James Wan, producer of “The Conjuring” has released another film a part of “The Conjuring” universe. On April 19, Atomic Monster and New Line Cinema released “The Curse of La Llorona” in theaters.

The film is based on a Mexican folklore tale about a woman who murders her children in a river. She is later consumed by guilt, damned by God to roam the Earth feeling guilt for eternity. It is said in Mexican culture that you can hear her cries late at night looking for her children, or looking for children to take.

The film adaptation of this generational myth is set in the 1970s and it revolves around a widow, Anna Tate-Garcia (Linda Cardellini) and her two children. Tate-Garcia is a social worker who encounters a distressed mother, Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez), who claims La Llorona (Marisol Ramirez) is trying to take her kids.

Although the film does have cheesy computer-generated imagery, “The Curse of La Llorona” does have great pop-up scares that may have viewers on the edge of their seat wanting more.

The best part of the film is when Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz), comes into the film. Olvera is a curandero, a spiritual healer, who used to be a part of the Catholic church but left to practice folk medecine remedies. Olvera had the “swag” of a typical Latino-suave character who captures the audience with his charm and quirky humor.

Laughter and some questionable words filled the theater during a scene where Olvera performs a limpia or a spiritual cleansing, on the house of Tate-Garcia with an egg.  A limpia is used to detect any malicious energies that may be attached to a person, or in this case the house.

I found it interesting for Mexican-folk remedies and tales to make it on main-stream media. When I saw the remedies that my family speaks of and believes in on the big screen, I felt a sense of connection with the film. Seeing a part of my culture that is not really shown in American media was refreshing to experience because these remedies date back to the Aztec civilization.

As for the film itself, I was expecting more scares and terror. I hoped “The Curse of La Llorona” was going to be as eerie and horrifying as she was described to me growing up. The weeps of La Llorona are definitely chilling to hear on an IMAX surround system.

The film overall is a fun experience, especially if jump-scare movies are your preference for horror movies.