10 Details in The Curse of La Llorona You Missed That Connect to The Conjuring Universe

Spoiler Warning: This article reveals key moments from The Curse of La Llorona (2019) and Annabelle (2014).

At first, The Curse of La Llorona looks like a standalone horror movie about a ghost hunting children. But look a little closer, and you’ll find familiar faces, a terrifying doll, and connections to the world of Annabelle.

There’s one important twist, though: director Michael Chaves has described the film as a “cousin” to The Conjuring universe rather than an official entry. So, while the connections are real, the movie sits slightly outside the main franchise.

Here are 10 details you might have missed.

1. Father Perez Returns From Annabelle

The biggest connection is Father Perez, played by Tony Amendola. He previously appeared in Annabelle (2014), where he helped Mia and John Form deal with the possessed doll.

His return in La Llorona is no random casting choice. It brings a familiar character into Anna Tate-Garcia’s terrifying case.

2. Perez’s Annabelle Experience Still Haunts Him

When Anna asks Father Perez for help, he already understands that supernatural evil can be real. His experience with Annabelle changed his perspective, making him more prepared to take Anna’s story seriously.

He isn’t a priest hearing an unbelievable ghost story for the first time. He has seen what a demonic presence can do.

3. The Annabelle Doll Makes a Blink-and-You’ll-Miss-It Appearance

During Perez’s recollection of the earlier case, the film briefly shows the familiar Annabelle doll.

It’s an easy detail to miss if you’re busy watching the characters, but it confirms that the filmmakers wanted viewers to recognize the connection.

4. The Story Takes Place in the 1970s

The movie is set in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. That places it around the same broad period as the original The Conjuring, set in 1971, and before The Conjuring 2, set in 1977.

The timeline helps the crossover feel possible, even though Anna’s family never meets Ed and Lorraine Warren.

5. James Wan Connects the Films Behind the Scenes

James Wan, the filmmaker behind The Conjuring and Insidious, produced The Curse of La Llorona.

His involvement helped create a familiar atmosphere of supernatural danger, although a shared producer alone doesn’t make two movies part of the same official continuity. The on-screen Father Perez connection is much stronger evidence of a link.

6. Father Perez Understands the Church’s Limitations

Perez knows that asking the Church for help can take time, and Anna’s children don’t have that luxury. He points her toward Rafael Olvera, a curandero who understands spiritual threats.

This echoes a recurring idea across The Conjuring films: religious authority can matter, but confronting evil often requires help from people with practical experience.

7. Rafael Adds a Different Kind of Supernatural Knowledge

Rafael isn’t a Warren or a traditional priest. He uses his knowledge of spiritual practices and protective methods to help Anna fight La Llorona.

That gives the movie its own identity while still fitting the franchise’s wider interest in people confronting forces they can barely understand.

8. A Deleted Scene Would Have Made the Link Stronger

Director Michael Chaves revealed that a planned ending showed Anna handing La Llorona’s necklace to Rafael for safekeeping.

The scene was filmed but cut. It would have given the ending a more direct continuation and suggested that the supernatural danger might be passed along rather than simply defeated.

9. The Movie Keeps Its Own Folklore at the Center

Unlike the Warrens’ cases, La Llorona comes from Latin American folklore. The movie uses the legend of the Weeping Woman rather than making her another demon from the Warrens’ case files.

That distinction matters: the film borrows a connective thread from Annabelle without turning La Llorona into a villain created by the main franchise.

10. It’s Connected—but Not Officially a Main Conjuring Film

Here’s the detail that settles the debate. Chaves later explained that The Curse of La Llorona isn’t technically part of The Conjuring universe in the same way as Annabelle or The Nun. He described it as a “cousin” to that universe.

So yes, Father Perez and Annabelle provide genuine crossover connections. But the film remains a side story rather than a core chapter in the franchise’s official lineup.