screaming face! Instead, it was an empty hallway. I expected this film to be full of genuine scares and I got them.
Four Necklaces out of Five!
#TheCurseofLaLlorona, #MichaelChaves, #LindaCardellini, #RaymondCruz
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