#SDCC18: ScareDiego Gives First Looks at IT: CHAPTER 2, THE NUN, and THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA
Ted Hentschke
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Like the tide and taxes, yet another San Diego Comic-Con is upon us. Every year the Con somehow manages to grow, reaching ever further into the streets and storefronts of my beloved home town. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. There was a time when nerds like me were relegated to internet chat rooms and that one table at lunch with all the extra bird shit. Now, our upper average income bracket and desire to purchase all manner of chachkies has made us alphas in the marketplace. Capitalism at it’s finest.
As the Con grows, so do the number of side events. Popping up more out of necessity than anything, these various specialty showcases and side shindigs give more intimate, targeted content for that special kind of frothing fan. One such event was the second annual ScareDiego. Nestled in the cozy little Horton Grand Theatre, ScareDiego offered die-hard horror fans first peeks at IT: Chapter 2, The Nun, and The Curse of La Llorona. “But wait, aren’t you a hardcore horror fan Ted?” Why yes, yes I am! Which is why I was there. Here’s what I saw:
IT: Chapter 2:
As it’s still in production, we really didn’t see that much of IT: CHAPTER 2. None of the cast was there, so instead we got a video message from director Andy Muschietti. He stated how important it was to get the cast for the adult losers club perfect, a topic that had melted many a keyboard on fan message boards the world round. We saw some brief clips of the cast shooting, but nothing really revealing. In one scene we see the group all meeting in the iconic Chinese restaurant, and Bill Hader as Richie says, “Soooo, what do you guys wana talk about?”
It’s not a lot to go on. Of all the things we saw at ScareDiego, IT: Chapter 2 was definitely the runt of the litter. Although frankly, anything short of a surprise screening would have left me wanting more. I definitely feel like the all star cast including James Macavoy, Jessica Chastain, and of course Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise won’t disappoint.
The Curse of La Llorona:
The first slew of actual footage we saw was for the upcoming ghost movie, The Curse of La Llorona. There was a brief introduction from James Wan, who explained New Line Cinema and Atomic Monster Production’s vision to give new directors the chance to direct quality horror. Remember, this is the same studio that gave David F. Sandberg the chance to direct Lights Out based on a creepy YouTube video.
In the first clip, we see two young boys sleeping on the sterile white cots of a state-run care facility. The lights were flickering, walls barren, and everything was caked in that turquoise malaise. You just know something ghostly is afoot. After a security guard checks the room, one of the boys is compelled by a unknown force to get up from his cot and leave the room. You know, that spooky horror movie thing where one character moves wordlessly further and further down a hallway while the lights flicker? We learn that the young boy’s name is Thomas, as the second boy (later revealed to be his brother), pursues his clearly possessed brother down the foreboding corridor. After a few literal twists and turns, Thomas stops and turns around to point at the rounded hallway security mirror that in real life only serves to give you headaches. A ghostly figure in a white dress now stands behind the nameless boy. As he spins around, the mirror cracks, but the ghost is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a ghostly puddle of water. Water drops descend from the ceiling. The young boy looks down, looks up, and bam, spooky ghost with a stretched out mouth.
The next scene is more substantive, as we join caseworker Anna (Linda Cardellini) and her two children as they drive to the scene of a gristly murder. Two young bodies (as it turns out, the boys from the previous scene), lay covered in white cloth next to the bank of the LA river. As Anna approaches the bodies, the two boys’ mother (Patricia Velasquez) runs in sobbing. She screams that she warned them, that she was only trying to save them from “her.” When Anna asks who “her” is, the mother whispers, “La Llorona.”
Cut to Anna’s son Chris, who predictably did not stay in the car as instructed. Wanting to see what all the fuss is about, he sneaks to a vantage point under a freeway overpass. Soon, he hears a crying voice behind him. This is where the creepy stuff begins. As he turns around, he sees a weeping woman in white obscured by the shadows and ice plant. As Chris asks the woman if she’s okay, her head snaps towards him with a sickening crack. She whispers something in ghostly Spanish (I don’t know what, I don’t speak Spanish), and begins slowly drifting towards the boy. When she comes to a fence, she’s totally engulfed in shadow. After a brief pause to build tension, she shoots out of the shadows to the right, grabbing Chris by the wrist. As her touch burns him, he manages to break free and make it back to the car.
This isn’t the end of things for Chris. As he gets to the car, he slams the door shut only to see La Llorona’s face peering in. He screams, but is seemingly safe. That is, until one of the windows starts to roll down. Scurrying to the other side of the car, Chris quickly forces the window back up. Then another starts to open. He jumps to the front, and forces it closed again. Another moment of calm is soon shattered when the front door unlocks. This is where the clip ends.
The final clip we saw took place in Anna’s home. Downstairs in the living room, Anna asks Chris about the strange things that have been troubling him. Upstairs, his sister Samantha takes a bath in a sufficiently creepy giant porcelain horror movie bathtub. Chris is hesitant that his mother won’t believe him, but eventually gives in and tells her that La Llorona has been giving them some ghost problems. In a horror movie twist, Anna totally believes him. Meanwhile, young Samantha is being treated to an intimate shampooing by who she assumes to be her mother. It’s not. It’s La Llorona. Gentle at first, the spirit’s murderous nature takes over when Samantha dips under the water to rinse her hair.
