With the mention of La Llorona, there are plenty of cinematic iterations that could emerge in your mind. There’s the American version The Curse of La Llorona or Guatemala’s La Llorona. Even Mexico’s famous wrestler turned actor El Santo had a shot in the ring with his film Santo y Mantequilla Nápoles en la Venganza de La Llorona (Santo and Mantequilla Nápoles in La Llorona’s Vengeance). Needless to say, La Llorona is arguably Mexico and Latin America’s most famous folktale. Regardless of all these different renditions, most of the origin stories for La Llorona follow the same story setup of a weeping woman mourning her drowned children. Patricia Harris Seeley’s directorial debut, The Legend of La Llorona, follows this structure up until she makes it her own.
The film follows American couple Carly (Autumn Reeser) and Andrew Candlewood (Antonio Cupo). They leave the United States with their son Eduardo (Josh Zaharia) on a vacation to an unnamed hotel in Mexico. As they are greeted by the housekeeper Veronica (Angélica Lara) and a taxi driver named George (Danny Trejo), the Candlewoods are told about the local legend of La Llorona near La Isla de la Muñecas. As her powers grow and La Llorona begins to leave the river, her desire to kidnap Eduardo intensifies and it’s up to the main cast of characters to get out safely.
To my knowledge the real world Mexican attraction, La Isla de la Muñecas, has hardly made any cinematic appearances in Mexican or American cinema. Yet, this decrepit doll-infested island has the perfect eerie atmosphere for a horror film that Seeley successfully utilizes.To include La Isla de la Muñecas, not only set the film in the channel of Xochimilco but it also displays Seeley’s genuinity. The history of the island surrounds a man named Julián Santana Barrera. It involves him placing the dolls all along his island to trap the spirit of a drowned girl. The use of this island allows Seeley to use this history to add another layer of folkloric drowning involving children.
The Legend of La Llorona’s low budget is highly noticeable, especially in the CGI effects surrounding La Llorona and the fog she emerges from. But in a world filled with serious takes on this piece of folklore, such as aforementioned Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, this film knew exactly what kind of story it has to tell. This film being produced and written by Cameron Larson, also known for Sand Sharks, says it all. It can be placed in the so-bad-it’s-good category. Personally I feel going the fun and cheesy route for this film was the smart move. A film like this, where it’s better watched with a group of friends who appreciate the novelty of this style of movie making, is needed every once in a while.
A crucial factor that hinders the final product of the film is the pacing. The exposition told through flashbacks dramatically halts the main narrative with Carly and her missing son. Although the backstory does feel somewhat fresh due to the film switching up key elements about the death of La Llorona’s child, all tension is lost for both stories. The drag continues once the story reverts to La Llorona taking away Eduardo and Carly running around the forest terrified and yelling out her son’s name. A situation like this could add emotional trauma and damage to any parent and child involved in real life. When speaking in a cinematic sense, the severity of the event drops significantly due to the length of Carly running around an empty forest during this sequence. The lack of continuing narrative and other characters is noticeable, more specifically the absence of George.
The few times Danny Trejo’s character appeared on screen were easily the best. George’s situations involving the cartel and fighting La Llorona paired perfectly with the tone of the film and Danny Trejo’s acting. To be able to witness Danny Trejo’s evolution as an actor throughout my lifetime has honestly been a joyous time. With currently over 300 acting credits on IMDB, acting in films like these can be like second nature to him. Characters like Machete, Razor from From Dusk Till Dawn, and Cucuy in Once Upon a Time in Mexico show the fun Danny Trejo prefers as these characters are typically seen in Mexploitation films. While some may see Danny Trejo simply getting a paycheck, I on the other hand see him having fun with his career. And how could he not as he gets to chase down the ghostly figure of La Llorona and shoot her with a shotgun.
The film won’t land with everyone. The Legend of La Llorona is nowhere near a perfect movie. Its rocky script and pacing issues is enough to make a casual viewer look elsewhere for media surrounding La Llorona. But Seeley does show genuine care and passion with the narrative, unlike the American counterpart. To be able to pick a famous folktale that has been done to death cinematically and still be able to add a new flavor to the story is impressive. Unfortunately the final product is not so much.
