The Corner Penthouse

The Curse of La Llorona is the latest film in the Conjuring universe. Is it any good? Read on to find out...


Set in 1973 Los Angeles, The Curse of La Llorona tells the story of Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini), a social worker and widowed single mom struggling to balance the two roles while still coping with the loss of her husband. When she's called to the home of Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez), and finds her two young sons locked in a closet, she interprets their terrified mother's desperate efforts to keep them locked away as a dangerous sign of abuse. Since she is unaware of the very real danger they face, Anna has no idea what she's about to unleash when she places the kids into protective custody. When their boys bodies are later pulled from the river, their distraught mother lays the blame at Anna's feet, and leaves her with an eerie warning: La Llorona has her children now, but Anna's own could be next.


When darkness descends and her kids hear the weeping woman's ominous cries, Anna is forced to confront the reality of Patricia's claims: this legendary spirit is hunting children in modern-day Los Angeles...and her own small kids are her prey. With nowhere else to turn, Anna puts her faith in Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz), a former priest-turned-curandero who has been preparing for this battle all his life. Bringing his powerful faith and an arsenal of spiritual totems, Rafael bands together with Anna and her kids as they batten down the hatches and arm themselves for the onslaught when night falls and La Llorona unleashes the full force of her furious supernatural wrath.


The Curse of La Llorona is your standard run-of-the-mill boogeyman flick. While it's not an entirely bad movie - it will keep you entertained for the duration - there's nothing remarkable about it, either. It's just a series of jump scares strung together with the most basic of plots. The movie tries to be atmospheric, but it fails in that regards. Heck, it fails at feeling like the 1973 time period in which it's set.


Where it doesn't fail is in the performances. Everyone in the cast elevates the material, especially Linda Cardellini, who has to carry the film from start to finish. I've liked Linda since I first saw her as the cute goth girl in the long-forgotten ABC Saturday morning series Bone Chillers. It doesn't hurt that she and I share a birthday, too. She's the reason I chose to watch La Llorona. Without her, I would have passed on it.


The film is loosely connected to the Conjuring universe through the appearance of Father Perez from the first Annabelle film, played again by Tony Amendola. The titular deadly doll from that film makes a brief cameo in a flashback that (presumably) is footage from that film. (I never saw any other films in the Conjuring universe, so I'm assuming it's old footage from that film.)


Overall, it's not a bad movie, but it's not one you should run out to buy, unless you're a fellow Linda Cardellini fan, or you want to add to your Conjuring collection. Everyone else should just rent it. If you'd like to see the La Llorona folklore covered differently, check out the Grimm season 2 episode "La Llorona", which originally aired on October 26, 2012.


The Curse of La Llorona is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio with a runtime of 1:33:14. Audio languages include English, English Descriptive, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The film includes English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles. The first print run includes a beautiful slipsleeve.


All of the bonus features that can be found on the disc are in HD.

• The Myth of La Llorona (2:29) - Cast members tell of the La Llorona legend.
• Behind the Curse (9:43) - A discussion of the various aspects that go into the making of the movie.
• The Making of a Movie Monster (5:53) - An exploration of the title character.
• Deleted Scenes (11:10) - Includes the following six scenes: "Raphael's Shop"; "Chris Shoot, Cooper, Lock-Up Gun"; "Extended Welfare Check"; "Patricia Enters House"; "Warren's Hand Off"; and "Church Ending".
• Storyboards (17:32) - Includes the following seven scenes and their storyboard counterparts: "The Car", "Intrusion", "Echo Park", "The Fountain", "Hospital", "Hold The Line", and "River Finale".

Also included in the Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack is a second DVD disc, which contains only the "The Making of a Movie Monster" featurette listed above. The movie on the DVD is presented in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio with an anamorphic widescreen transfer. Audio languages include English, English Descriptive, French, and Spanish. The film includes English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles.


A digital copy code voucher is also included in the standard two-disc Blu-ray case.


The Curse of La Llorona is available on Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and individual DVD.


All images were taken from the IMDB gallery of the film or were provided by Warner Brothers. This item has been provided by Warner Brothers for review on this site.