The Cry

The Cry is a take on the La Llorona legend of Mexico and America. The two countries have many different takes on the legend. This film seems by all accounts to take from one of the Mexican legends of La Llorona hunting down children and drowning them.

The director Bernadine Santistevan film is stylishly shot, and looks fantastic, but unfortunately it lacks any substance.

Nothing is ever really explained in the film, like for example why La Llorona turned up in New York of all places. Why not Mexico where there is more history of the legend, and most importantly why she choose her victims.

Without these major points explained in the movie it all seemed kind of pointless.

One other thing I don't think an evil spirit possessing mothers to kill their own babies (and very young babies at that) is not a very good idea for a film. There are so many variations on this legend why not choose one that's a little less disturbing.

To sum it up people looking for "Dead Silence" or "Darkness Falls" type of film don't bother renting this, but people with an active interest in the La Llorona legend my find it interesting.

Spanish Harlem is plagued with a rash of disappearances and murders revolving around small children. Nothing seems to connect the crimes except that they seem to take place near bodies of water (although at least one occurs in a bathtub). We enter the story from two angles -- a woman who can see the victims in her visions and two police detectives, one of whom had a troubled childhood.

"The Cry" (or "La Llorona") was a confusing film for me. I never understood how the main actress was connected to the crimes. I don't know why the fortune teller scene was so long (seemingly to explain the Weeping Woman, but it didn't do this very well). And the flashbacks to the cop's childhood? Or the flashback to the girl by the water? Very hard to follow and ultimately more distracting than anything. The film was 80 minutes, but could easily have been 60 if the opening credits were cut down and the extra material (flashbacks) were excised.

Stylistically the film is good. The director really captures some great shots and the use of lenses or filters to give scenes different colors was a nice touch (sometimes blue, other times green or orange). The use of two different kinds of cameras made the editing look a bit sloppy (not unlike "Cabin by the Lake 2"). The overhead shots were also unnecessary.

I don't mean to be harsh, because really I could see this was a labor of love and it does have potential if it had simply been edited differently. And I applaud the writer for exploring a traditional part of her culture. In a bonus feature, she says she scoured the earth for five years collecting stories of La Llorona. Unfortunately, she left us with an inconsistent narrative that doesn't really make those stories clear. (Personally, I would recommend a book presenting oral histories of the Llorona tales... it would be more appropriate than the film).

I keep bringing up Ryan Harper's "Circulation" again and again in my reviews. I can't stress enough how great that film is. And here it comes again. If you're looking for one film that brings Spanish-American culture to the audience the best, you want "Circulation". "The Cry", while not a bad film, left me more confused than anything and I failed to connect with whatever the message was intended to be.

I hate to bash anyone's work, but this is simply the WORST film ever. It would take far too long to list this film's problems, but suffice to say...you will be wasting your time and money on a terrible film.

As far as the mother's killing their babies because of La Lorona, well that could have been handled in a terrifying but effective way (if it had to be handled), but this is not a thoughtful or sensitive treatment. It's not even a scary horror movie and the acting is so stiff - where was the director?

As to why it was shot in New York City instead of Mexico, clearly there were budget issues. But location is the least of the problems. I wish there was something good to say about this film, but I couldn't find it.

Maybe the film's writer/director or some cast/crew can post some positive comments...

Entertaining and intelligent story behind this Latino legend.

Great film-making also! I definitely recommend this film.

It stayed clear of silly stereotypes.

The story was interesting.

The directing and acting was great.

Looks like a big budget film, even though it wasn't a Hollywood film.

It jumps into interesting cultural issues.

And the director and writers isn't afraid to bringing up societal taboos. A must see.

I grew up with the legend.

It scared me then.

This movie also scares me.

What in the world was this about??? I noticed early on that this movie was taking an deep plummet toward tastelessness when I figured out what was happening to the children! This is absolutely the worst movie I have ever, seen in the 35 years that I have been living in this world!

I don't think I have ever seen a worse movie. At least nothing that would 've surpassed this this total waste of time and space! How was anyone able to convince a movie production company to green light such a pointless heap of cow dung is beyond me!! Please America, save your brain cells for something like Benjamin Button or some other good movie recommendations. I don't want to give to many details, so that you may have a chance to watch for yourself, If you dare. Ohterwise, you have been warned!!!!