The Cry (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
The Cry is a 2007 independent
horror
suspense film
directed
by Bernadine Santistevan and co-written
with Monique Salazar.
), New York, detective
Alex Scott (Christian Camargo
) is investigating the mysterious disappearance of several children. They interview Gloria the Curandera (Miriam Colon) who advises that an evil force is pursuing the reincarnation
of her son and is drowning missing children to bring pain to their mothers.
urban legend
of La Llorona
. The legend began in Aztec
mythos
where the goddess
Cihuacoatl
was said to have taken the form of a beautiful lady draped in white garments to predict the death of her children. This early myth evolved into the modern Mexico version of La Llorona, a woman who, betrayed by her husband, drowned her children out of revenge. As punishment for this horrific act, La Llorona’s spirit is condemned to roam the earth for eternity, crying for her children.
in May 2008 it received mixed critical attention from the media. Sara Schieron of Box Office Movie Reviews
panned the film by stating "...Less-than-middling attempt to exploit the potent Mexican myth of La Llorona (the crying woman) fails largely due to a crutch-like reliance on already weak genre conventions and haphazard script".
Kryten Syxx of Dread Central also felt the film was meritless, and after watching it concluded, "Bernadine Santistevan has some talent hidden somewhere, but it sure isn’t used here". Being more forgiving, Justin Felix of DVD Talk
wrote "Despite The Cry's letdown of an ending, it was still an interesting character-driven horror film". The Cry does have its supporters. Anthony Thurber of Film Arcade wrote, the "screenplay written by Santistevan and writer Monique Salazar was very frightening. They make this film haunting and very disturbing". Buzz McClain of Video Business
called the film an "electrically charged supernatural horror-thriller". Elliot V. Kotek of Moving Pictures Magazine
stated, "Half the brilliance in the film's direction is its speed, so any awkward moments are over quickly and, by not over-penning the piece with long conversations, the filmmakers are rewarded with a rich rising tension often lacking in more fiscally-blessed flicks". And Best Horror Movies wrote "The Cry is suspenseful and shocking, especially in light of the victims of this terrible curse".
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
suspense film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Bernadine Santistevan and co-written
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
with Monique Salazar.
Synopsis
Along with his partner Sergio Perez (Carlos LeonCarlos Leon
Carlos Manuel Leon is a Cuban personal trainer and actor and is most famous for being Madonna's baby daddy, as she gave birth to their daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, on October 14, 1996....
), New York, detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Alex Scott (Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo
Christian Camargo is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role of Brian Moser in the Showtime drama Dexter.-Early life:...
) is investigating the mysterious disappearance of several children. They interview Gloria the Curandera (Miriam Colon) who advises that an evil force is pursuing the reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of her son and is drowning missing children to bring pain to their mothers.
Cast
- Adriana Domínguez as Maria
- Christian CamargoChristian CamargoChristian Camargo is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role of Brian Moser in the Showtime drama Dexter.-Early life:...
as Alex Scott - Carlos LeonCarlos LeonCarlos Manuel Leon is a Cuban personal trainer and actor and is most famous for being Madonna's baby daddy, as she gave birth to their daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, on October 14, 1996....
as Sergio Perez - Miriam Colon as Gloria the Curandera
- Kate Blumberg as Judy Hardwich
- Jayden Vargas as Tonio
- Quinn McCann as Ryan Weit
- Jane Petrov as Lynn Weit
- Ron Dailey as Man with Stroller
- Lisa G. as Reporter Diane Penn
- Izzy Ruiz as Detective Vega
- Kristin Taylor as Detective Taylor
- Caroline Cole as Assistant D.A. Tanin
Background
The story is based upon the MexicanMexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
of La Llorona
La Llorona
La Llorona is a widespread legend in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Central America. Although several variations exist, the basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of Maria killing her children by drowning them, in order to be with the man that she loved. When the man rejects her, she kills...
