The Giant Snake Movie Is Back: Beware Boiúna

By: Alexandra Lemus

I am terrified of snakes. Pop culture did this to me. I grew up with movies like Anaconda and Snakes on a Plane, which apparently taught me two things: snakes are terrifying, and I will absolutely watch a movie about them anyway.

So when I saw the trailer for Beware Boiúna, my first thought was, wait a second, this looks and sounds familiar. My second thought was, oh, but this is going to be awesome! Directed by Mike P. Nelson and starring Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe, Logan Marshall-Green and Juan Pablo Shuk, the film follows a group of doctors bringing medical aid to isolated communities in the Amazon. Lena (Kiana Madeira) has another reason for being there: she’s searching for her missing brother. Then a colossal ancient predator known as the Boiúna makes her entrance, and both missions quickly become a fight for survival.

This Snake Has a Backstory

The setup may feel familiar, but the story pulls from something much older: Amazonian folklore. Set in the Colombian Amazon, the film draws from the legend of the Boiúna, a massive serpent said to rule the rivers of the Amazon. As the film puts it, when there’s balance, she rests. When there’s imbalance, she defends. In a jungle where nature holds absolute power, she decides who lives and who dies. That idea gives the movie more weight than your average creature feature. The Boiúna isn’t just a monster looking for a snack. She’s a force of nature protecting her world, and the characters are the ones who’ve wandered into it. For those of us who grew up hearing legends from our tios and abuelas, it’s exciting to see a Latin American myth take center stage in a Hollywood horror movie.

It takes a little longer than I would have liked to get to the wild snake stuff, but once it gets there, it delivers. Bloody, slimy and disgusting, exactly as a giant snake movie should be. At 104 minutes, it’s the perfect length for a creature feature, long enough to build the tension without overstaying its welcome. There are plenty of jump scares, some silly moments and a cast that commits completely to the snake-attack chaos. Kiana Madeira is especially fun to watch. There’s a physicality to her performance that makes Lena feel scrappy and capable, whether she’s fixing the boat, confronting the dirtbag or slithering her way out of another sticky situation.

So, Should You See It?

Is it predictable? Yes. There were definitely moments when I knew something terrible was about to happen before the characters did, but that’s also part of the fun. A movie like this isn’t asking you to solve a mystery. It’s asking you to grab your popcorn, sit back and wait for the giant snake to show up.

And I happily did. If you love a creature feature, or just want a fun, gross, scream with your friends movie night this spooky season, you should too.

Did it make me less afraid of snakes? No. But now I know a little more about Latin American folklore.

Beware Boiúna lunges into theaters October 2nd.

Alexandra Lemus is a producer at LatiNation, covering entertainment and culture with a bilingual lens. She never skips the popcorn. Follow her @alexthatfungirl.