The story is quite predictable and yet there are also parts where it is confusing and contradicting. *spoilers* if the lore goes that only people who have cheated can see La Patasola, how come James could see her in the tent at first? Then later, when Sarah kills Naomi, how is it that all of a sudden she can see La Patasola too? She didn't cheat. If La Patasola only hunts those who cheat, why is she hunting Sarah and James? Assuming that at least Sarah didn't cheat, because she couldn't see her before. The whole thing is severely underexplained, contradicting and contains too many cliches. Lacks good scares or any kind of good build up. Wouldn't reccomend unless you have nothing better to do.
21 Reviews
Light plot with poor execution
Shadowking100116 August 2022
A bad combination of both makes a bad movie, which this is. The plot is a hot mess while the characters are very shallow and they all seem to be vying for the most disliked person award. The ending does not make any sense whatsoever.
A definite pass for me.
A definite pass for me.
Terribly generic and predictable...
paul_haakonsen24 March 2022
Right, well of course I hadn't even heard about this 2022 horror movie titled "The Curse of La Patasola" from writers AJ Jones and Shaun Mathis. But still, since it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.
Needless to say that I wasn't harboring much of any high hopes from director AJ Jones given the movie's fairly low rating here on IMDb. But still, the movie might actually be something that entertained me, despite of having obviously not entertained many others before me.
Well, "The Curse of La Patasola" was a very, very bland and generic horror movie. So you are not in for a particularly grand horror experience when and if you sit down to watch this 2022 horror movie. The storyline seems to borrow somewhat from tales as La Llorona for example, which paints "The Curse of La Patasola" in a somewhat rip-off light.
Sure, I managed to sit through the entire movie, though I was only slightly entertained. The movie just didn't come off as being particularly interesting in terms of originality, storyline, characters and dialogue. It was all something that was very generic for the horror genre in general.
Visually then "The Curse of La Patasola" was okay. The movie doesn't make use of a lot of special effects, but the creature itself was adequate. And while it did count for something, it just wasn't enough to make up for the shortcomings and mediocrity that is "The Curse of La Patasola".
I wasn't familiar with the cast in the movie, and it was a shame that they didn't really have much to work with in terms of script, characters, dialogue and such. Of all the performances in the movie, it was Najah Bradley (playing Naomi) that stood out as the best and most memorable.
My rating of "The Curse of La Patasola" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
Needless to say that I wasn't harboring much of any high hopes from director AJ Jones given the movie's fairly low rating here on IMDb. But still, the movie might actually be something that entertained me, despite of having obviously not entertained many others before me.
Well, "The Curse of La Patasola" was a very, very bland and generic horror movie. So you are not in for a particularly grand horror experience when and if you sit down to watch this 2022 horror movie. The storyline seems to borrow somewhat from tales as La Llorona for example, which paints "The Curse of La Patasola" in a somewhat rip-off light.
Sure, I managed to sit through the entire movie, though I was only slightly entertained. The movie just didn't come off as being particularly interesting in terms of originality, storyline, characters and dialogue. It was all something that was very generic for the horror genre in general.
Visually then "The Curse of La Patasola" was okay. The movie doesn't make use of a lot of special effects, but the creature itself was adequate. And while it did count for something, it just wasn't enough to make up for the shortcomings and mediocrity that is "The Curse of La Patasola".
I wasn't familiar with the cast in the movie, and it was a shame that they didn't really have much to work with in terms of script, characters, dialogue and such. Of all the performances in the movie, it was Najah Bradley (playing Naomi) that stood out as the best and most memorable.
My rating of "The Curse of La Patasola" lands on a very generous three out of ten stars.
dont let the trailer fool you this sucks
eggo-4667314 January 2022
The trailer gets you in and you think it could be good but trust me its not. Terrible dialogue, terrible acting. The guy Daniel you want to hit in the face with a brick. Its one of those one you root for the killer to show up and kill everyone so it can be over.
Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
A very flawed horror movie but with a lot of merit to it.
MonsterVision9920 January 2022
For a first time director, AJ Jones actually delivers a competent low budget horror experience with some refreshing concepts, even if it is irregular.
The film has a very rough start, exemplified by the obnoxious discussions between two seemingly annoying characters early on, but it picks up after some time and you actually warm up a little bit to these people. A lot of the conflict comes out of nowhere while some other elements are too obvious and in-your-face to take seriously, it certainly doesnt handle romance or interactions perfectly but theres an effort by the part of the actors and the director to make the material as effective as possible and while it doesnt fully work, I believe it is a worthwhile attempt that has redeeming values.
It mostly focuses on the characters relationships but the horror concepts are properly implemented into the story. While the horror element isnt missing, it is rather sparse and underplayed. The cinematography, special effects and production values are of quality for a limited production of this kind. Its not deficient when it comes to its technical aspects but it really needed a better script, or at least a more polished one.
Lets hope Jones makes more movies, as this was a somewhat riveting picture.
The film has a very rough start, exemplified by the obnoxious discussions between two seemingly annoying characters early on, but it picks up after some time and you actually warm up a little bit to these people. A lot of the conflict comes out of nowhere while some other elements are too obvious and in-your-face to take seriously, it certainly doesnt handle romance or interactions perfectly but theres an effort by the part of the actors and the director to make the material as effective as possible and while it doesnt fully work, I believe it is a worthwhile attempt that has redeeming values.
It mostly focuses on the characters relationships but the horror concepts are properly implemented into the story. While the horror element isnt missing, it is rather sparse and underplayed. The cinematography, special effects and production values are of quality for a limited production of this kind. Its not deficient when it comes to its technical aspects but it really needed a better script, or at least a more polished one.
Lets hope Jones makes more movies, as this was a somewhat riveting picture.
The Curse of La Patasola
marinaant-362174 March 2022
This movie wasn't as bad as a lot of people make it out to be, the plot was interesting and I found myself wanted to see what was gonna happen next and kept me in agony, but sure it had many dumb decisions from the characters and that monster looked ridiculous, wasn't scary.
the learning curve is steep...
ops-5253514 January 2022
But to make a horror movie like this, even on homemade scale and underbudgeted, and with such headshaking and so inconcievably unconvincing actors talking dull dialouges in the car, the tent and around the camp fire, well youll be unfortunate if you find anything worse than this.
Stay away is the grumpy old mans advice.
Stay away is the grumpy old mans advice.
Pathetic
stormthegates29 January 2023
I could be here for hours typing out every reason this movie is awful. I never write reviews because I have better things to do, but this deserved a little more of my time.
In short, awful characters, cheesy as hell, predictable, poorly executed, inconsistent, etc. Zero cool death scenes to redeem it! There's also nothing vampire-like about the Pasatola like the movie description said. I expected it to be like a La Llarona knock off but it's not even that good. On the bright side, it's a true inspiration for anyone thinking about taking a shot at their own low budget movie. Literally anyone could do better.
In short, awful characters, cheesy as hell, predictable, poorly executed, inconsistent, etc. Zero cool death scenes to redeem it! There's also nothing vampire-like about the Pasatola like the movie description said. I expected it to be like a La Llarona knock off but it's not even that good. On the bright side, it's a true inspiration for anyone thinking about taking a shot at their own low budget movie. Literally anyone could do better.
So bad
declinbooker15 January 2022
Literally just stare at a tree instead of watching this, please omfg
zoelucindagrassato18 January 2022
Okay but seriously, who wrote this? Are we trying to make this about politics, couples counseling or love affairs? Cuz I honestly cant decide. The question on my mind is why the F this is under horror? I mean? Have you ever seen a real life horror movie?
Idk yall, they just dont make em like they used to.
Idk yall, they just dont make em like they used to.