. The legend began in Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
mythos
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
where the goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
Cihuacoatl
Cihuacoatl
In Aztec mythology, Cihuacoatl was one of a number of motherhood and fertility goddesses....
was said to have taken the form of a beautiful lady draped in white garments to predict the death of her children. This early myth evolved into the modern Mexico version of La Llorona, a woman who, betrayed by her husband, drowned her children out of revenge. As punishment for this horrific act, La Llorona’s spirit is condemned to roam the earth for eternity, crying for her children.
Theatrical and festival release
- The Cry made its world debut Friday, May 12, 2007 at the Lensic TheaterLensic TheaterThe Lensic Theater, located at 211 West San Francisco Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is an 821 seat theater designed by Boller Brothers of Kansas City, well known movie theater and vaudeville house architects who designed almost one hundred theaters throughout the West and mid-West, including the...
in Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, with the premiere sponsored by The Healy Foundation. In its opening weekend, The Cry made $6,968 at 4 cinemas, and overall made only $21,427 during its theatrical release. It then screened in several EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an film festivalFilm festivalA film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, including the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
on May 20, 2007, and the Ravenna Nightmare Film FestivalEuropean Fantastic Film Festivals FederationEuropean Fantastic Film Festivals Federation , established in 1996, is a film organisation based Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to promoting and supporting European cinema, particularly films in the fantasy, horror and science fiction genres....
on October 30, 2007, after which it was picked up for DVD distribution by Monterey Media.
Reception
When the film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in May 2008 it received mixed critical attention from the media. Sara Schieron of Box Office Movie Reviews
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
panned the film by stating "...Less-than-middling attempt to exploit the potent Mexican myth of La Llorona (the crying woman) fails largely due to a crutch-like reliance on already weak genre conventions and haphazard script".
Kryten Syxx of Dread Central also felt the film was meritless, and after watching it concluded, "Bernadine Santistevan has some talent hidden somewhere, but it sure isn’t used here". Being more forgiving, Justin Felix of DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
wrote "Despite The Cry's letdown of an ending, it was still an interesting character-driven horror film". The Cry does have its supporters. Anthony Thurber of Film Arcade wrote, the "screenplay written by Santistevan and writer Monique Salazar was very frightening. They make this film haunting and very disturbing". Buzz McClain of Video Business
Video Business
Video Business was a trade publication and web site owned by Reed Business Information serving the information needs of retailers, distributors, content suppliers, and other professionals related to the electronic entertainment industry....
called the film an "electrically charged supernatural horror-thriller". Elliot V. Kotek of Moving Pictures Magazine
Moving Pictures Magazine
Moving Pictures is a magazine focusing on the film industry and the art of film. The editor-in-chief is Howard Burns. The magazine, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2005, is published by the Maitland Primrose Group...
stated, "Half the brilliance in the film's direction is its speed, so any awkward moments are over quickly and, by not over-penning the piece with long conversations, the filmmakers are rewarded with a rich rising tension often lacking in more fiscally-blessed flicks". And Best Horror Movies wrote "The Cry is suspenseful and shocking, especially in light of the victims of this terrible curse".
Additional sources
- Sara Schieron of Box Office
- Anthony Thurber of Film Arcade
- Buzz McClain of Video BusinessVideo BusinessVideo Business was a trade publication and web site owned by Reed Business Information serving the information needs of retailers, distributors, content suppliers, and other professionals related to the electronic entertainment industry....
- Justin Felix of DVD TalkDVD TalkDVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
- Kryten Syxx of Dread Central
- Elliot V. Kotek of Moving Pictures MagazineMoving Pictures MagazineMoving Pictures is a magazine focusing on the film industry and the art of film. The editor-in-chief is Howard Burns. The magazine, which celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in 2005, is published by the Maitland Primrose Group...
- Diana Thoren of American Vulture
- Best Horror Movies
- DVD Verdict
External links
- The Cry at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Official website
- The Cry (La Lorna) at AbandoMoviez