‘La Llorona’: Horror’s unintended hilarity

From left: Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Linda Cardellini and Roman Christou in “The Curse of La Llorona”

If you have had your fill of “Avengers: Endgame” or “Game of Thrones,” here’s a moviegoing option that will help drive your attention away from all the mood-dampening talks about earthquakes, the local elections and the ennui from teleserye fatigue: “The Curse of La Llorona.”

The film, whose stand-alone story takes place in The Conjuring Universe (eat your hearts out, Marvel and DC) is another fictionalized dramatization of real-life cases of haunting and demonic possession. If you’re familiar with the creepy likes of “The Conjuring,” “Annabelle” and “The Nun,” you’ll have an idea what to expect from “La Llorona.”

After its two-day preview run early this week, debuting director Michael Chaves’ chart-topping chiller will officially open in Philippine cinemas on Wednesday.

It’s a story inspired by the Mexican folklore of La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez), the weeping woman who reportedly drowned her children in 1673 after fits of jealous rage.

She caught her husband in the arms of another woman. The ghost of the guilt-stricken mother is said to bring misfortune to families who cross paths with her.

Three hundred years later, the vengeful spirit is blamed for a series of menacing crimes that forces social worker Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini) to seek the help of Rafael (Raymond Cruz), a demon-slaying shaman who has turned his back on his past life as a priest. He operates on the fringes of religion to shoo sinister creatures away.

Anna’s troubles begin when she investigates the child-abuse case involving troubled mom Patricia Velasquez (Patricia Alvarez) and her sons. But the social worker’s woes quickly escalate when La Llorona refocuses her attention on Anna’s emotionally vulnerable kids, Chris (Roman Christou) and Samantha (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen), who are still grieving from the unexpected death of their doting dad.

“La Llorona” has proficiently staged jump scares that are guaranteed to make viewers leap out of their seats. But its poorly written characters dilute the movie’s ability to sow potent and skin-crawling terror.

Unfortunately, horror quickly turns to hilarity when the film allows its crowd-pleasing gimmicks to trump logic. In Anna, Chris and Sam’s case, for instance, they all refuse to seek help even after their terrifying encounters with La Llorona.

The film is notable as much for the menacing antics of the Weeping Woman in White as it is for its characters’ slowness and ineptitude. But more than the evil that lurks in their midst, they’re victims of the damning Curse of Stupidity.