Aswang

Plot synopsis:
NOTE: The aswang is a vampire from Filipino myth. It is a living person, usually a woman, who can take the form of a large bird and who waits on the roof of a victim's house until s/he falls asleep. Then, the aswang drops down its long tongue, pricks a hole in the victim's neck, and feeds on its blood. Once filled with blood, the aswang returns home to feed her own children. In this movie, the aswang is particularly fond of feeding on the unborn.Kat (Tina Ona Paukstelis) is unwed and pregnant but refuses to get an abortion. Instead, she opts for adoption and contracts with Peter (Norman Moses) and Janine Null to give them her baby after it is born, as Janine is unable to bear children and Peter needs an heir so that he can inherit the family estate, a large tract of apple orchards in Wisconsin.7 Months later: Very pregnant and posing as Peter's wife Janine, Kat accompanies
Peter to visit his family at the estate. Having lived in the Philippines,
the family is rather strange. There is Peter's mother Olive (Flora Coker), who is ailing
and is confined to a wheelchair. Peter's sister Claire (Jamie Jacobs Anderson), whom Peter
describes as "touched", lives as a recluse in a rundown cottage, and Peter
warns Kat to steer clear of her. And there is Cupid (Mildred Nierras), their Filipino maid
who seems to be the one who holds everyone and everything together. All in
all, though, Olive and Cupid seem genuinely glad to have "Janine" there,
and both are very anxious for the baby to arrive.At dinner that evening, Kat drinks too much of Cupid's "homemade
apple cider" and gets drunk. That night she has strange dreams about Peter
feeding on some white liquid and then putting his head between her legs as
though trying to listen to the baby. The next morning, while out walking
on the Hull property, Peter and Kat happen upon a trespasser, who
introduces himself as Dr Roger Harper (John Kishline) and who shows them a strange
"cocoon" he has found. Harper has already found scores of them and can't
explain what kind of animal made them, only that the bodies inside have
been reduced to bones and it seems as though they've had their lives
sucked out of them.Peter is unhappy about Harper poking around on their land, but Kat
invites him to dinner anyway. After dinner, Peter shows him some artwork
from the Philippines, including a drawing of an aswang, a dark figure
sitting on a rooftop and sticking its long skinny tongue down into the
house. Upon returning home, Harper looks up a picture of an aswang,
under which the caption reads "as*wong: a Filipino vampire who feeds on the
unborn. The fetus will likely die, although some survive to become Aswang
themselves." Harper immediately fears for Kat/Janine's baby, but he
doesn't have time to warn her. He is himself attacked by an aswang.Meanwhile, Kat and Peter have gone to bed, and Cupid is helping Olive
into her nightclothes. While Kat sleeps, an aswang slides its long tongue
into her bedroom and snakes around under the bedsheets until it finds the
way between her legs. Kat wakes up, dislodges the tongue, and manages to
trap it in the door. Peter rushes outside to find Olive hanging from the
bedroom window by her aswang tongue. In order to release her, Peter has to
cut off her tongue.Sensing that she's in danger, Kat runs...straight to Claire's cottage
where she finds Harper enwrapped in a cocoon. Still alive, he tries to
warn her. Kat tries ripping him free from the cocoon but, before she is
successful, she hears a noise. It is the real Janine, and she's armed with
a chainsaw. Janine attacks Kat, but Kat manages to kill her with a blow to
the head from a garden hoe.Enter Peter, who injects Kat with a tranquilizer. Kat tries to run,
but Peter retrieves the chainsaw and goes after her while screaming, "We
have a contract...This is America...We have laws!" Kat gets away but
stumbles onto the grave of Janine Hull. It's now apparent that "the real
Janine" is actually Peter's sister Claire and that both she and
Olive are aswangs.Peter carries the bodies of Olive and Claire into the big house.
