Beware, Anaconda. Beware Boiuna actually out-snakes you in the best of ways.
Set deep in the Amazon, Beware Boiuna tells the story of a medical team that embarks on a mission to offer help to locals who don’t have access to proper health care. As the team move deeper down the river, they find themselves challenged by another group who wish to tear down the jungle in the name of progress. However, after an accident causes greater tension between the teams, their actions awaken Boiuna, an enormous ancient serpent determined to reclaim her domain.
Directed by Mike P. Nelson, Beware Boiuna is a surprisingly brutal journey into the jungle. While ‘surprisingly’ may seem unfair to a film about a killer giant snake, one can’t deny that Boiuna takes its carnage extremely seriously. Unlike its distant relative, the 90s snake-fest Anaconda (or its recent remake), Boiuna never makes light of the genre. With severed limbs and devoured bodies, Nelson ensures that the viewer is immersed in slithery carnage from the opening scene. Every human morsel is bitten with fiendish delight as Boiuna leads her own brand of justice.
Beware Boiúna. Photo Credit: Ana María Gallón/Lionsgate
However, Nelson makes the snake work primarily by largely keeping it in the shadows throughout the film’s first half. While there are absolutely moments where we see the full beasty, Nelson manages to make it feel like an impending threat at all times. Taking cues from Jaws and, more closely, Monsters, the director keeps our attention on the team with our eyes on the shadows. By allowing the serpent to slide in the background, the film keeps us guessing, giving moments of mayhem added impact.
It’s also interesting to point out that the slithering Boiuna is more than merely an antagonistic animal here. She’s believed to be a mythological judge, determining who lives and who dies. As such, she becomes more than a beast to be defeated. She’s a spiritual force in the community that demands respect. There’s a deep reverence for her existence that pervades the locals, giving added impact to the carnage.
It’s also worth noting that the film benefits from a ferocious performance by Kiana Madeira. Given the opportunity to fight for her life (and those around her), Madeira’s Lena bares her teeth with the mercilessness of a grizzled action veteran. She’s caring when she needs to be and more than willing to put up a fight when called to do so.
Kiana Madeira as Lena in Beware Boiúna. Photo Credit: Ana María Gallón
And, to be clear, Lena knows what she’s fighting for. Searching for her long-lost brother, Lena’s intensity stems from a deep sense of loss. Her brother means the world to her and she’s willing to fight anything (or anyone) that prevents her from finding him and bringing him home.
Yet there’s more to Lena’s fight than simply her sibling. While Boiuna has little in the way of subtext – you want a giant snake horror, you’re getting a giant snake horror – the film does allow Lena’s journey to include her own quest to find her true home. Having left the Amazon many years ago, her return as a member of the medical team is an opportunity for her to show her support to those in need. However, at the same time, it leaves her emotionally conflicted.
After all, this was the home where she grew up. Her return challenges her to ask questions about her dedication to the land itself. Does she care about getting out? Or does she also care about fighting for the safety of her home land? This tension adds greater stakes to Lena’s mission, especially when she encounters colonizers who don’t share her connection to the community.
Logan Marshall-Green as Brennan Malloy in Beware Boiúna. Photo Credit: Ana María Gallón/Lionsgate
Now, that’s not to suggest that Beware Boiuna is a particularly profound experience. Certainly, the film has its flaws. However, one can’t deny that this is a film that earns its slithery stripes. With its darker, more serious tone, Beware Boiuna is everything that you’d hope for in this type of creature feature. It’s viciously violent, intense and angry to the core, making it well worth the cost of setting foot in the (theatrical) jungle.
Beware Boiuna is available in theatres on Friday, October 2nd, 2026.
