Overview
A chilling exploration of guilt and the haunting echoes of the past.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- eerie
- oppressive
- brooding
- late night arthouse viewing
- political cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praised Jayro Bustamante's precise visual direction and intelligent fusion of Guatemalan political history with restrained folkloric horror, while noting that the slow pacing and limited scares can test patience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The La Llorona legend becomes an instrument of reckoning with genocide committed against Mayan people.
Enrique's household becomes increasingly isolated as his trial, paranoia, and the haunting undermine his protection.
Precise framing, narrative ellipses, and minimal jump scares sustain an art-house atmosphere of creeping unease.
The dictator's family and servants confront the personal consequences of the Guatemalan genocide within the home.
Films like La Llorona, and why
The Devil's Backbone
political horror, historical trauma, and supernatural reckoning rendered through restrained art-house filmmaking
The Nightingale
slow-burn supernatural dread fused with political violence, guilt, and allegorical history
The Headless Woman
Latin American magical realism, authoritarian repression, and folkloric vengeance
The Others
elegant historical horror using ghosts and genre conventions to confront atrocity and complicity
Movie Details
- Director
- Jayro Bustamante
- Release Date
- 2019-07-25
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (381)
Cast
- María Mercedes Coroy
- Sabrina De La Hoz
- Margarita Kénefic
- Julio Díaz
- María Telón
- Juan Pablo Olyslager
- Ayla-Elea Hurtado
- Enrique Argüello
- Alejandra Colom
- Marvin Coroy
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is La Llorona about?
- A Guatemalan dictator's fortified home becomes a chamber of supernatural reckoning as genocide, guilt, and indigenous memory refuse to stay buried.
- What is La Llorona like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of La Llorona as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is La Llorona violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in La Llorona as graphic.
- What did critics think of La Llorona?
- Critics broadly praised Jayro Bustamante's precise visual direction and intelligent fusion of Guatemalan political history with restrained folkloric horror, while noting that the slow pacing and limited scares can test patience.
- Which films are like La Llorona?
- Films with a similar feel include The Devil's Backbone, The Nightingale, The Headless Woman, and The Others.
- How long is La Llorona?
- La Llorona runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch La Llorona?
- In United States, La Llorona streams on fuboTV, Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel.