While walking along the highway, Kat is "rescued" by the local sheriff who
takes her straight back to the Nulls, oblivious to Kat's contention that
they are trying to kill her. After the sheriff leaves, Peter takes Kat to
Claire's cottage and chains her to a window. But the sheriff, doing his
duty, calls for some information about Janine Hull and comes up empty, so
he returns to the Hull house, where he is attacked and killed by a chicken
(Peter).Peter, Olive, and Cupid go to the cottage. Olive is dying and must
feed. While they prepare Kat, however, Olive dies, so Peter decides to
feed on Kat's baby himself. At that moment, however, Harper wakes up and
Peter has to kill him first, giving Kat a chance to chop off her own hand
with an ax and run away...straight back to the Hull house, Peter in
pursuit, garden hoe in hand.Meanwhile, Cupid has gotten religious. She falls down on her knees
and starts to pray. When Peter orders her to kill Kat, she raises the ax
to obey. Just at that moment, a tiny aswang tongue emerges from between
Kat's legs, and Cupid lets the ax fall.Five years later
Cupid and the 5-year old aswang girl are saying their prayers
together, blessing Grandma Olive, Aunt Claire, Daddy (Peter), and a number
of Janine-mommies. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]

Tags: violence, cult, haunting

Review:
This starts off being something of a cross between Society and Rosemary's Baby and for the first half hour is really quite creepy.
For the rest of the film things are distinctly more nasty and occasionally almost too repulsive to watch.
Possibly budgetary restraints led to most off the movie being shot in just the one colour, brown, but not without effect.
In fact the gloom is about as cheerful as this nasty film gets, there are splashes of humour but you are rarely in the mood for smiling and from the spooky Filipino maid, Cupid, to the manic leading man and his almost dead mother and crazed sister all is very, very wrong.
I cannot understand the bad reviews this film has received because to me it seemed a shockingly different effort in the horror field.
I suppose much has been borrowed from earlier horrors but there is enough that is different to certainly set it apart from much more celebrated films..
The Unearthing is a film I'd had been wanting to see for a long time and now wish I hadn't bothered.
It does offer a bit of a different spin on the vampire lore.
The film's villains are based in the Philipino legend of the Aswang (don't laugh).
The Aswang is demon or vampire that feeds upon unborn fetuses.
Unfortunately it is never utilized in a way that is new or interesting.
The acting is appalling, the direction slack, and there is so much padding here that the movie could have been a 30 minute short.
A young lady with child marries(for pay) into a family of "Aswang"...bloodthirsty creatures from Phillipines-regional lore with an appetite for fetal humans(which they extract from a living mother's womb using elongated wriggling tongues...a rather sexually manky and squirm-inducing distinction of these mythical beasts).
Also, it is interesting to note that these beings are devout Catholics(!)ASWANG is a flawed but intriguing low-budget film, and there are scenes which will likely offend very sensitive people.
Technically a tad grotty at times, but atmospheric enough to hold the interest of many horror buffs.
A unique other-cultural study of vampirism, and one the likes of which I have personally not seen beforeDespite the frequently negative criticism of this film, I maintain that it has some great moments, and is an overall fairly impressive minor-league effort.5.5/10.
I've seen a lot of vampire films but never one like this.
Tense, dark tale of a pregnant girl who thinks she's selling her unborn child to a rich family with inheritance issues but comes to realize that what they really need is something a whole lot worse.
With terrific use of color AND lack of color (look how the scenes in Claire's house are all shot in the same bleached-out reddish sepia, like partly-washed-out bloodstains), neat twists on Gothic horror conventions, nasty use of garden implements, and an overall Blair-Witch-meets-Texas-Chainsaw vibe of unnerving low-budget conviction, this is a cheap but effective little chiller.
Vamp fans who've stayed in the familiar Eastern European and urban American traditions should definitely give this Filipino-based oddity a try..
I enjoyed this blend of horror.
In this film, it's something we didn't really expect so therein lies the true horror element.
