The Cry is Dark and Disturbing
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Written by The Horror Czar
February 14, 2008
Release: June 3, 2008
Written and Directed by: Bernadine Santistevan
Starring:
Adriana Domínguez as Maria
Christian Camargo as Alex Scott
Carlos Leon as Sergio Perez
Miriam Colon as Gloria the Curandera
In Mexico and several U.S. Mexican-American areas there is a somber urban legend about a woman called La Llorona (Spanish for “The Crying Woman”) who, 500 years ago, drown her children. Her reasons vary, according to the source of the story, between anger at a husband who betrayed her, an act of mercy to save the children from poverty, freeing her to find another man unencumbered by the tots and a few other rationales. Convicted murderer Susan Smith was even compared to La Llorona in a Time magazine illustration when she drowned her kids after being rejected by a male suitor.
The Cry, distributed by Monterey Media Inc. uses the legend of La Llorona as the basis for a series of child disappearances in Central Park at the center of New York City, USA. In this case, however, the spirit of The Crying Woman both takes children into the water herself and possesses mothers to sacrifice their youngsters to bodies of water, including the bath tub. The homicide detective leading the charge to solve the mystery of the multiple disappearances and child murders, Detective Scott (Christian Camargo), must battle both the horrific nature of the crimes and his own demons… his ex-wife drowned his own child in a similar fashion years ago.
The Cry is suspenseful and shocking, especially in light of the victims of this terrible curse. Seeing children as victims of death and mayhem is taboo to be sure and will certainly elicit a few uncomfortable moments. Thankfully there is no graphic violence or gore where children are concerned.
The cinematography in this film is beautiful and rich bringing depth and darkness to this supernatural thriller. The camera angles and cuts are imaginative, but stray a bit close to the standard YouTube web log format at times as one minute of activity is reduced to about ten seconds through a series of short snippets. The music, composed by Dean
Parker, is incredible and helps create the sinister mood of a mind slowly being lost.
Overall, The Cry is a credible effort. When it is good, it’s really good; Scary, suspenseful and deeply disturbing. When it is “not as good” the story drags a bit leaving a little too much time for snack breaks. Still, this one kept me engaged until the end as I wondered how in the world the lead characters were going to get out of this mess…
Also, an interesting story surrounds Producer, Writer and Director Bernadine Santistevan who studied engineering at Stanford, finance at Wharton School and International Studies at University of Pennsylvania. She has written children’s fantasy books and worked as a venture capitalist with GE Equity. This woman is one SERIOUS over-achiever.
Resume aside, Santistevan has created an artistic and dark horror/thriller about an eerie legend that is very real to a lot of people. If you grew up being warned to come home before dark to avoid being caught by La Llorona then The Cry will bring all of your childhood nightmares to life. Even if you have never heard of La Llorona before I suspect that, after watching this film, you will think twice before falling asleep on a river bank. Questions or comments about The Cry? Contact us!
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