All the hatred, all the talking about bad things must leave... Negative energy, I ask you to leave this house for the sake of the family. Ancestors, please help us understand who wants to harm us. Protect us from all evil, make all evil go away.
— Valeriana
La Llorona [la ʝoˈɾona], also known as The Weeping Woman, is a 2019 Guatemalan
horror film directed by Jayro Bustamante. It is based on the Latin-American legend of the same name. The film stars María Mercedes Coroy, Sabrina De La Hoz, Margarita Kenéfic, Julio Diaz, María Telón, Juan Pablo Olyslager, and Ayla-Elea Hurtado.
The film was released on August 30th, 2019.
Not to be confused with the 2019 film The Curse of La Llorona.
Previews:Trailer.
The film provides examples of:
- Adaptational Heroism: In both the original legend and The Curse of La Llorona, the titular spirit was a villain. Here, she’s an Anti-Hero Antagonist.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Enrique is a jerkass old man who is guilty of committing genocide, but you'd be forgiven for feeling a little sympathetic for him when it's revealed that he has Alzheimer's.
- Antagonist Title: La Llorona is the Hero Antagonist of the film.
- Asshole Victim: Enrique Monteverde committed genocide. Needless to say, he’s got it coming.
- Bait-and-Switch: Natalia sees Alma holding Sara’s head under the water in the sink and thinks Alma is trying to drown Sara, when in fact she’s just helping Sara practice holding her breath.
- Bathtub Scene: A variant. Alma is seen sitting on the edge of a bathtub completely naked, washing her dress with her back to the camera.
- Bigot with a Crush: Enrique's wife Carmen tells his daughter, Natalia, that he was always attracted to native women and reveals her suspicions that Valeriana, who arrived at their household as a child, may be Enrique's daughter.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Enrique clearly doesn't even remember killing Alma and ordering the deaths of her children, otherwise he would have recognized her.
- Bystander Syndrome: Natalia, Valeriana, and Sara did nothing to stop Carmen from strangling Enrique.
- Chekhov's Skill: Alma helping Sara practice holding her breath comes in handy during the climax.
- Child by Rape: Maybe. Enrique's wife Carmen tells his daughter, Natalia, that he was always attracted to native women and reveals her suspicions that Valeriana, who arrived at their household as a child, may be Enrique's daughter. Considering Enrique committed genocide against the natives, it's unlikely the sex was consensual.
- Children Are Innocent: Sara definitely qualifies. She's young and doesn't understand why people are saying bad things about her grandfather Enrique.
- Dead All Along: Alma was killed by Enrique himself before the events of the film and has come back as La Llorona.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In both the original legend and this film, La Llorona's children are drowned. The difference is that in the legend (and in The Curse of La Llorona), La Llorona drowns her own children. Here, they are drowned by Guatemalan soldiers during the Maya Genocide.
- Dirty Old Man: Enrique sees Alma wading through the pool into the house; his family discovers him, sexually aroused and watching her wash her dress.
- Embarrassing Damp Sheets: Carmen is understandably embarrassed after wetting the bed.
- Ethereal White Dress: Alma wears one whenever she’s not in her maid uniform.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Enrique has a wife, daughter, and granddaughter who love him.
- Fanservice: María Mercedes Coroy sitting on the edge of a bathtub completely naked, washing her dress with her back to the camera. Even her long hair can’t hide her body. Downplayed, though, because it’s not shot in an overtly sexual way.
- Foreshadowing: The Bait-and-Switch reveal that Alma wasn’t trying to drown Sara hints at the reveal that Alma/La Llorona didn’t drown her children like in the myth; they were drowned by Guatemalan soldiers under Enrique’s orders.
- Gaslighting: A rare heroic (or at least anti-heroic) example. Alma/La Llorona starts tormenting Enrique by making him hear crying before she even starts working for him.
- Genocide Survivor:
- Subverted. Alma was killed by Monteverde himself during his genocide of the Mayans, and now her spirit has come back to haunt him.
- The indigenous woman seen testifying against Enrique survived his genocide against her people.
- Ghost Amnesia: Alma can’t remember how old she is.
- Ghost Story: The film is based on the myth of La Llorona.
- Ghostly Goals: Neither Type A nor B. La Llorona's vengeance is completely justified.
- Ghostly Wail: La Llorona isn’t called The Weeping Woman for nothing. Made creepier by the fact that, the first time Enrique hears her crying, only he can hear it.
- Guns Firing Underwater: Played straight when Enrique fires into the pool and hits Sara in the arm.
- Hero Antagonist: Alma/La Llorona is the antagonist, but she is much more sympathetic than Enrique.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Enrique is killed, not by La Llorona herself, but by Carmen, the wife who has spent the entire movie loving and supporting him, after she has a vision of him murdering Alma and her children.
- Improperly Paranoid/Properly Paranoid: Played with. Enrique's paranoia is justified but misdirected. He's convinced that the protesters are sneaking into the house and messing with him, but it's actually Alma/La Llorona.
