“The Curse of La Llorona” (R)
The Conjuring Universe has added another thrilling new chapter to its already impressive library of films with “The Curse of La Llorona,” a scary good ghost chiller that tells the haunting story of the “Weeping Woman” of Latin American folklore. True, “The Curse of La Llorona” is far from a groundbreaking, but it still importantly maintains the tone and creepy atmosphere of the previous Conjuring Universe films.
For those unfamiliar with the tale, “The Curse of La Llorona” is rooted in a tragedy in the early 1600s, when a young mother drowns her sons as a way of punishing her husband for his cheating ways. Fast-forward to the early 1970s, where the evil spirit of the Weeping Woman attaches herself to a social worker (Linda Cardellini) with two young children who she wants to claim as her own.
AUDIO: Reviewing “The Curse of La Llorona” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.
Much like the previous chapters in producers James Wan and Gary Dauberman’s Conjuring Universe (“The Conjuring and its sequel, “Annabelle” and its sequel, and “The Nun”), “The Curse of La Llorona” expertly employs basic but very effective filmmaking techniques. All of the right elements are there, from tension building up to jump scares to a piss-your-pants scary apparition of the Weeping Woman (Marisol Ramirez) to a very capable cast telling the story – even though the script has the human characters woefully walking into situations most people with common sense would avoid.
Interview: Patrick Wilson talks “The Conjuring”
Like the other Conjuring Universe entries, “The Curse of La Llorona” includes crossover characters as a way to tie sprawling tale together. Since the scenes involving these crossover characters enter the story in a sensible way, it will be interesting to see how any of the other characters – including an ex-priest-turned-evil-spirit-vanquisher (Raymond Cruz, who effectively brings the film its comic relief) – will come into play in future Conjuring Universe offerings.
Given the fact that “The Curse of La Llorona” is largely set in 1973 (the same time frame as the first “Conjuring” movie) and director Michael Chaves is also set to helm “The Conjuring 3” in 2020, chances seem good that we haven’t seen the last of the Weeping Woman, a menacing spirit who has rightfully earned her place in the inventive halls of horror created by Wan and Dauberman.
Lammometer: 7.5 (out of 10)
AUDIO: Reviewing “The Curse of La Llorona” with Paul Douglas on “Paul and Jordana” on WCCO-AM.
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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