Beware Boiúna Interview: Mike P. Nelson on Making a Giant Snake Movie Actually Scary

Beware Boiúna director Mike P. Nelson is back on Grave Tone, and this time he brought stories from the Amazon. Floods, a jungle blessing, a poison dart frog on set, and a giant snake that does not care who you are. We sat down with Mike P. Nelson ahead of Beware Boiúna hitting theatres October 2 to talk about how this giant snake movie actually got made. He almost turned it down (giant snake movies come with baggage, and he knew it). What changed his mind was finding the link between Titanoboa, the real prehistoric snake discovered in Colombia, and the Boiúna of Amazonian folklore. Add a structure borrowed from William Friedkin's Sorcerer and a lot of respect for how Alien, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Tremors hold back their monsters, and you get a creature feature built on dread instead of camp. How Beware Boiúna Became a Giant Snake Movie Worth Making Producers Robert Kulzer and Jeremy Bolt, with Tony Giglio, wanted a giant snake story. Mike P. Nelson almost passed because of the stigma the subgenre carries. What won him over: tying Titanoboa, the real prehistoric snake found in Colombia, to the Boiúna of Amazonian folklore. Why William Friedkin's Sorcerer was his main comp (one movie at the start, a different movie by the end). Shooting a Horror Movie in the Colombian Amazon Asking permission to film near Leticia, then a blessing ceremony (chicha included) where a healer told Mike to be "the father of your team." Heavy rain floods the location of the opening gold mining siege, so the whole sequence gets shot from the other side. Mike's favorite days: shooting aboard the Hermes, moving down the Amazon River with the cast. A poison dart frog lands on a chair right across from Kiana Madeira. The snake wrangler handled it. Practical Effects Behind the VFX Snake A stunt performer was yanked 40 feet into the air with foliage blasting out, all in camera. Real TNT brings down the lumber camp structure while the leads run down the ramp. Mike's rule: if there is a VFX snake in the movie, something real has to go along with it. The Cast of Beware Boiúna Kiana Madeira as Lena: soft-spoken between takes, fully switched on in the mud and the viscera. Logan Marshall-Green pushing buttons during the bar scene with Jessica Rothe, then checking in on her after the cut. Why Mike lets his actors play: if a moment surprises him, it will surprise the audience too. Protector or Predator: Boiúna, Folklore and Gold Mining Is Boiúna the jungle's guardian or just a hungry snake? Mike wants you arguing about it after the credits. The opening illegal gold mining siege reflects a real fight Indigenous communities in the Amazon are in right now. The viral poster campaign that fed internet animals like Moo Deng and Jimothy to Boiúna. Monster Matchups and Fill in the Blank Boiúna vs. Shardik from Stephen King's The Dark Tower, a matchup Mike first chewed on with Eric Vespe on The Kingcast. Boiúna vs. the original King Kong (1933), the movie Mike grew up on. Mike's rule for the genre: every creature feature needs a character who doesn't deserve to die. Follow us & Subscribe: Spotify Apple Podcast TikTok Instagram Threads Grave Tone Horror Podcast Website Background music by: Steve Swisher from the Producer's Chair Podcast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.