Classic Indie Monster Movie
jimcmorris26 January 2022
This is an independent horror film and not an easy feat to pull off. I think it's a really fun ride. "The Curse of La Patasola" is a character-driven horror film, and the cast is really great. Fantastic performances from all of the actors, and the monster reveal is well worth the build-up. I recommend.
Grade A style B-Movie!
mxbrecher24 January 2022
Listen if you're expecting "Curse Of La Llorona", Conjuring style scares and content....please don't go in assuming! Go with an open mind. I am HUGE HUGE on Horror films. I have seen PLENTY of CRAPPY movies, but "The Curse Of La Patasola" isn't really as bad as everyone else claiming. Yes this film is obviously low budget, but this movie at times gives you refreshing moments. I will say in the beginning it's pretty solid, about 3 times the scares were well done for a movie that wasn't HUGE budget. It's also apparent that the Director has studied Horror and tropes, cinematography was pretty good for what I saw. Now performances...some are messy and some are good, for the most part "La Patasola" is a unique story to do a CURSE of film in tradition to titles like "Curse of La Llorona, Curse of the Nun, Curse of the demon Nun list goes on with curse of and most are horrible rip offs of big budget films, this wasn't like those! Yes it has its dull and stupid moments but I enjoyed it!
Not Bad
falicialuevano20 January 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Honestly, I enjoyed this movie. I liked the way it flowed, definitely didn't feel as long as some movies feel. The only thing I didn't like was La Patasola's "true" form. Like, what? The design was terrible and made the movie less scary, although it's not to begin with.
Don't bother
trustyourforce8 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The first 30 minutes are about how horrible two of the characters are and how much they hate each other. But for some reason they want to cheat on their partners. Instead of setting the movie in Latin America, they had to find a way to shoehorn in this legend. I don't even really remember what happened once the movie actually got to the horror part.
Respectable Indie Dragged Down by "Naomi"
dave-145-51526628 January 2022
Does "La Patasola" translate to "insufferable Liberal moonbat"? Jesus, I could not wait for that character to get hoovered by the forest vampire. The worst curse in this movie is Naomi.
Dial back all the political and racial conversations I usually watch movies to get away from, and there's some quality at the core.
Dial back all the political and racial conversations I usually watch movies to get away from, and there's some quality at the core.
Wasted my time
svenknight-6029816 January 2022
This is a movie where you want to kill all the characters and let the movie end soon. Horrendous plot, zero acting, zero horror atmosphere, plot is so predictable. Watch this only if you have trouble sleeping as it will make you fall asleep instantly.
not bad for a budget film, but really not good either
veluhomme5 March 2022
The filming is rather well done, considering the budget constraints. The actors are fine in their performances. The characters somewhat interesting. Unfortunately the plot quickly unfolds into an illogical mess and becomes absurd towards the end. And the ending is one of those completely irrational endings which seems completely unrelated to what was happening in the movie.
Good for those times one is completely bored and would rather watch a movie than watching the paint drying. And about as satisfying.
Good for those times one is completely bored and would rather watch a movie than watching the paint drying. And about as satisfying.
Naomi
danielleb-4589818 July 2023
Naomi makes this entire movie insufferable and that's all there really is to know about it. The plot, the horror, and the dialogue all gets lost in how unbearable this character is. In addition to this, Sarah is like a six year old in an adults body, Daniel is the jerk we all know and avoid at the grocery store, and James is only there to support Naomi being there which frankly... miss me with it. I'd rather watch paint dry. The director is trying so hard with dialogue that he completely forgets the plot; it's almost like a liberal arts student had some much word vomit he decided to aim at a piece of paper and we were unfortunate enough to be convinced by the trailer that it was worth watching.
