Aswang (1994 film)
| Aswang (aka The Unearthing) | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Wrye Martin Barry Poltermann |
| Produced by |
Wrye Martin Barry Poltermann |
| Written by |
Frank L. Anderson Wrye Martin Barry Poltermann |
| Starring |
Norman Moses Tina Ona Paukstelis |
| Music by | Ken Brahmstedt |
| Cinematography | Jim Zabilla |
| Edited by | Barry Poltermann |
| Distributed by | Mondo Macabro (USA, DVD) |
Running time | 82 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,000 |
Aswang, also called The Unearthing, is a 1994 horror film based on the mythical creature that feeds on the unborn in Filipino folklore.
Plot
A desperate pregnant woman agrees to an odd pact agreeing to play wife to a wealthy man living with his mother. She is taken to a secluded mansion where unbeknown to her there are plans to feed her unborn child to an aswang.
Reception
"Aswang" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. The film was initially reviewed as "more gruesome and gross than frightening" by Emanuel Levy writing in Variety.
After a brief theatrical release, Prism Home Video picked up "Aswang" to release on home video. The film was cut down to an R Rating and retitled "The Unearthing".
Upon its original release reviews by mainstream critics were mixed. TVGuide wrote that "For much of its running time, 'The Unearthing' is a gripping and unsettling journey into fear. Towards the end, however, it abandons its aura of Cronenbergian repulsion, descends into camp, and blunts the impact of its memorably unpleasant build-up".
"Aswang" was much more positively received by horror and cult reviewers such as Joe Bob Briggs, who claimed "This movie is nasty -- it's my kind of film" and Phantom of the Movies' Videoscope, who wrote that "The Unearthing" was "an exercise in extreme claustrophobia and disorientation" and "the creepiest film I've seen since Guillermo Del Toro's "Cronos".
Eventually the film obtained a small cult following and British cult horror distributor Mondo Macabro released the film uncut and under its original title on DVD in 2003.
Film Threat claimed that the uncut release was "completely loaded to the teeth with nerve-wracking suspense, an atmosphere of sheer dread, stomach turning gore and just a dash of black humor. "Aswang" is a very effective and nightmarish film that deserves far more attention than it has garnered over the past 11 years".
In 2008 "Aswang" was featured in the Fangoria book "101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen".
External links
- Aswang at the Internet Movie Database