Beware Boiúna // Fantastic Fest 2026 Review

It’s Fantastic Fest week, and I kicked off the weekend with a viewing of Beware Boiúna (2026). The film is directed by Mike P. Nelson (Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025), Wrong Turn (2021)). I usually do not go up for creature feature films, especially ones starring “everyday” animals. Yet, this one reeled me in. 

Taking place in Colombia, we follow a medic team who travels throughout the Amazon rainforest to support communities with various health needs. While recuperating after a wellness visit, the team crosses paths with a group of men “working on paving the local roads,” led by Brennan Malloy, played by Logan Marshall-Green (The Invitation (2015)). Things continue to go awry when Allie played by Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2 U) decides to be the hero no one requested and takes matters into her own hands. She is quickly aided by Lena (Kiana Madeira- Fear Street Trilogy), the boat’s mechanic. This leads to a horrific accident quickly becoming a cover-up gone wrong. Deadly secrets don’t stay buried, and the medics face a vengeful Brennan and his team. I love a good revenge plot. However, I wish we would’ve had more face-to-face time with the legendary Boiúna. 

What It Means To Be Home

Beware Boiúna touches on topics like reconnecting with one’s community and exploring what it means to be “home.” When she’s not tending to the ins and outs of keeping their transportation running smoothly, Lena’s arc is all about reconnecting with her “missing” sibling, Jorge.

Lena and Jorge lost their parents to murder in their youth, leaving them orphaned. Afterward, they fled the Colombian Amazon for a safer life. After fleeing, Jorge decided to return to Colombia. He felt compelled to help others and the environment he still sees as his home. Lena initially did not share these views though. She was still grieving the loss of their parents and viewed their former home as a place full of death and joyless experiences. Towards the end of the film, Lena reconnects with her brother and moves through their collective grief. She shifts her view of “home” from a physical location to a state of being surrounded by loved ones and community.

The film highlights the horrific realities of illegal gold mining and shows how it displaces indigenous communities in the Amazon. The massive deforestation currently taking place throughout the Amazon may not make it onto the scroll-through-the-ticker news platform of choice. However, it’s a humanitarian issue we can’t ignore. Beware Boiúna attempts to be many things. That said, shining a light on an issue that impacts us all gets kudos from me.

Kills and Thrills

Not going to lie, I was surprisingly taken aback by a few of the kills and deaths in this movie. I don’t want to spoil too much. However, there were some characters who were swept up by the reptilian queen who I definitely thought they were going to stay with us until the end. Shoutout to the creators and visionaries of this film who greenlit the smorgasbord of snake kills. From being instantaneously swallowed whole on the riverbank to being bound by a massive vice grip, Boiúna did her big one. 

The pacing of the film started to slow a bit when we bounced between Lena searching for her sibling while the medic team was looking for refuge and fuel. I felt like there were too many items listed as our North Star, but I kept nodding and following along.  

Once we land at our final location Boiúna reclaims her (and our) time. As a viewer, I felt like the story closed up shop as well as it could. We end with our siblings united, a more than well-fed snake, and a mission to reclaim our land and improve the state of one’s community. As a non-creature feature girly, Beware Boiúna was worth at least 3 out of 5 sneaky botfly larvae. So check it out when you can!