THE CURSE OF LA LLORANA

It’s a crying shame

Beware the Weeping Woman in this ’70s-set horror.

released OUT NOW! 15 | 93 minutes Director Michael Chaves Cast linda Cardellini, roman Christou, Jaynee-lynne Kinchen, raymond Cruz

A stealth addition to the Conjuring Universe, The Curse Of La Llorona brings a centuries-old myth from Mexico to ’70s LA. La Llorona translates as “the weeping woman”, but it might as well have been “the shrieking woman” given the massive overreliance on jump scares involving Llorona appearing unexpectedly and making a loud screeching noise. If that’s your thing then Curse offers cheap thrills, but anyone after depth, narrative or originality can go cry.

The story goes that Llorona was a woman who fell for a man who gave her two children. When he left her she was driven insane with grief and drowned the kids. On realising what she’d done she killed herself, and is condemned to haunt the Earth searching for children to replace those she’s lost.

Cut to the ’70s, an era that was presumably chosen solely to fit in the tenuous Annabelle connection, and social worker Anna (Linda Cardellini) is investigating a case of a mother who’s been keeping her kids locked in a cupboard. Is she an abusive mum, or is it the return of La Llorona?

What follows is a frustrating series of scare setups where Anna and her own two kids remain painfully incredulous even as Llorona appears repeatedly in their home and leaves burn marks on their arms. The plot, as such, is “She’s coming to get you!” and not much more, while the look of Llorona is a couple of steps away from the Insidious ghoul, a pale, dark-haired woman in a white dress who’s corporeal but also not.

This is a first feature for director Michael Chaves, who’s also attached to The Conjuring 3, and while it’s not as bad as Annabelle it’s a long way from the heights of this once classy franchise, which is now in danger of giving up the ghost. Rosie Fletcher

For a more interesting take on La Llorona, check out 2006’s KM 31, a modern Mexican version with J-horror leanings.

She was always careful not to get sunburn.