Bad Reviews
danwj-3271827 January 2022
Not sure what most reviewers were expecting. Maybe more guts and gore and cannot understand relationships because they don't have one. They missed the entire theme of the movie. This movie has more personal interaction than most "Horror" fans like. The folklore of LaPatasola has never been seen. It is really good if you look at it from a personal relationship side. Did you even notice the subtle hints of it being 2020? Being cooped up, no one else in the park, and two people of color feeling harassed. Probably not.
A good low budget movie with excellent performances
hfgoreybits3 February 2022
In THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA, we follow two struggling couples as they venture into a weekend long camping trip. What starts off as a decent getaway, turns into a series of nightmarish events as the couples are haunted by a dark and beautiful entity known as: La Patasola.
THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA plays it smart by not showing you what this entity looks like right away. The movie has a terrific opening sequence, followed by one of the best opening credits I've ever seen on an independent film. The title sequence features remarkable hand drawn artwork that sets the mood for what you're about to experience. I also appreciate the fact that LA PATASOLA has its own theme song. It goes without saying that I was sold within the first ten minutes.
If you were to judge this movie based on the poster and title, your immediate reaction would be that it's just some cheap ripoff of LA LLORONA. Reading comments on sites like YouTube and IMDB can be disheartening. Thankfully, that is not the case with LA PATASOLA. It may have a similar urban legend to something like "La Llorona" (as most legends do anyway), but this movie is much more than just a quick cash grab. It doesn't feel like a passion project either, but that doesn't stain the quality of work coming from director AJ Jones.
Where LA PATASOLA excels the most is with its main cast. Each actor puts on a tremendous performance, making it the true highlight of the film. Actors Najah Bradley and Patrick R. Walker play one of the two main couples in the film. Najah brings a level of seriousness to the film that is virtually unmatched. Her character "Naomi" provides level headed responses to all the supernatural happenings in the story. Naomi's love interest is played by Patrick R. Walker. Patrick plays the role of James, who serves as the film's heart and comic relief. His performance shines the brightest here, and his bits of humor work really well.
The married couple (Daniel and Sara) is played by Gillie and AJ Jones. The dynamic between Daniel and Sara feels the most natural; which makes sense considering that Gillie and AJ are a married couple in real life. This affiliation adds to the story and makes the performances feel authentic. It's important to note that AJ Jones is also the film's director (as mentioned earlier) and co-writer. During my second viewing of THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA, it became evident that AJ and Gillie Jones work well wearing multiple hats.
Unfortunately, the film's story progression feels by the numbers. That aspect hurts it for me. If you're avid horror viewer such as myself, there won't be much here to surprise you. The story of "La Patasola" comes from an old South American urban legend. Variations of this tale can be researched online, however the movie does a terrific job in explaining what "La Patasola" is. This explanation is what leads up to my biggest disappointment of the film. Once you learn the legend, the sequences of events that take place later will come as no surprise.
LA PATASOLA pumps the breaks on scares in order to focus on the main characters. If you're looking for a jump scare every ten minutes, then you will be severely disappointed. There's a large chunk of the movie that's fixed primarily on the relationships between the main cast. Thankfully, this works in the film's favor considering the dire situations these characters experience later in the finale. The entity known as "La Patasola" is portrayed by Luciana Faulhaber. Depicted as a beautiful woman in a white dress, Luciana does a terrific job as the film's antagonist.
I've talked about Luciana Faulhaber before in my review of PATHOSIS. Between that spooky short film and Luciana's more recent directorial efforts, I've become quite a fan of her work. LA PATASOLA feels like the role Luciana was born to play. What I appreciate most about the film is its reliance on practical effects. I'm almost one hundred percent certain that LA PATASOLA was done entirely practical. It's just a guess, because If there was any CGI in this movie, I didn't notice it at all.
I feel like I could ramble on a little more about this movie, but I'm going to stop here and just recommend the film to you (the reader). I'll dig a little deeper into THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA once I begin recording my video review. For a low budget release, THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA is a good movie. Watch the trailer for yourself to see if it's something you're interested in. As with every movie, I recommend proceeding with caution. Go in with an open mind, and you will be entertained for the next 84 minutes.
