The Curse of La Llorona: A Horror Universe’s Weakest Link

There was some confusion when the trailers for The Curse of La Llorona about whether or not this would be a film in connection with the Conjuring universe of films or just a stand-alone horror film to usher in the summer. Well, either way, you’re bound to be disappointed. The connection to the rest of the Conjuring films is slight, so much so that it might not even register with the majority of the audience, and it is perhaps the poorest addition to the franchise. Actually, it may be one of the poorest additions to the genre entirely, since the film cannot live up to even its weakest predecessor (in my opinion, that’s The Nun). The jump scares are obvious, but there actually aren’t a lot of them (usually that would be a plus if it weren’t for the lack of any other type of scares to make up for it). It’s a horror film that has a very loose grasp on what actually constitutes horror, and that means that for even the audiences that usually find themselves shaking in horror movies, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll leave with the rush that you were probably hoping for.

A Simple Favor is Simply Fine

Ocean’s 8 took us on a heist ride with a female crew, and now A Simple Favor takes us through a femme fatale, film noir thriller (with just a splash of comedy) with two strong female characters. The best part about both of these movies? Despite the fact that they are female lead, it’s not the main point. Both take the opportunity to have fun with their genre, rather than make a statement or prove a point, and this makes them enjoyable ways to spend the day. Does that mean that A Simple Favor is a great example of filmmaking (or film noir as a genre)? No, but that’s okay. It’s enough that we can sit back, kind of enjoy ourselves, and roll our eyes when things get a bit cliché because the story isn’t anything fantastic.

Season Two of Scream: Too Big, Too Slow

As we get closer and closer to March, the excitement grows for the third season of Scream: The TV Series to come back to our screens. The television series surprised viewers with its command of terror and tension, encapsulating the subtle satire and completely bloodthirsty nature of the original film series, in some cases, even surpassing the films that started too feel too convoluted (we all like to just pretend that Scream 3 (2000) didn’t happen). So when season two began in May of 2016, expectations were high and everyone wanted to know how the story of Lakewood would continue to amaze. Well, the story continued, but whether or not it amazed the audience as the first season had done is questionable. For some, the ending twist was enough to satisfy, but for others, the entire season was an unnecessary add-on to a series that felt more like an anthology. Now that the show has said it will become an anthology in season three, we must ask ourselves – was a second season for the Lakewood group really necessary?