Customer Reviews

Aswang

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

this is a cool movie!when i picked it up in the store i really didn't know what i was geting my self into.you can read the back but you still dont know what your in for.i wont tell you any detail of the movie,dont want to ruin anything what i will tell you is as much as this movie may not seem original when the movie is all over you will understand that its truley very original.its sick its twisted its spooky scary and it works,it works good!!i really liked it and if your a true horror fan you will like it to.if your a bloody fan you wont be discruntled,ther's a decent amount of it.hurry up get this dvd its got cool interviews with director,cast and so on and it is geting harder and harder to find in stores.so curl up with your pillow chomp down some popcorn ladies find someone to sqeeze and eveyone ENJOY!!!!!!

This film would have been a lot funnier with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah in the starring roles. But it does stand well on its own. It scared me. It scared my wife. And it scared the house full of kids (believing they were watching TOY STORY),that our six year old showed it to when we forgot to take it out of the DVD player. Angry parents? Let me tell you.
For horror fans who have become jaded by the run-of-mill teen scream films of late. ASWANG is a breath of fresh air. All the gore we've come to expect AND an actual storyline, too. Why no sequel??!!!!

Like those of many movies, the cover box for Aswang carries several boastful claims, such as "It will haunt your nightmares forever" or something to that effect, which is a clear exaggeration, but still attention getting. Also on the box is that Sundance audiences found the film shocking and that video stores refused to carry it for years, and seeing as Sundance films are more commonly about pressing social issues than baby-eating vampires (possibly the most relevant issue of all), and mainstream video stores are nauseatingly Puritanistic, this claim seems less far-fetched.
But even if you weren't expecting it to be quite as good as the cover promised (which I wasn't), it's still disappointingly boring and tame. Possibly the worst thing about it is that, though it was the first horror movie entered in the Sandance festival, it brings nothing new to the horror genre. In fact, most of it is so unoriginal that you can pick out the movies being ripped off. The man of the house has a Norman Bates-like relationship with his mother (even though she's not dead), the whole story is reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby, and the Aswang POV shots are right out of Evil Dead. Not even the sexually suggestive tongue scenes are anything we haven't seen in other low-budget indie films (Re-animator and Kalifornia come to mind).
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Last House on the Left are obvious influences, but Aswang lacks the performance quality and realism that made those classics. Also, the key to good horror is mood, and Aswang does a poor job establishing it.
Those wanting to be scared won't be. Those wanting splatter will be less than satisfied, and anybody looking for nudity had best look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you're the MST3K type, you'll have immeasuable fun with Aswang.

(as-wong)n. Filipino vampire that feeds on the unborn

This is a splendidly creepy low-budget horror flick. Ten times more dark, vicious, and original than any current American horror.

It really is a gruesomely refreshing twist on the vampire genre. These bloodsuckers have a relentless craving to suck the infants from the mother's womb, just before birth.

The acting might be sub-par, the camera work is slightly dark, and the budget is small. But the creative spark flourishes and several moments are shocking. Plus it avoids most stereotypical developments that placate most every scene of those big budget flicks.

All in all, a slightly flawed but gripping tale of pure evil. Independent horror at its most wicked.

Aswang is a truly unique and deliciously revolting horror movie that is able to stand on its own merits pertaining to the Philippine folklore. Unfortunately the makers decide to fall back on familiar B-movie territory that causes the movie to fall flat.
Frank Anderson is credited with the Aswang story and scenes of his influence is evident, if you're familiar with the Aswang M.O. When the doctor is walking in the woods and hears the heavy sporadic breathing, that is an experience I've heard confirmed by people in the provinces of the Philippines. Attacking from the roof is classic aswang. When Aswang sticks to its source material, it's pretty good. There's even a sizable amount of Tagalog spoken, some with subtitles and some without. When it falls back on and references the Evil Dead, chainsaws, Rosemary's baby and others, it loses its luster and tension. While these references may be fun to recognize for the horror fan, it sort of dowses the unique vibe Aswang had going.