Not just a true horror element, but a taboo one at that.
One of the best uses of horror in this film is the off screen presence of lurking doom.
I had never heard of this film, I must confess.
The 90s were a horrible dry time for horror, but this isn't bad at all.
It's pure schlock, frustrating at times and plot exposition isn't handled as well as it could be, but it's worth a watch if you like obscure horror.The film plays like a cross between The Evil Dead (with the backwoods, claustrophobic feel and some 'running fast with the camera' bits) and the superior recent French movie Inside (the central concept, albeit given a supernatural angle).
It's quite professionally done (although due to a lot of the nonsense I subject myself to, my standards are low!), the effects are good enough and the performances capable.
Some of the concepts are a little distasteful, and in the gloomy netherworld of tame mid-90s horror, were probably quite nasty.
I wasn't aware of Aswangs before watching this movie, very creepy mythical beasts.
It's a shame this film didn't do better, as there's quite a bit of mileage in these nasty bloodsucking creatures, I reckon( I really, really recognise the guy who plays the central male role, but this is the only movie he's done apparently...strange.
Good enough original take on the vampire horror genre..
You could call this movie like "Rosamary's Baby", only done way worse.
Not saying that "Aswang" is an horrible movie though, on the contrary actually.
It's being saved by the fact that it's taking an original approach to a well known genre, without ever becoming a great movie as well though.The movie is being a big of a mixed bag.
On the one hand it's being a quite original and also atmospheric movie but on the other, it isn't a really well told one.
It's a movie that takes a more slow approach but in its slower moments it doesn't manage to build up any tension.
The movie is really lacking in some good interesting mystery and some well done horror.
It doesn't make this the most interesting movie to watch.With a more experienced director at the helm this movie would already had been a better one.
A more experienced director would had know how to handle this story more properly and make it a more interesting and effective movie.
Instead now the storytelling is too often lacking in its pace and approach.Still it remains a somewhat refreshing movie to watch, due to its original take on the genre and also because it often isn't holding back on its gore.
I therefore still consider this movie to be a watchable one and even a recommendable one as well, especially when you also consider that this was an extremely low-budget production.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
A Combination Film.
This movie caught my eye on the shelf with it's impressive sounding reviews printed on the front.
Words such as, "original", "gory", and, "shocking".
As the movie plays on, these things turn out to be at least slightly true.
Parts of the movie seem to be mildly reminiscent of, "Rosemary's Baby", "Friday the 13th", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and Lucio Fulci's "House by the Cemetery".
Plus much like Coscarelli's "Phantasm", things get just a little stranger continuously as it unfolds.
I did have a good idea of what was coming next a lot of the time.
HOWEVER, the minor details in between my kind of knowing what was going to happen made it worth waiting to see exactly how it would turn out.
The special effects were good enough for a bizarre little tale of horror on film.
People complain too much about that kind of thing in most instances.
Go ahead and check it out if you like to see something just that tiny un-explainably bit different than everything else.
At least you already know it HAS to be better than "House of the Dead", right?.
fantastic indie horror.
Aswang is a great low budget horror movie...
made for next to nothing in the tradition of the evil dead, the film is a knowing and loving treatment of the horror genre.
Bizarrely taking philippino foetus sucking vampires ( now relocated to wisconsin!!!) as its storyline the movie packs more set pieces, story lines, deliciously camp moments into its 84 minutes than most big budget horrors could dream of.
With a calibre of acting much much higher than could be expected for its budget the film delivers plenty of shocks and gore as well as keeping its tongue firmly placed in its cheek.
you see it doesnt take an army of computer graphics designers and a hundred million dollars to make a good movie...just some brains, commitment and a thirty foot rubber tongue!
I still don't learn from previous lessons not to trust comments on DVD covers.I don't know WHAT I was thinking when buying this DVD.
It says here this movie was a sensation when it hit Sundance in 1994?
