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Beware Boiúna may feature a giant snake, but filmmaker Mike P. Nelson did not look to another creature feature as his primary inspiration. For Nelson, the creative doorway into Beware Boiúna was William Friedkin’s Sorcerer. On a selfish note, both Sorcerer (and its predecessor The Wages of Fear) are among my favorite films of all time. During the interview with Nelson, he confirmed that Sorcerer was a big inspiration. “You f**king got it, man,” said Nelson, who directed 2025’s Silent Night, Deadly Night. “Sorcerer was literally my in to get into this. It wasn’t a creature feature, it was Sorcerer.”
Read more: ‘Beware Boiúna’ Director Mike P. Nelson Reveals Surprising Movie That Inspired His Giant Snake Film
Mike P. Nelson’s idea was to take that foundation and mix it with several of cinema’s most memorable genre films. “What if we add elements of Jurassic Park and Alien and Jaws and Tremors and do all that fun stuff within that structure?” said Nelson.
Shooting the movie in the Amazon also became an adventure of its own. Nelson said some members of the Colombian crew had not previously filmed in some of the areas used for the production.
“We were down there, and we didn’t know how we were gonna make this happen,” said Nelson, who made sure to work with and not against their environment. “They had some ideas, and we kept our eyes and ears open, and followed their lead. We had to work with the jungle, man. She doesn’t care if you’re making a movie there, but we were very fortunate. She blessed us with many, many good days of shooting.”
The filmmaker also had little interest in delivering a straightforward creature feature in which the giant snake dominates the narrative from beginning to end.
Starring Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe and Logan Marshall-Green, the horror film does have a snake and there is a healthy amount of action (and kills). The narrative, however is 104 minutes, and there are more layers behind the tale. “I didn’t want to go in just doing the giant snake from start to finish,” Nelson said. “It just, that wasn’t interesting to me. What was interesting was a really great setup, immersing yourself with characters. What happens when those characters are put in a situation then where there is nothing they can do but just fight to survive, just constantly?”
Nelson’s experience making Beware Boiúna has even changed his relationship with Sorcerer. After researching William Friedkin’s film and then experiencing the challenges of his own production, Nelson sees the classic from a different perspective.
“Sorcerer was a movie that blew me away the first time I watched it,” Nelson said. “But after all the research I’ve done on the movie, what they went through to make that movie, what I went through to make our movie, like, yes, it does feel different.”
***I review Beware Boiúna on this week’s CinemAddicts:
Nelson stressed that he was not comparing the two movies in terms of quality. Rather, Sorcerer served as a creative north star for several years while he attempted to craft a singular narrative to add to his filmmaking resume.
“I lived looking to that movie for inspiration for several years,” Nelson added. “It does feel different now that we were able to kind of explore and attempt to make my own version of something like that.”
***Full interview with Mike P. Nelson:
Have you seen Sorcerer and will you be watching Beware Boiúna? Share your thoughts on the movie (now playing in theaters) in the comments!
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