- I See Dead People: Enrique’s house is blanketed with flyers of the disappeared from decades earlier; Sara and Alma notice one of the Kaqchikel men on the flyers is among the crowd of protesters.
- Karma Houdini: Enrique committed genocide, but his guilty verdict is overturned by the high court, which ruled that his guilt could not be conclusively proven.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: He ends up dead courtesy of La Llorona.
- Keeping the Enemy Close: Alma takes a job as a maid working for the man who massacred her people and killed her himself.
- Lack of Empathy: Enrique has No Sympathy for the people testifying against him who lost loved ones to his genocide. Even Carmen seems to share these views, dismissing them as liars.
- Lotus Position: Natalia is seen in this position from behind about 57 minutes in.
- Mama Bear:
- Alma/La Llorona was unable to save the lives of her children, so now she's playing the long game to avenge them.
- When Enrique shoots Sara by mistake, Natalia snatches the gun away and points it at him.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Enrique is convicted of genocide, but the verdict is overturned by the high court, which ruled that his guilt could not be conclusively proven.
- Murder Into Malevolence: Downplayed. La Llorona isn’t evil per se, but she wants vengeance and is willing to traumatize her victim’s family to get it.
- Never Trust a Trailer: In the trailer linked above, the shot of Alma looking down at Valeriana from the top bunk of their bed is made to seem overtly sinister thanks to the music. In the film, it's the end of a oner of the two women getting ready for bed.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Enrique Monteverde is based on Efraín Ríos Montt.
- Not His Blood: This exchange.Sara: Did they hurt you?Natalia: No, it’s not my blood.Sara: Whose is it?Natalia: Animal blood, I think.
- Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Inverted. Alma is younger than Enrique.
- The Oner: Enrique being driven home from the hospital is seen in a long take that starts inside the ambulance and ends when they get out.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: This one is a Vengeful Ghost from Mexican folklore.
- Please Put Some Clothes On: Alma is asked to cover up after Enrique's family finds him staring at her naked.
- Poltergeist: Supernatural activity involving water, including faucets spontaneously turning on, occurs.
- Product Placement: Early on in the film, Natalia is seen using an Apple laptop.
- Reckless Gun Usage: On more than one occasion, Enrique recklessly fires his gun. The first time, he narrowly misses his wife. The second time, he hits his granddaughter in the arm. Somewhat justified, since he’s old, paranoid, and has Alzheimer’s.
- Recurring Dreams: Enrique’s wife Carmen has one about being the mother of two children who are taken away by Guatemalan soldiers. Each time she sees a bit more of the dream. By the end, she realizes that she’s seeing how Alma and her children died.
- Revenge: Alma wants revenge on Enrique Monteverde for the brutal genocide of the native Mayans in 1982-83.
- Royal Bastard: Maybe. Enrique's wife Carmen tells his daughter, Natalia, that he was always attracted to native women and reveals her suspicions that Valeriana, who arrived at their household as a child, may be Enrique's daughter. Since Enrique is the former dictator of Guatemala, this means Valeriana might qualify.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Enrique is a Jerkass to anyone not on his side.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Most of Enrique's household staff quits after he almost shoots his wife.
- Skipping School: When the family is unable to leave the house thanks to the protesters, Carmen tells Sara she gets to skip school. Sara then states that she wants to go to school.
- The Stinger: At Enrique's funeral, another old general excuses himself to the bathroom, where he hears a woman wailing as the room begins to flood.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: La Llorona’s hair goes down almost to her knees.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Alma gives one to Enrique when he sees her approaching the house on her first day.
- Toplessness from the Back: Alma is seen completely naked from behind.
- The Unapologetic: Enrique never apologizes for his entitled jerkass behavoir.
- Uncertain Doom: While searching the house just before the climax, Letona encounters the spirits of two Kaqchikel children who calmly take him away, and he is not seen again.
- Undead Barefooter: La Llorona often walks around barefoot.
- Unfinished Business: La Llorona wants revenge on the man who slaughtered the native Mayans, including her and her children.
- Vengeful Ghost: La Llorona herself.
- Villain Protagonist: Former Guatemalan dictator Enrique Monteverde. He's the main character, and he's also guilty of genocide.
- Waving Signs Around: Many of the protestors have signs calling Enrique a murderer, demanding that he be arrested or killed, and with pictures of some of the victims of his genocide.
- Wham Shot: During Carmen's final vision, Enrique shoots her, and she looks down to see, not her body, but Alma's. The movie makes no attempt to hide the fact that Alma is La Llorona, but The Reveal that Enrique personally executed Alma comes as a shock.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Enrique is an old man who committed genocide and yet insists he did nothing wrong.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- Subverted with Alma; she was just helping Sara practice holding her breath. Like Natalia, anyone familiar with the story of La Llorona had every reason to believe Alma was drowning Sara.
- Played straight with Enrique, who committed genocide against Guatemala’s Maya population and had Alma’s children killed. It’s mentioned during his trial that 38% of the victims were children under 12.
- Also played straight with the two soldiers who drowned Alma's children.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Alma wasn’t drowning Sara, she was just helping her practice holding her breath.
