The Curse of La Patasola (2022) --My take on the movie with spoilers!

 PLOT SUMMARY: Two couples on a camping trip come across the legend of La Patasola who punishes cheaters.

Camping trips are supposed to be fun, adventurous; a trip for friendships to become stronger and for couples to bond.

There is food to be foraged, camping fires to be lit, spooky stories to be shared, so of course it makes sense that the people you have gone camping with have a strong bond and are on the "right" page as you.

Because just imagine if you run into something scary while camping. You don't want to place all your bets on a person who will just run the other way, now do you?

THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA Movie Plot

The movie begins with a couple running into the woods to have a moonlight tryst. That is when they hear whispering and the man is lured away only to be killed.

Cut to the present, two couples: Daniel and Sara, and James and Naomi, are all headed to the forest to camp. Naomi and Daniel are arguing about feminism and whatnot. Sara is trying to research nursing schools when her network goes off. James doesn't want to voice his opinion as Naomi goes after Daniel and his outdated views.

Sara wishes she was somewhere else.

Eventually, a park ranger follows their car and they stop. The park ranger warns them to be careful in the forest as a lot of people have gone missing. This doesn't deter Daniel who wants to go camping regardless of the cost. James gets the heebie-jeebies and advises to cancel the trip. Sara is initially reluctant to carry on too. Naomi is asked to vote too and she doesn't want to show Daniel that anything scares her and makes it public that she doesn't want to spend another minute in the apartment with James and needs this trip. She votes to continue.

Sara quickly changes her vote while James says he has a bad feeling about all of this. Daniel pretty much says pshaw and drives on.

They reach the camping site and set up tents. At night, they exchange spooky stories and Naomi tells them about a one leg woman who punishes those who cheat. She cannot, however, be seen by those who are pure of heart. And apparently she sings to lure her victims.

The others get spooked but not Daniel. He asks her the name and Naomi initially doesn't want to saying that uttering her name will bring her to life. She's egged on and eventually reveals it to be La Patasola.

The couples go into their tents. Daniel tries to get intimate with Sara but she's miffed with him for picking on Naomi. Daniel isn't too apologetic but his mood is officially ruined.

The next morning Daniel and James are fishing while Sara and Naomi are hanging out. Naomi lets on that she was planning to dump James after the trip. She couldn't do it before because apparently she didn't want to come to this trip single? Or was it because things were going to be awkward considering James and Daniel were friends and chances were she was going to be dumped because Daniel gets along with James and not her?

Either way, Naomi did not want to break up with James when things didn't work out. No, she wanted to wait for the trip to be over. She also tells Sara she needs to pursue her dreams or she would end up hating Daniel for stopping her and then hate herself for not going after what she truly wants.

On the other side, James tells Daniel he's going to propose to Naomi as she's the one. Daniel tells him it's a bad idea and that if he intended his relationship with her to be long term he needed to man up. James thinks he's doing fine and shrugs off all suggestions regarding his relationship.

The guys return with a big fish that prompts another argument between Naomi and Daniel on who is going to cook the fish. Sara and James decide to get a breather and look for firewood.

Naomi and Daniel almost come to blows about who knows more about how to season fishes when Naomi falls on Daniel and the two share a moment.

Sara and James return and Naomi and Daniel recover. They decide to compromise and cook the fish together.

It's almost nighttime when the fish is finally cooked. Sara and James can't stop talking about how delicious it is and that Daniel and Naomi need to open their own restaurant. Naomi makes a crack about throwing frying pans at each other but Daniel doesn't come back with a barb. Sara can see their dynamic has changed.

Later they all decide to smoke weed and dance when they are high. Can't have fun without drugs, apparently. They finally lay down and look at stars. James thinks it's the perfect opportunity to propose Naomi. She of course says no.

Daniel is trying to get it on with Sara again who isn't into it and wants to talk about poor James and how badly he got dumped. Daniel tells her he told James to not propose Naomi. That riles up Sara even more and she tells him she wants him to quit his business that will never take off and get a job so that he can support her nursing school dream.

Daniel walks off in a huff while Naomi is out roaming too. They run into each other and Naomi makes a comment about Sara's dream to become a nurse. Daniel realizes Naomi was behind Sara's bad mood and they argue again, only this time it is obvious there is tension between them. They kiss.

Immediately, they hear whispering.

Back at the site, Sara is crying and James is lurking about and moping. He asks Sara if she's okay and she pretends she's okay and sends him away. Then she decides she does want to complain about her husband and opens up her tent, especially after she hears some whispering and something possesses the sleeping bag next to her.

That is when James notices a shadow of a woman with long hair behind her and freaks out. They both scream for help because their partners are the brave ones after all.

Daniel and Naomi are still busy making out when they hear the screams. They head back to the site and James insists there is someone in Sara's tent even though she claims she didn't see anyone. Daniel tries to scare whoever is inside by flinging a pebble at it. Nothing moves. He checks out the tent and of course there is no one.

James was to leave this instant but Daniel wants to go fishing again in the morning and he has the car keys so nope, they all have to stay. James goes to sleep in the car. Sara is too mad at Daniel to sleep with him so she goes to sleep with Naomi. She is still rattled and Naomi tells her that La Patasola is scared of fire. So they light a fire again.

Later, Daniel who had pushed his tent away from everyone, awakens when he hears whispering. He's lured deeper into the woods where he sees a woman in a white dress. She sees Daniel and begins to undress under his leery eyes. That's when Daniel notices she only has one leg.

THE CURSE OF LA PATASOLA Ending Explained with Spoilers! 

Sara wakes up to find her husband is missing. She gets into a thing with Naomi who gets scared when she sees something behind Sara. However, the next second she says she gasped because she wanted to pee and goes on her way.

Sara and James wait for their respective partners in the car, all ready to go. James was unable to find Daniel at the fishing spot and now Naomi is missing. Just then Naomi comes running and tells them Daniel is in trouble.

They follow her but James has reservations about the way his now ex girlfriend Naomi, is behaving. She disappears. Sara sees Daniel making out with another woman but then he too disappears. All that's left of him is his bloody clothes.

James thinks it's time for them to go but Sara is not ready to leave her husband. She goes around screaming for him while James theorizes that Naomi and Daniel cheated on them both which is why they are being haunted by La Patasola now. After all, Naomi and Daniel did disappear together before. And according to romcoms enemies usually turn into lovers fairly quickly.

Sara is having none of it until she too sees Daniel with his shirt off with Naomi. Sara is armed only with a flare gun.

When Daniel and Naomi are killed, James and Sara do some running around until it becomes dark and La Patasola reveals her true, monstrous face. It's lucky it is dark because the monster version of La Patasola looks clownish.

Sara uses the flare gun and La Patasola is destroyed. The duo hail down a car coming down the road which of course belongs to the only other minor character in the movie, the park ranger. They get in and in the rear view mirror see a woman in a white dress, watching them.

So, if Sara can now see La Patasola, does that mean she cheated too? Or is thinking about it? With James?

The movie focuses mainly on relationship drama in the first half. When the horror scenes hit, they are well executed and frightening, except for the scene where the monster's face is revealed.

It is an enjoyable movie with a good story and decent horror scenes.

Scare scale: 3.5/5