La Llorona Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

La Llorona Blu-ray Movie Review

Sins of the grandfather.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 19, 2022

Unquestionably the victim of bad timing and misleading marketing, Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona was released four months after this Conjuring Universe turd and really only has slight traces of horror running through its dramatic veins; probably not what most viewers were expecting out of a Shudder original. Yet only three years after its its theatrical debut, La Llorona has entered the hallowed halls of The Criterion Collection, because we all know horror movies need either (a) social allegories or (b) subtitles to get in. This one's got both, so it was more or less a lock.

La Llorona feels bigger than how it actually plays out on screen in just 96 minutes, with a story ripped from the history books of its home country, Guatemala. General Enrique Monteverde (Julio Díaz, standing in for disgraced political figure Efraín Ríos Montt) is facing trial for the horrific genocide of native Mayan people during his brief tenure as Guatemala's de facto president in 1982-83. Old and in declining health, Enrique now lives with his wife Carmen (Margarita Kenéfic), daughter Natalia (Sabrina De La Hoz), and granddaughter Sara (Ayla-Elea Hurtado), along with his dutiful housekeeper Valeriana (María Telón) and a family of hired helpers. Haunted by his past in the nights leading up to trial, Enrique hears the sounds of a crying woman and finds water running from faucets at full strength. As the trial unfolds and a verdict is read -- which doesn't stand for long -- the public revolt leaves Enrique's family trapped in their own house, surrounded by protestors and broken glass. The family of helpers, long gone after a near-fatal accident, has been replaced by young maid Alma (María Mercedes Coroy), who was still a girl during Enrique's brief reign.

La Llorona mostly concerns itself with the crushing social and political fallout created by a heinous crime left mostly unpunished and, on a possibly related note, the new dynamics established after maid Alma joins their ranks. She's very quiet with a piercing gaze, and information is gradually revealed about Alma's own past that may or may nor tie her to members of the Monteverde family. Vaguely supernatural events seem to occur -- at least in spirit, if you'll pardon the pun -- and it's not long before matriarch Carmen experiences her own nightmares undoubtedly created by past actions and sky-high stress levels. Tense and unyielding until its allegorical climax, La Llorona has the unsavory task of dwelling on ugly events for the purpose of healing, a process that we never see its own characters go through.

This film establishes its world and characters in a way that's dramatically effective more often than not, even though its fusion of genres doesn't end up working as well as expected. It's easy to get invested in La Llorona's social and political story elements... but while its dashes of horror do initially help maintain tension levels at first glance, in hindsight they create more of an odd juxtaposition than a satisfying balance. This also ties into the film's slow-burn cinematography: its regular long takes, static shots, and punishingly slow zooms create the expectations of scares and dramatic reveals that rarely occur, which unintentionally deflates tension that other parts of the story worked so hard to create. So while the end result is clearly a well-made and original film with good intentions (and cultural symbolism that may have been lost in translation), it's certainly not going to appeal to anyone who thinks it's a horror-first experience.

In short, this niche title is stuck in a genre with very particular fans, though La Llorona's status may increase over time with repeat viewings. If nothing else it's a film with striking visuals, solid performances, and a tense atmosphere that absolutely demands audience attention from start to finish... but may still leave some viewers cold if the mood isn't right. Luckily, Criterion's new Blu-ray offers their usual high level of support for the main feature, from a solid A/V presentation to a nice little collection of bonus features with plenty of input from the director himself.

La Llorona Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot entirely on an ARRI ALEXA Mini camera, La Llorona was created in an all-digital workflow and Criterion's 2K master has been approved by director Jayro Bustamante. As these screencaps suggest, this is a very muted and grainy affair with deep blacks, mostly low-saturated color, and vignette lighting during many nighttime scenes that give it a very focused and centered appearance. Its compositions are often framed tightly at 2.39:1, rarely using the full width of the frame but instead creating a vaguely claustrophobic atmosphere. This is an interesting visual approach that suits the subject matter and Criterion's 1080p transfer maintains that intended effect, preserving its added grain structure while ensuing that black levels stay deep without falling victim to crush. A few mild compression issues were spotted, mostly in the form of stray banding and macro blocking, but they're very rare and, if I'm being honest, not all that distracting or even noticeable in motion. Overall, a good-looking disc with very little room for improvement.

La Llorona Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Spanish DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix treads familiar territory for a horror-tinged drama, mostly keeping things right up front but with occasionally persistent -- and at times overwhelming -- use of discrete panning and rear-channel effects to bolster some of its more suspenseful moments. These aren't all the garden-variety unsettling tones used in most genre films; those are present, of course, but the persistent cries of outside protesters create a slow-burning tension during otherwise ordinary moments inside the house as well. It's a pretty neat pairing, all things considered, and one that steps lightly outside the bounds of normal genre soil to get a similar sonic point across.

Optional English subtitles are included during the main feature and all three Spanish-language extras.

La Llorona Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in Criterion's typical thick and sturdy case with foreboding cover artwork, a solid black inner print, and a fold-out insert with cast/crew details, notes on the A/V presentation, and an essay by journalist Francisco Goldman titled "Turning Horror Into Light". The bonus features are small in number but substantial.

• Jayro Bustamante (28:46) - This exclusive interview, recorded in Spring 2022 for Criterion, finds the director detailing La Llorona's themes and story with its roots in Guatemalan political, social, and cinematic history, featuring more than a few related film clips and archival photos that add context to his explanations.

• Making "La Llorona" (44:15) - This expectedly broader piece, subtitled Cries of a Wounded People, was created by the director's production company La Casa de Producción and goes into more focused detail about the film's creation and development; adding to its appeal are historical clips featuring some of the real figures that some of La Llorona's characters were based on, as well as candid on-set footage and other material. It's a very well-produced mid-length featurette and will likely strengthen your appreciation of the film.

• Theatrical Trailer (7:29) - An extended trailer created in 2020 that features newly-shot footage of actor María Mercedes Coroy. The original two-minute trailer, oddly not included on the disc, can be seen here.

La Llorona Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jayro Bustamante's La Llorona is an interesting import that brings to mind unsettling horror and endless jump-scares, both by its ill-timed title and status as a Shudder original production. But it's actually more a politically-charged drama, heavy on the social allegory, with only intermittent dashes of horror that mostly end up working against it. (How's that for irony?) Its new status among Criterion's ranks may shift that perspective and, even though I wasn't completely won over, La Llorona ultimately deserves better than its current lowball score on IMDb suggests. This Blu-ray thankfully offers decent support, including a rock-solid A/V presentation and several worthwhile bonus features.