"The Cry (La Llorona)" DVD Review -- Written by Anthony Thurber

The Cry (La Llorona)
Year: 2008
Director: Bernadine Santistevan
Stars: Chirstan Camargo, Adriana Dominguez, Carlos Leon
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Monterey Media
Running Time: 80 Mins
Review Rating: 4 Stars
Official Website: http://www.thecrymotionpicture.com/



The Cry is about a supernatural ghost known as La Llorona (a real life Medea-like myth) has been haunting the American for 500 years in which it possesses the mother and makes her do unthinkable things. Now it’s out for revenge, as the ghost begins to haunt a young mother, as it’s trying to put her under its spell. Soon there are two detectives who discover this legend when there has been a rash of murders that has left New York City baffled. Now, they must try and find the mother before the ghost possesses her and makes her do the unthinkable.

It is very nice seeing female directors get behind the camera and directing films from this genre, because at time we don’t get to see the female perspective or creativity in this genre often. With that said, The Cry is a very creepy and disturbing film. It had the feel of a Spanish or Japanese horror film. Director Bernadine Santistevan direction was good. One of the things that she does well with this film was to keep the film’s tone dark and bleak. It helps make it very disturbing, even though the film was already disturbing enough with the subject matter it’s dealing with. Her direction of the actors was very good, as the actors made their characters dark or terrified. Another that makes this film frightening was the editing. I thought, they did a very good job, as it adds to the creepiness of the film.

The screenplay written by Santistevan and writer Monique Salazar was very frightening. They make this film haunting and very disturbing. They do a good job making keeping the action moving in the story by focusing on the two main characters. It helps make the story worthwhile, as you’re interested with the characters who are struggling with the events that are happening. Their character development was so-so for the most part. They did a good job developing the male lead in the film, as they did a good job piecing the character’s past and his obsession with the case through out the course of the film. If there was one problem with the film, it was the development of the female lead here. I thought the character was not fully developed. As the first time I saw her, she was having those visions. It would have been nice to see what her character was like before the visions began to plague her. It’s the only problem that I have with this film, as the rest of the screenplay was good especially the ending as it was disturbing.

The Cry is a chilling supernatural film that will make you frighten and disturbed.

For more information of the La Llorona myth, you can go http://www.lallorona.com

DVD Extras:

The legend of La Llorona
La Llorona Short Film
Thoughts From the Director
Original Thatrical Trailer