Based on Mexican folklore, the movie “The Curse of La Llorona” is about a woman who drowns her two kids in a river out of spite of her cheating husband. She then feels guilty and drowns herself, leading her spirit to roam Mexico City and Los Angeles, weeping “Ay mis hijos,” in hopes of finding the souls of her children. The movie changes some aspects of the legend but keeps bits and pieces of the story.

The film is moved to 1970s Los Angeles where the legendary ghost stalks children at night. Ignoring the warning of a troubled mother, social worker Anne Garcia decides to go ahead and separate the woman’s children from her. Her own kids are drawn into a frightening supernatural realm. They turn to an unorthodox priest, Father Perez, for protection against the evil spirit.

Director Michael Chaves missed a lot of valuable key points that are included in the original story of La Llorona. Chaves didn’t show the parents warning their children about La Llorona, which is a main point of the story as it was a way of getting their children to behave and listen so La Llorona wouldn’t drown them.  An aspect of the story that should’ve been in the movie was how La Llorona only appears in rivers, but in the movie, she appeared in bedrooms and bathrooms.

“The movie wasn’t what I was expecting,” said junior Genesis Hernandez. “I thought it would be scarier and have a more dramatic plot. It seemed like the director didn’t really follow how the myth was supposed to be interpreted.”

The Oarsman rates the film 3/5 stars.