Hearing the commotion upstairs, Anna runs in to protect her children. She manages to get Samantha out of the tub, but is soon herself accosted by the ivory ghost. Seems like La Llorona doesn’t just mess with kids. She scrambles away, shutting the door behind her. She holds the door shut with all her might, screaming at her children to save themselves as the ghost tries to break through.
From here, the footage cuts to a sizzle reel of some of the spooky stuff we’re in store for with The Curse of La Llorona. From the clips we saw, I’d say that what makes The Curse of La Llorona unique is the intensity. Scares didn’t just end after the jump, but stretched out well into where most movies would have pulled their punches. The action was visceral, and La Llorona isn’t a ghost content to stand behind you in a mirror just to scare the audience. I’m eager to see how it all comes together in April 2019. Stay tuned for my interview with the cast, coming later this week.
The Nun:
If you asked me before ScareDiego if I was excited for The Nun, I would have met the question with a raised eyebrow and a dismissive laugh. I wasn’t a fan of the first The Conjuring spin-off Annabelle (though the sequel Annabelle: Creation was pretty good). Horror movie spin-offs/sequels don’t have a great reputation. Spin-offs to a sequel? That’s some next level bad omen.
The footage began with two unnamed nuns walking down a gloomy corridor filled with knee high mist and dilapidated crosses. As the two approach an ominous door, the younger nun stops out of fear. The older nun, removing a key from her abbot, assures her that her faith will keep her safe. Unlocking the door with the key, the older nun enters a room of seemingly impenetrable darkness. The younger nun begins to pray as the camera slowly zooms in on the abyssal room. After some time, the elder nun’s bloody hand emerges. Younger nun ain’t having nothing to do with that, and books it.
She emerges into a larger study, and immediately sets to grabbing a nearby rope and making a noose out of it. As she does, the hallway she exited begins to dim, one candle at a time. A shadowy figure in the distance slowly floats towards her. Taking the noose, she says a quick prayer for her immortal soul, before leaping from a nearby window. Snap, the noose tightens with a sickening thud. Meanwhile, the menacing shadow grows, and the windows the nun jumped out of slam shut.
Cut to the Vatican. Father Burke (Demián Bichir) is informed by two cardinals that he is to investigate the suicide of a Nun in a remote Romanian Monastery. His mission is twofold: find out why the nun committed a mortal sin, and assess if the land is still holy. As he arrives, he is joined by Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), a young nun who has yet to take her vows. Upon reaching the monastery, overgrown plants and makeshift crosses cover the surrounding grounds. Upon the steps leading inside is the nun’s blood, miraculously still fresh. Inside the monastery, an insidious cloaked figure informs them that they will need to spend the night, and can investigate the next day.
As you can predict, their evening stay isn’t refreshing and uneventful. Awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of a radio, Father Burke pursues an unknown figure through the monastery’s winding halls. Reaching the cemetery, the figure does some spooky hide and seek before turning around and barfing up a giant snake. Father Burke is totes spooked by this, and falls backwards into an open coffin. Then his flashlight goes out. Guy really can’t catch a break. He struggles for a while, and soon pulls out his lighter for some emergency light. Nothing pops out right away, but soon noises begin to surround the entombed holy man.
From here, an extended sizzle reel showed many intensely creepy and striking scenes from The Nun. One particular extended scene featured Sister Irene praying with a large group of nuns. As the prayers go on, the wind in the chapel begins to rise to howling gale. The clothes are torn from her back, and a pentagram is lashed line by line into her left shoulder blade. Just as things begin to quiet down, a massive shock wave emanates from Sister Irene, and the other nuns are launched into the walls and pews.
What struck me about the footage was just how good it looks. The Nun‘s Imagery is meticulous. Shots are expertly crafted to give you maximum tension without any cheap scares. Set details are simple yet striking, painting a gorgeous picture without pulling focus from what’s important. The setting is naturally creepy, both labyrinthine and stiflingly confining. Costumes are period specific, yet visually striking enough to immediately give you an impression of the character. Seriously, I have to really like something to compliment the freaking costumes.
After the clip was shown, director Corin Hardy stated that his goal with The Nun was to create something unique in The Conjuring universe. From the looks of things, he’s succeeded. Understand the immense hurdle this film had to overcome to elicit that response.
After that was a brief talk about Annabelle 3, which you can read about here. Basically a horror version of Night at the Museum, directed by Gary Dauberman (who wrote the first two films).
Overall, CareDiego 2018 delivered some very promising footage for both La Llorona and The Nun. I really would have loved to see more IT: Chapter 2, and what I saw barely even rates as worthy of description. I feel it’s something fans really want to know more about, and I’m sad that I can’t deliver. As a consolation, please take this adorable photo of James Wan.
Stay tuned soon for my interview with Corin Hardy for The Nun and the director/cast of the curse of La Llorona!
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