Exclusive: The Mountain Wailer

The Hispanic legend of La Llorona has long been a popular subject of Mexican supernatural cinema, spawning such films as The Crying Woman [aka La Llorona; The Ghost] (Mex-1933; dir. Ramón Peón), La Herencia de la Llorona [aka The Heritage of the Crying Woman] (Mexico-1947; dir. Mauricio Magdaleno), The Crying Woman [aka La Llorona] (Mex-1960, dir. René Cardona), The Curse of the Crying Woman [aka La Maldición de la Llorona] (Mex-1963, dir. Rafael Baledón), La Llorona del Río [aka The Weeping Woman of the River] (US-2001; dir. David Becerra), The Spirit Hunter: La Llorona (US-2004, dir. Jose Cruz), Curse of La Llorona (US-2007; dir. Terrence Williams), and even a Santo film, The Vengeance of the Crying Woman [aka La Venganza de la llorona] (Mex-1974, dir. Miguel M. Delgado).

La Llorona, or the Crying (or Weeping) Woman, is the spirit of a beautiful woman who wanders the rivers and mountain streams, weeping and wailing, dressed in a flowing white dress and looking for children whom she drags, screaming, to their death in the waters. There are a variety of folktales that recount the legend of her origin, but basically she is a mother who drowned her own children out of tragic love and now is doomed to search for them for eternity in rivers throughout the land. (Go here for a lengthy account.)

In Venezuelan story La Llorona is known as La Sayona, or the Mountain Wailer — and a new horror film explores the tale once more.

Deep in the Venezuelan mountains, no one can hear your screams. But you can hear hers…

Trailer:

The Mountain Wailer (US-2010; short; dir. Rob Garcia)

The Mountain Wailer is the story of two Mountaineers in Venezuela who encounter several horrors surrounding La Sayona. That’s as much as director Garcia is willing to share at this time, not wanting to give too much away. But he has offered Undead Backbrain some exclusive images, including concept art. Check the Gallery below to see them all.

Concept Drawing of La Sayona:

Written and directed by Rob Garcia, the short film was made for new production company Draconic Pictures and produced by Lionsgate subsidiary Tigergate, who are currently distributing it.

Addendum: A feature-length version is under development. In fact, the concept drawings above and in the gallery relate to that, rather than the short.

Look for it soon.

• Source: Rob Garcia; Official website; Facebook page. Via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood

Gallery: