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Jessica Rothe Returns to Horror in 'Beware Boiúna'
Confirmed
In Short: Rothe, known for her role in 'Happy Death Day,' discussed her return to horror, saying.
In 'Beware Boiúna,' Jessica Rothe stars alongside Kiana Madeira and Logan Marshall-Green as a medical mission team that encounters Boiúna, a colossal prehistoric snake from Brazilian folklore, in the Amazon rainforest.
The film, directed by Mike P. Nelson, aims to blend horror with indigenous mythology, with Nelson emphasizing the importance of connecting the creature to the Amazon itself.
Rothe and Madeira spoke with Nerdtropolis about the challenges of filming in the Amazon, where the heat and dense jungle posed significant obstacles.
Rothe noted, 'The heat was the thing that got me,' while Madeira described the jungle as having 'a heartbeat.'
Nelson explained that the film's mythology allowed him to merge folklore and science, creating a creature that represents nature reclaiming its territory.
The director also highlighted the film's claustrophobic nature, stating, 'We’re just right on people’s shoulders as they’re running for their lives,' as the story progresses.
Rothe, known for her role in 'Happy Death Day,' discussed her return to horror, saying, 'Horror is where some of the most exciting storytelling is happening right now.'
She added, 'I did want to explore other genres, but I am so happy to be back in the horror space, because horror fans really take care of their own.'
The actress is also part of a wave of scream queen team-ups this year, including her pairing with Jane Levy in 'River,' which premiered at TIFF and is set for a January release.
Nelson's previous work includes 'Silent Night, Deadly Night,' and 'Wrong Turn,' but 'Beware Boiúna' offers a unique opportunity to explore the Amazon's rich folklore and environmental issues.
The film's success could potentially reignite talks about a third installment of the 'Happy Death Day' franchise, which stalled due to budgetary disputes.
Nelson and Rothe emphasized the importance of the story and the creature's representation of the Amazon's natural environment.
What this adds
The film 'Beware Boiúna' is set to explore the Amazon rainforest's rich folklore and environmental issues, with Nelson researching legends and mythology surrounding snakes in the region.
Rothe's return to horror is part of a broader trend of scream queens teaming up in recent films, including 'Ready or Not 2' and 'River.'
Background
Actress Jessica Rothe is set to return to the horror genre with 'Beware Boiúna,' a film that delves into the Amazon rainforest where a colossal prehistoric snake, Boiúna, hunts a medical mission team.
Beware Boiúna is a 2026 monster horror film directed by Mike P. Nelson from a screenplay by Alan B.
Happy Death Day 2U is a 2019 American science fiction black comedy slasher film written and directed by Christopher Landon. A sequel to Happy Death Day (2017), it stars Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, and Steve Zissis.
What's confirmed
- In 'Beware Boiúna,' Jessica Rothe stars alongside Kiana Madeira and Logan Marshall-Green as a medical mission team that encounters Boiúna, a colossal prehistoric snake from Brazilian folklore, in the Amazon rainforest.
- The film, directed by Mike P. Nelson, aims to blend horror with indigenous mythology, with Nelson emphasizing the importance of connecting the creature to the Amazon itself.
- Rothe and Madeira spoke with Nerdtropolis about the challenges of filming in the Amazon, where the heat and dense jungle posed significant obstacles.
- Nelson explained that the film's mythology allowed him to merge folklore and science, creating a creature that represents nature reclaiming its territory.
- The director also highlighted the film's claustrophobic nature, stating, 'We’re just right on people’s shoulders as they’re running for their lives,' as the story progresses.
- The actress is also part of a wave of scream queen team-ups this year, including her pairing with Jane Levy in 'River,' which premiered at TIFF and is set for a January release.
- Nelson's previous work includes 'Silent Night, Deadly Night,' and 'Wrong Turn,' but 'Beware Boiúna' offers a unique opportunity to explore the Amazon's rich folklore and environmental issues.
- The film's success could potentially reignite talks about a third installment of the 'Happy Death Day' franchise, which stalled due to budgetary disputes.
- Nelson and Rothe emphasized the importance of the story and the creature's representation of the Amazon's natural environment.
What's still developing
- Beware Boiúna establishes the scale of its creature early, but Nelson who previously deleivered Silent Night, Deadly Night, was determined to keep the movie from becoming nothing more than another monster chasing people through the jungle.
- The actresses explained that their previous horror experience helped them tap into the fear necessary for those scenes, even when the enormous threat they were reacting to would not fully exist until later.
- Obsession was the talk of TIFF’s Midnight Madness last year, and River followed suit this year, selling for over $10 million despite already having a theatrical distribution deal with IFC/Shudder.
- Nelson, who is set to helm Saw 11, the creature feature stars Rothe as Alli, a med student whose humanitarian mission to the Amazon puts her group face-to-face with a mythical black serpent from Brazilian folklore.
- Shortly after Happy Death Day 2U ’s February 2019 release, Landon developed the shape of a more ambitious Happy Death Day 3, but the project ultimately stalled over what amounted to a budgetary dispute with Blumhouse.
- Christopher Landon ’s Happy Death Day movies coronated Rothe as a scream queen and final girl at the end of the 2010s, but in the early 2020s, she opted to challenge herself outside the friendly confines of horror.
- That reality has been obscured by the various 21st-century exceptions fueled by the expansion of global theatrical markets, particularly China, and the rise of serialized cinematic universes such as Marvel. (Even that franchise has since regressed toward the mean.) In any event, Rothe is crossing her fingers that River ’s January box office run performs well enough to reignite talks with Blumhouse and Universal about bringing Landon’s time-loop slasher franchise back to life.
- Most notable of all, Jason Blum and Universal — Rothe’s Happy Death Day producer and studio — emerged as the buyers of the river-based slasher.
- “There needed to be something more than what we’d seen before.” Nelson researched legends and mythology surrounding snakes in the region while also looking at real environmental issues affecting the Amazon, including illegal mining.
- Samantha Bambino 3 weeks ago Interviews, News Leave a comment Don’t mess with the “Mother of the Waters.” In Beware Boiúna, the latest directorial release from Mike P.
- 2, PopHorror spoke with Nelson, as well as its stars Kiana Madeira ( Fear Street trilogy, 2021) and Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day 2017), about the creativity behind Boiúna and her slithering attacks and the incredible — yet challenging — experience of shooting on-site in the Amazonian jungle.
- What did Beware Boiúna let you do as a horror filmmaker that you didn’t get to explore in those past films?