Review: In 'La Llorona,' a creepy folktale made banal

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.

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)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)