Gritos da Morte

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...

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.

wow, was this film awful....

$1 rental at redbox wasted.

the only reason i watched the whole thing is because i'm paralyzed and when in bed i couldn't shut it off myself, lol.

every scene was long and drawn out with boring camera scenes.

the flashbacks were long and boring and very predictable.

nothing was interesting or scary.

you could cut out 45 minutes of this film and not lose anything to the story.

the cast was awful, and i wanted the spirit to kill everyone just so movie would end.

i'd watch my mother the car reruns before this film, hehe.

the only thing the writer should feel proud of is she found a sucker to finance it.

Stink-A-Roo don't waste your time.

This is a very bad movie. It is not scary. It is awful. The story line is awful. If you want to see a really scary movie see The Exorcist. Do not waste your money. Do not waste your time. Do see this awful movie. This is one of the worst horror movie of all time. If you want to something really scary see The Exorcist II. Do not see this movie. The Exorcist III is another movie that is really scary. But this movie is awful. Exorcist the beginning is also very scary. But this is just awful. Do not see this movie. The ending is awful. Damnation is a lot better. A Nightmare on elms street is better. the original A Nightmare on elm street from 1984 is a really good horror movie. The remake of A Nightmare on elm street from 2010 really bad and even it is better then this crap. This a ghost story. Ghost stories can be scary. But this one is not.

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.