Review: ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ reduces horror legend to silly jumps and scares

What we call the Conjuring Universe has become a sprawling franchise of big-budget horror-lite spookfests that pull from every urban legend, folk tale and ghost story one can imagine, usually involving vengeful feminine spirits and the women with whom they do battle. We’ve got hauntings, possessions, creepy dolls, demonic nuns and now, the ancient ghost of a murderous mother in “The Curse of La Llorona,” directed by Michael Chaves, making his feature debut. It helps here that it’s literally genetic — “The Curse of La Llorona” cinematographer Michael Burgess is the son of “The Conjuring 2” cinematographer Don Burgess, and he shot second unit footage on that film and “The Nun.” The victims of our latest Frightening Female Phantom are Anna, a widowed social worker, and her two kids, Chris and Sam, trying to get by in 1973 Los Angeles. “The Curse of La Llorona” is a combination ghost story and haunted house horror flick sprinkled with folksy mythology and shamanic rituals. ------------- ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ Rated: R, for violence and terror Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes Playing: Starts April 19 in general release ------------ [email protected] @LATimesMovies