La Llorona, a woman who according to Mexican legend murdered her own children and now wanders the earth looking for them, snatching other unsuspecting tots and drowning them, gets her close-up in a major Hollywood film, Warner Bros.' "The Curse of La Llorona ." It's a pretty terrifying bedtime story popular in the Latino community, used to scare children into behaving with the threat that La Llorona will come and take them if they don't. Seems like decent enough fodder for a jumpy 93 minutes at the movies.
But the so-called "weeping woman" may have another reason to wail once her big North American debut hits theaters. The movie, from director Michael Chaves and producer James Wan, who made "The Conjuring" so good and stylish that it inspired a whole "universe" of films, including this one, just isn't that great. In fact, it makes La Llorona pretty ordinary — a demonic bride who terrorizes two single-moms and their families in Los Angeles in the late 1970s by running at them screaming and crying oily black tears. Subtlety isn't really her thing.
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This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Raymond Cruz in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, left, and Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Sean Patrick Thomas, left, and Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Roman Christou, left, and Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Raymond Cruz in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Patricia Velasquez in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The screenplay, credited to Mikki Daughtry and Tobais Iaconis, is mainly about Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini), a widowed child services worker and mom to two, Chris (Roman Christou) and Samantha (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen). One of her cases, Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez), a mother of two, is being haunted by La Llorona and when Anna intervenes, suspecting that it was mom who burned marks into her sons' arms, both boys end up dead, drowned in the shallow LA River.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
So La Llorona turns her attentions to Anna's kids, and things start to get quite stressful and scary in their big craftsman home, in part because although Anna, Chris and Samantha eventually encounter this very formal demon, none talk to each other about it. Even more frustrating: When Anna sees burn marks on her daughter's arm, after very recently having seen the same marks on the two now dead Alavarez boys, she doesn't pry further when Samantha says she merely fell. She just tells her daughter that the world can be scary and to hug her doll when it is. Anna, you start to suspect, might not be the best at her job.
The film feels both long and rushed which is something of an accomplishment as Chaves speeds through scenes and on to the next dutifully: Here's where they finally get help, here's where you get a tie-in to the other "Conjuring" films, etc. Plotlines are abandoned at will, there are set ups for things that never come back and some suspiciously malleable "monster-logic" that makes the whole endeavor seem a little lazy and half-baked. At one point, he seems to even give up on how to create tension, opting to turn one scare into what feels more like a trailer with quick, disconnected flashes of images and black.
Which is a shame because it's not like the film has nothing to offer. A bucket of popcorn stands no chance against the many, many jump scares that are to come. "La Llorona" is at its best when Chaves is permitted to give scenes time to breathe. There's a great sequence early on with kids in a car that is sure to inspire more than a few nightmares about manual car windows.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Raymond Cruz in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
The legend of La Llorona could inspire a whole universe of films on its own, but not with a kick-off like this.
"The Cure of La Llorona," a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "violence and terror." Running time: 93 minutes. Two stars out of four.
MPAA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying adult parent or guardian.
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, left, and Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Sean Patrick Thomas, left, and Linda Cardellini in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Roman Christou, left, and Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Raymond Cruz in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Patricia Velasquez in a scene from "The Curse of La Llorona." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday that the death toll in nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 572.
Iran had no direct reaction to Trump's comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in remarks that blamed Israel and the U.S. for the violence, without offering evidence.
“That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by Al Jazeera. The Qatar-funded network has been allowed to report live from inside Iran, despite the internet being shut off.
However, Araghchi said Iran was “open to diplomacy.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that a channel to the U.S. remained open, but talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
Meanwhile, pro-government demonstrators flooded the streets on Monday in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Iran's attorney general has said prosecutors will levy such charges against protesters, which carry the death penalty.
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who weren't authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
Iran, through the country's parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if Washington uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 503 of the dead were protesters and 69 were security force members.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government hasn't offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a violent crackdown. Protesters flooded Tehran's streets and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
At 2 p.m. Monday, Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square, or “Islamic Revolution” Square in the capital. It had been airing statements all morning from Iranian government, security and religious leaders to attend the demonstration.
It called the rally an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets were empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at more than 1.4 million to $1, as iran's economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Meanwhile, video circulating online purports to show dozens of bodies in a morgue on the outskirts of Iran’s capital.
People with knowledge of the facility and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Monday that the video shows the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Center.
In the footage, people are seen walking by dozens of bodies in bags laid out in a large room, attempting to identify those there. In some cases, bodies can be seen lying outside on blue tarps. A large truck can be seen in part of the footage.
Julia Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One. Melanie Lidman contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.
President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One from Florida, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