Puking?Let me quote some of what's written on the back cover:"After a brief theatrical release, nervous video chains refused to carry the film and the shocker [BWAAAHAHAHAHA] all but disappeared."When it disappeared, why did they bring it back?
IT DISAPPEARED FOR A REASON, GODDAMMIT!!!!I WANTED TO GET RID OF THIS MOVIE, BUT NOONE WANTS IT.
I hope more people would buy this film because I won't be the only one stoopid enough to see it.Hey, i didn't even spoil it for you..
Just Bad. The DVD cover made out like this 1994 film was not released before because of its shocking content.
There are few horror films that are less shocking than this lame-in-all-ways film.
More than half this film is filler and all of it is bad.
This is Ed Wood quality film making (but probably bigger budget) that is trying to be taken serious.
Avoid these film-makers at all cost.
I'm getting sick of people giving bad horror flicks good reviews.
This falls under the "when a good idea happens to  a BAD movie.
Bad acting, directing, writing...you name it...
Story about a Filipino Vampire called an Aswang..problem number one: There isnt ONE Filipino Vampire in the  movie!
You get 3 rich WHITE Americans who only say they were from the Phillipines...oh to be fair there IS ONE Filipino..shes the nurse caretaker who supposedly looks after the "vampires"..man this film was horrendous tripe.
the charactors behave BEYOND dumb, and even move SLOW at times to help the bad people catch up to them!
First off, if you are not a fan of Low Budget Horror Movies, go no further.
You will not enjoy this movie.
It appears to have been shot on 16mm film.
Either that, or the stock they used was VERY old, because even in the new DVD transfer, there's a fair amount of grain.HOWEVER, the plot is at least original (and you can't say that about ANYTHING out of Hollywood in the last few years) and the acting earnest.That said, gore hounds will be disappointed, as this the new DVD appears to be a cut down "R" version that expunges some of the more graphic scenes.
(I know they exist, at least one is shown in the trailer).All told, this is an enjoyable Independent movie..
An unwed mother-to-be ostensibly signs her unborn baby over for adoption, but the adoptive family has other plans.
Long on suspense, short on scares, the film still manages to create a genuinely creepy and claustrophobic setting for its cast of bizarros (the low-budget production values contribute to the movie's sense of impending doom) but it is Tina Ona Paukstelis's plucky (not to mention physically grueling) performance that saves the day.
Proof positive that performances contribute as much to the suspense of a film as lighting, sound, and cinematography.
(useless to summarize; very disappointing, inaccurate movie).
I have seen the movie and honestly, I STRONGLY DISLIKE it.
Being "aswang" isn't like being a vampire that is contagious.
Not because you've ever been to the Philippines and got acquainted with an "aswang" you'll eventually turn into one.
I am Filipino who grew up listening to my grandmother's stories about this creature.
They all share common information about "aswang" -- information which remained consistent even in Filipino movies.
This so-called "A" movie internationally produced is a big slap on our faces, an insult, and humiliation to us.
Not bad for 90's indie horror.
This movie is certainly interesting in many ways and for different reasons.
It was the first horror movie ever shown at Sundance.
It's also a serious departure from the usually tired and done-to-death western vampire stories.
Plus, for a movie made in 1994, it doesn't suffer from the usual woodenness of pretty much all horror films that came out in the 90's.I guess I watched this because I always thought the idea of aswangs (a vampire/witch type creature from Filipino folklore) was kind of cool.
There's not much going on here in the way of gore or really much physical violence period.
The horror aspect comes more from the tension than anything else and it seems to work rather well.
The story is fairly simple, revolving around a pregnant girl who is tricked and led to a remote home where a family of aswangs attempts to steal (or eat?) her unborn baby.
The acting is above par for the budget, but only slightly.All in all it's not a bad time.
I do wish they would have touched on the mythology of the aswang, especially since the family is about as white as they can be but it's just mentioned that they used to live in the Phillipines.
