'The Curse Of La Llorona' Trailer: The Weeping Woman Is Coming For Your Kids

Before he gets behind the camera of The Conjuring 3, director Michael Chaves is working with producer James Wan on a different horror project. Chaves is making his feature directorial debut with The Curse of La Llorona, a film that riffs on the classic Mexican folk tale of The Weeping Woman, a mother who kills her own children in a jealous fit of rage and subsequently preys on other children to replace her own.

Today, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have unveiled the first trailer. Check it out below.

Chaves got his start by directing a short film called The Maiden, about a real estate agent who tries to sell a haunted house.

That short landed him his first major directing gig with The Conjuring universe players James Wan and Gary Dauberman overseeing as producers alongside Emile Gladstone. /Film's Jacob Hall got an early look at some footage from The Curse of La Llorona at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, and he enjoyed it:

While the footage on display wasn't as slick as The Conjuring movies, it was certainly scary and exciting enough. We watched three clips and each of them showcased what this brand of New Line horror movie does well: loud jump scares, impressive suspense gags, and some creepy monster design. The latter definitely stood out – La Llorona herself is a ghostly figure clad in white, her pale face illuminated by black tears. When she suddenly lurches into frame (which she did quite often in the footage we saw), her physical appearance definitely contributes to the jolt.

Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks, Bloodline), Raymond Cruz (Better Call Saul), Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy), Marisol Ramirez (NCIS: Los Angeles), Sean Patrick Thomas (Barbershop), Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen (Selfless), and Roman Christou star.

Here's the film's official synopsis:

La Llorona. The Weeping Woman. A horrifying apparition, caught between Heaven and Hell, trapped in a terrible fate sealed by her own hand. The mere mention of her name has struck terror around the world for generations. In life, she drowned her children in a jealous rage, throwing herself in the churning river after them as she wept in pain. Now her tears are eternal. They are lethal, and those who hear her death call in the night are doomed. La Llorona creeps in the shadows and preys on the children, desperate to replace her own. As the centuries have passed, her desire has grown more voracious...and her methods more terrifying.

In 1970s Los Angeles, La Llorona is stalking the night—and the children. Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm. Their only hope to survive La Llorona's deadly wrath may be a disillusioned priest and the mysticism he practices to keep evil at bay, on the fringes where fear and faith collide.

Beware of her chilling wail...she will stop at nothing to lure you into the gloom. Because there is no peace for her anguish. There is no mercy for her soul.

And there is no escape from the curse of La Llorona.

The Curse of La Llorona arrives in theaters on April 19, 2019.