The Conjuring Universe is to horror is what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to the superhero genre. Although it doesn’t quite have the same polished elegance as the MCU. The latest film to drop is The Curse of the Weeping Woman.

 

Based on Latin folklore, the story is based on a beautiful woman who drowned her children as revenge against her husband who slept with a younger women. This women then is cursed and travels looking for more children to replace her own. Now she is traveling in 1970s America and that is where we pick up the story following solo-mum Anna who is a social worker investigating a suspicious case.

 

Similar to The Nun if you aren’t caught up in The Conjuring Universe, it isn’t an issue, there aren’t plot points or references that will make you feel like you’ve missed out. Fans of the series will enjoy another bit of lore which fleshes out the Warren room of possessed goodies.

 

I feel fans of the series or even horror itself will be a bit disappointed. The film is so formulaic, it’s almost as if they have picked up ‘Horror Film Making for Dummies’ and followed it to the letter. The jump scares are predictable with both visual and sound cues setting them up. There are even the classic eye rolling dumb moments where you just don’t believe the characters should survive. Overall it’s pretty ho-hum familiar.

 

What really threw me off was the weird comedic one-liners that only occurred in the third act. I’m fine with a bit of humour in my horror but it felt so forced and awkward, the whole time we are meant to be on the edge of our seats and suddenly out of nowhere are expected to laugh? It ruined the vibe and the tension of that final act.

 

Being released in the wake of both Pet Semetary and Us, The Curse of the Weeping Woman has a bit of a mantle to live up to. Audiences are spoiled with good quality horror (both remakes and original content), and films like The Curse of the Weeping Woman just aren’t going to cut the custard. Even for your average (not horror fan) audience will be a bit disappointed, compared to The Conjuring this isn’t as thrilling.

 

The Curse of the Weeping Woman just doesn’t hit any marks which makes it a pretty sad ride.