Fair enough, but without any back story that's just a bit lame.
I'd really like to see the original uncut version (I have to assume that the one I watched was the "R" version), but still it's not too bad..
Relatively Entertaining Low-Budget "Vampire" Outing....
I wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of this one, so ASWANG really didn't disappoint.
I knew pretty much nothing about it before I threw it in and at least I can say it wasn't a total waste of ninety minutes.An Aswang is some sort of Filipino vampire that feeds off of fetuses (and dogs, and adult humans, apparently...), so now you have an idea about where this one is going'.A guy claims to need an heir in order to claim his inheritance, and employs a pregnant young lady to pose as his wife for the matriarch of the family.
Along the way, we find that the family is a little "off", and we figure out the connection between them and the whole Aswang business when the audience learns that the family was raised in the Philippines - though no other real connection is ever made.
Anyway - the family turns out to be the vampires and they are out to feed off of the pregnant girl's unborn child...A couple of nifty gore scenes, a relatively interesting (if not very "fleshed-out") storyline, and a few creepy moments make ASWANG worth a look.
There is no nudity, save for a brief titty shot in the opening credits, but other than that - I'd say this one is worth at least a one-time-view for fans of lesser-known, low-budget horror...7/10.
It said something about video stores not carrying this movie.....but I don't know why.
I kept thinking they were going to do something gruesome to the baby but they didn't.
The old woman's tongue thing was really gross but not THAT gross.
I've seen worse for sure!!I thought overall the concept of this type of vamp was really interesting.
Why did she kill everyone but the little girl?
Where are all those dead babies coming from?
Overall, not a bad low budget effort.
Interesting monster, weird story but not tied together well at the end.
This film started with a great idea, something most people haven't heard of, and did a reasonable job with setup and creepy suspense.
Then it decomposed into nonsense, like too many horror films.
Too bad they didn't have a decent writer; the base concept is chilling..
Strange story, poorly executed film.
+---------------- WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD ----------------+Aswang is a strange movie, but that does not mean it's particularly a great movie.
The script itself has an interesting premise, but it's never really explained in detail and many things in the movie make little or no sense.
Sometimes that works in movies, but at the end of this movie I was seriously asking many questions, and not really in a good way.
They paradoxically reveal too much and too little of the story in this movie.The movie leans on a popular Philippino mythic vampire/creature called the "Aswang".
I looked up the definition after the film and learned that an Aswang looks like a normal human during the day, and like an Aswang creature at night assuming various animal forms.
The movie correctly dwelled upon the Aswang extracting the baby from a mother's womb by extending their tongue.
Okay, that explains the basics of an Aswang.
I don't think it would have mattered too much if I did know this information before watching the movie.There is some gore in the film, but I never found it to be necessary for the overall story.
It's not like an original "Evil Dead" gore effect that works mostly because it doesn't take itself entirely seriously.
It was as if the director was actually proud of that special effect.The acting in Aswang is a mixed bag.
But, a few of the performances are downright terrible, even as far as indie films are concerned.
I doubt those people had ever acted before (or since) in their life, it was as if they were drugged and reading lines off a screen with no emotion.Aswang was made in 1993 or 1994 from what I gather.
Supposedly it wasn't released due to the "shocking things that go on in the movie".
I personally didn't find this movie all that shocking.
Strange and bizarre as far as the story goes perhaps...but shocking even for the early 1990's???
I somehow doubt it wasn't released for so long simply due to that one factor.
I suppose some people will automatically think this is a "campy cult film" due to it's long delayed official release.
In some aspects it is, but there are many films out there superior to Aswang that actually deserve the cult status.
Just because Aswang was an independent B-Movie doesn't make it brilliant or even particularly memorable.So, Aswang is worth one viewing simply because the storyline is somewhat interesting and unique.
On closer examination, an original idea for a film is only as good as it's execution in the production.