In this tedious film, which can hardly be called a thriller, an American visits a small town in Chiapas, Mexico to search for his missing asthmatic half-sister. (Incidentally, pace the plot summary on this page, he *doesn't* go there at his mother's behest; even the trailer makes this clear.) There he learns that her disappearance is part of a rash of kidnappings of young children and wanders the town interacting with the locals in inane ways. Legend suggests that the kidnappings are the supernatural doings of a spirit. The plot twist at the film's climax is silly but can hardly be called disappointing, since by the time it comes around the viewer neither cares much about the characters nor expects anything better. The film has quite a few loose ends but I doubt anyone will puzzle about them for long.
6 Reviews
You must be J-OK'ing.
dunmore_ego15 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Besides a really, truly, awesomely disturbing DVD cover, this Mexican production is about as scary as looking at Rosie O'Donnell naked - hang on, that's terrifying! - about as scary as looking at your tax returns in George W. Bush's last year in office.
In J-OK'EL, a guy who can't stop looking like Tom Cruise (Tom Parker - no relation to the guy who spanked Elvis) travels to the Mexico backwoods (I think that's just another term for any city in Mexico) to search for his missing sister, believed to have been abducted by J-OK'el, the ghostly Weeping Woman, whom legend says drowned her own children and returns to drown more whenever there's an indie script optioned.
When Mini-Cruise gets to Mexico, he first finds that everyone there is Mexican and doesn't speak English, which shouldn't surprise him as he came from a place where everyone is Mexican and doesn't speak English - California.
Then he finds his mother is crazier than the legendary Weeping Woman. Again, no surprise - it's Dee Wallace, who, after becoming famous as "Elliot's mom" in Spielberg's E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982), somehow made it a point to only act in movies no one would ever see.
Tom searches vainly for his sister, and as the tension mounted, I fell asleep.
The filmmakers try sincerely for some eerie high points, and to give credit where it's due, J-OK'EL won the Gold Medal for Excellence in the "Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film" category; also, crazy J-OK'el lady (Diana Bracho) has won and been nominated for many awards.
All that being said, bad acting, no acting, insipid acting and some jaw-dropping in-camera special effects make J-OK'EL nigh unwatchable - if you can stay awake long enough to watch it.
--Review by Poffy the Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).
In J-OK'EL, a guy who can't stop looking like Tom Cruise (Tom Parker - no relation to the guy who spanked Elvis) travels to the Mexico backwoods (I think that's just another term for any city in Mexico) to search for his missing sister, believed to have been abducted by J-OK'el, the ghostly Weeping Woman, whom legend says drowned her own children and returns to drown more whenever there's an indie script optioned.
When Mini-Cruise gets to Mexico, he first finds that everyone there is Mexican and doesn't speak English, which shouldn't surprise him as he came from a place where everyone is Mexican and doesn't speak English - California.
Then he finds his mother is crazier than the legendary Weeping Woman. Again, no surprise - it's Dee Wallace, who, after becoming famous as "Elliot's mom" in Spielberg's E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982), somehow made it a point to only act in movies no one would ever see.
Tom searches vainly for his sister, and as the tension mounted, I fell asleep.
The filmmakers try sincerely for some eerie high points, and to give credit where it's due, J-OK'EL won the Gold Medal for Excellence in the "Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film" category; also, crazy J-OK'el lady (Diana Bracho) has won and been nominated for many awards.
All that being said, bad acting, no acting, insipid acting and some jaw-dropping in-camera special effects make J-OK'EL nigh unwatchable - if you can stay awake long enough to watch it.
--Review by Poffy the Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).
Even the Music Is Flawed
feguiza2 March 2007
I've been eager to write a review on this site for a while, I even registered a while ago but never wrote anything...but damn! I have to warn you all about this movie.
It's a hellish idiocy fest, the last time I saw a movie with flawed illumination I was like 10 and it was a black & white film. Anyway, the film is about "la llorona" a woman who killed her kids and then drowned herself in the river...the actual legend is really scary, but this movie just makes you laugh with the plot-holes, the bad acting and the general scheme of the movie.
I gave it two starts because the American guy knows how to act and how to convince the public, the rest of the film is just utter garbage ready to receive the vomit of the masses.
A huge stinker if you ask me!!
It's a hellish idiocy fest, the last time I saw a movie with flawed illumination I was like 10 and it was a black & white film. Anyway, the film is about "la llorona" a woman who killed her kids and then drowned herself in the river...the actual legend is really scary, but this movie just makes you laugh with the plot-holes, the bad acting and the general scheme of the movie.
I gave it two starts because the American guy knows how to act and how to convince the public, the rest of the film is just utter garbage ready to receive the vomit of the masses.
A huge stinker if you ask me!!
Don't lose your time (and patience).
korrontean28 May 2007
I watched this movie mainly due to the location: I'm currently living in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas (Southwest of Mexico), and I was curious about seeing the town on screen. I didn't expect a great film, as I thought it'd be an average commercial product. What a mistake.
It is much worse than what the 4.7 rating could make you think. Acting, plot, cinematography, dialogues, are all totally lame, and there is nothing -nothing- to like in the whole movie. Not a single minute. There is nothing scary or exciting, not even interesting. It is really hard for me to believe that the movie actually made it to cinema screens.
Definitely, one of the worst and most boring films I've seen in years.
It is much worse than what the 4.7 rating could make you think. Acting, plot, cinematography, dialogues, are all totally lame, and there is nothing -nothing- to like in the whole movie. Not a single minute. There is nothing scary or exciting, not even interesting. It is really hard for me to believe that the movie actually made it to cinema screens.
Definitely, one of the worst and most boring films I've seen in years.
ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND
nogodnomasters21 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
George (Tom Parker) shows up in a Mexican village to look for his missing sister who he barely knows. Mom (Dee Wallace) is distant and tells him to leave. Children all over town are disappearing and people suspect a ghost/demon J-ok'el, a legendary woman who drowned her own children.
George is determined to find his sister. The film was made for TV lame quality. Very boring. Keep the FF button handy.
Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
George is determined to find his sister. The film was made for TV lame quality. Very boring. Keep the FF button handy.
Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.
A real time waster
Leofwine_draca11 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
CURSE OF THE WEEPING WOMAN: J-OK'EL is a dreadful indie horror flick from Mexico. The only cast member you'll recognise is a cameoing Dee Wallace. The story once again chronicles the sinister legend of La Llorona, a subject matter that has been doing the business for at least 60 years in south of the border cinema, but it plays out in the most boring way imaginable here. This road movie is all chat, no horror, featuring non-actors discussing local legends instead of any attempt to show them. The director does nothing more than waste the time of his viewers.
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