-Gorey Bits.
THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA plays it smart by not showing you what this entity looks like right away. The movie has a terrific opening sequence, followed by one of the best opening credits I've ever seen on an independent film. The title sequence features remarkable hand drawn artwork that sets the mood for what you're about to experience. I also appreciate the fact that LA PATASOLA has its own theme song. It goes without saying that I was sold within the first ten minutes.
If you were to judge this movie based on the poster and title, your immediate reaction would be that it's just some cheap ripoff of LA LLORONA. Reading comments on sites like YouTube and IMDB can be disheartening. Thankfully, that is not the case with LA PATASOLA. It may have a similar urban legend to something like "La Llorona" (as most legends do anyway), but this movie is much more than just a quick cash grab. It doesn't feel like a passion project either, but that doesn't stain the quality of work coming from director AJ Jones.
Where LA PATASOLA excels the most is with its main cast. Each actor puts on a tremendous performance, making it the true highlight of the film. Actors Najah Bradley and Patrick R. Walker play one of the two main couples in the film. Najah brings a level of seriousness to the film that is virtually unmatched. Her character "Naomi" provides level headed responses to all the supernatural happenings in the story. Naomi's love interest is played by Patrick R. Walker. Patrick plays the role of James, who serves as the film's heart and comic relief. His performance shines the brightest here, and his bits of humor work really well.
The married couple (Daniel and Sara) is played by Gillie and AJ Jones. The dynamic between Daniel and Sara feels the most natural; which makes sense considering that Gillie and AJ are a married couple in real life. This affiliation adds to the story and makes the performances feel authentic. It's important to note that AJ Jones is also the film's director (as mentioned earlier) and co-writer. During my second viewing of THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA, it became evident that AJ and Gillie Jones work well wearing multiple hats.
Unfortunately, the film's story progression feels by the numbers. That aspect hurts it for me. If you're avid horror viewer such as myself, there won't be much here to surprise you. The story of "La Patasola" comes from an old South American urban legend. Variations of this tale can be researched online, however the movie does a terrific job in explaining what "La Patasola" is. This explanation is what leads up to my biggest disappointment of the film. Once you learn the legend, the sequences of events that take place later will come as no surprise.
LA PATASOLA pumps the breaks on scares in order to focus on the main characters. If you're looking for a jump scare every ten minutes, then you will be severely disappointed. There's a large chunk of the movie that's fixed primarily on the relationships between the main cast. Thankfully, this works in the film's favor considering the dire situations these characters experience later in the finale. The entity known as "La Patasola" is portrayed by Luciana Faulhaber. Depicted as a beautiful woman in a white dress, Luciana does a terrific job as the film's antagonist.
I've talked about Luciana Faulhaber before in my review of PATHOSIS. Between that spooky short film and Luciana's more recent directorial efforts, I've become quite a fan of her work. LA PATASOLA feels like the role Luciana was born to play. What I appreciate most about the film is its reliance on practical effects. I'm almost one hundred percent certain that LA PATASOLA was done entirely practical. It's just a guess, because If there was any CGI in this movie, I didn't notice it at all.
I feel like I could ramble on a little more about this movie, but I'm going to stop here and just recommend the film to you (the reader). I'll dig a little deeper into THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA once I begin recording my video review. For a low budget release, THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA is a good movie. Watch the trailer for yourself to see if it's something you're interested in. As with every movie, I recommend proceeding with caution. Go in with an open mind, and you will be entertained for the next 84 minutes.
-Gorey Bits.
Beautifully shot movie!
deetwashington26 January 2022
Serene setting for 4 friends to have a little getaway where nothing can go wrong, right? Never had heard of the "La Patasola" Amazonian folklore tale prior to this film and quite enjoyed the filmmaker's interpretation. The cast delivered in their performances and what a film score!
See also
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