Jessica Rothe is fighting a snake the size of a bus. That’s the pitch. That’s the whole movie. Beware Boiúna hits theaters on October 2, and it’s not trying to be anything other than a survival horror movie about a very large reptile eating people in the Amazon.
Rothe plays a member of a medical mission that gets stranded in the jungle. The Boiúna is a creature from Brazilian folklore, a giant serpent that decides who lives and who dies. In this movie, it decides most people die. Rothe’s character is one of the few who might not. That’s the plot. You don’t need more.
The film premiered at Fantastic Fest, which is the right venue for this kind of thing. It’s directed by Mike P. Nelson, who made the Wrong Turn reboot. He knows how to do mean, nasty horror. The cast includes Kiana Madeira, Logan Marshall-Green, and Jackson Bews. Nobody is safe. That’s the fun part.
Jessica Rothe Beware Boiúna works because Rothe is a great scream queen. She did Happy Death Day, which was a slasher comedy, and she did it well. She’s good at being scared and funny at the same time. This movie looks less funny. It looks like a sweaty, miserable time in the jungle with a monster that doesn’t care about your feelings. That’s a compliment.
The trailer shows the snake. Not too much of it. Just enough to let you know it’s big and it’s angry. The practical effects look solid. The jungle looks oppressive. The film is rated R, which means people are going to die badly. That’s what you want from a movie called Beware Boiúna. You don’t want a PG-13 snake. You want a snake that ruins your day.
Rothe has been doing this for a while. She was in La La Land. She was in Boy Kills World. She’s not a newcomer. She’s a working actor who knows how to pick projects that fit her strengths. Jessica Rothe Beware Boiúna is one of those projects. It’s a B-movie with A-movie execution. That’s a rare thing.
The release date is October 2. That’s the start of spooky season. It’s a smart slot. Horror movies do well in October. Beware Boiúna isn’t trying to be The Conjuring. It’s trying to be a fun, gross, scary time at the movies. It will probably succeed. Rothe will probably get eaten. Or she won’t. Either way, you’ll have a good time. Jessica Rothe Beware Boiúna is the kind of movie you see with friends and then never think about again. That’s not an insult. That’s a genre.
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