The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Director: Michael Chaves
Stars: Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velasquez
Runtime: 93 minutes

Synopsis: Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.

Performances: 6/10
Screenplay: 3/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Costumes/Makeup: 6/10
Editing: 3/10
Cinematography: 4/10
Score/Soundtrack: 3/10
Entertainment Factor: 2/10

Verdict: Inspired by a well known Mexican folktale about the ghost of a weeping woman cursed by the guilt of drowning her children, I was excited for the newest entry in The Conjuring Universe (I still don't understand the reason behind that inclusion) for two reasons: The inspiration and Linda Cardellini, who I always enjoy seeing in movies.

And while the actress, most famous for her breakthrough role in the canceled-too-soon TV show "Freaks and Geeks", didn't disappoint in the lead role, everything else, unfortunately, did.

"The Curse of La Llorona", despite benefiting from incredibly disturbing material, doesn't do anything with it, instead opting on delivering the same cliché, unoriginal horror flick we've seen time and time again. The performances, apart from Cardellini's, were all two-dimensional, the story was nonexistent and filled with conveniences and cheesy moments, and the main antagonist utilized in an extremely poor way that didn't do justice to her origin story. However, my biggest complaint about Michael Chaves' directorial debut was the horror elements, which is a problem in... you know... a horror movie. The cheap jumpscares, and the film only relies on them to provide the audience with chills, had absolutely no purpose behind them and were only present for the sake of making the movie appear creepy, a feeling that never felt earned in my eyes.

"The Curse of La Llorona" was disappointing on almost every level. It wasn't scary, it didn't have any depth to it, and worst of all, it was predictable from the first second to the last. I only hope that Chaves' follow-up, which will be the third entry in "The Conjuring" franchise, will live up to the standards set by James Wan in first two installments. 

FINAL GRADE: 3/10