I was disappointed in the tongue, which is one of the most defining characateristics of the aswang. While almost all references I've read and heard describes the tongue as "thread-like" the movie opts for a tongue that's as thick as a garden hose. It's nonetheless amusing and I would've opted for more tongue "so to speak" than the chainsaws. The acting particularly by stars Norman Moses and Tina Ona Paukstelis is very credible considering the overall production values.

The whole baby or fetus eating aspect is the most horrifying, intriguing and revolting aspect, particularly since it sucks the fetus out the womb. While it would be great to see a remake or sequel with a bigger budget, better effects and more faithful source material, it is controversial subject matter, especially in today's environment where abortion issues remain one of the United State's prominent political, legal and ethical issues. I do not believe the movie had any references to abortions at all, but no doubt many would draw on that symbolism. Hollywood tends to treat the harming of children or babies off limits anyway so I'm not holding my breath on seeing this particular movie monster tackled again. There is a series of aswang movies made in the Philippines that you might be able to find on the net, and there is at least one other American indie low budget Filipino vampyre(sic) short film made in 2003. Google bampinay.

The real treat of the dvd which contains lots of extras is the documentary which contains interviews and news clips about and from the actors, filmmakers and Frank Anderson, who is absolutely hilarious.

On a whim, I picked up this DVD from directors Wye Martin (who?) and Barry Polterman (who?). I haven't gotten that lucky since scoring a prom date with the head cheerleader! (I didn't actually score a prom date with her, I use that as an example of "luckiness".) Anyways, the movie is a good, old fashioned romp of the horror kind! Like many of the classics, you have extreme moodiness balanced against brief scenes of gore. Plus, vampires that eat unborn babies! What more could you want?! If you're in the mood for fresh horror fun, check out "Aswang". And then watch the documentary and extras - those directors were nutty, man! You get the feeling making the movie was quick and cheap, and that the group involved made friends and enemies. Quite a soap opera behind the scenes of a horror shoot. Somebody should make that into a reality show. (Don't use that, Hollywood big-wigs! It's mine.) Oh, and stellar performance from Tina (the lead whose last name I can't remember). Perfect pitch for horror heroine. Recommend!

Well I give this movie 3 andf a half stars. First off it is a low budget movie for those who dont know. That for sure dont bother me especially in this case. On occasion it has the look and feel of a movie from the late 70's which is awesome. This movie is about Vampires , well phillipino vampires. It is very original, the acting on occasion is kind of cheesy, but what would you expect from a "b" movie. The originality was there, the acting was decent a majority of the time, the gore was there enough to satisy anyone as I love a good gory movie and i was pleased they ddint over due it as some movies do. the directors were creative and I feel did an excellent job.

I dont reccomend this movie to people who are fand of movies such as " Scream " , " Jeepers Creepers " or " I know what you did last summer " or those type of movies. This movie has the feel of an older 70's movie at times as I stated. Being a fan of horror movie from the 70's and 80's , I can appreciate a movie such as this. The idea and originality and I feel the creativeness was excellent any real horror fan I think would be satisfied and think it was a pretty solid movie. I had brought this movie from Best Buy for $14.99, took a shot on it didnt look at reveiews or anything just brought it, I just had a feeling and I was right. Im glad I didnt go buy all of these negative reviews i read on here. TO ME it was worth the money and i was satisfied ,as we all have different taste alot of you may think its a waste. But i would also assume that if people who watch this movie like the same type of movies as i do, whcih a majority of some of my favorite movies i gave reviews on here at amazon, then they should be satisified. Other words for all you kiddies who think you know what a good horror movie is but you really dont , I wouldnt advise you get thios I doubt you will be happy. Thats IMO.

I'm absolutely appalled by this so called "art film". Give it five stars.

Now I like campy, cheesey b horror movies, but this one just sucked! It did make me laugh a few times, but there were way to many 'you gotta be kidding moments'......'This is America! We have laws!' It was a very original story and it had potential, but it was all lost, in lack for a better word, silliness. Other than the few laughs it really offered up nothing more. If you want to see something different then go ahead and give it a try, but do not expect much.

Aswang means Vampire in the Tagalog language (from the Philippines). It is a particular kind of vampire, one that feeds on unborn babies. Thus these vampires have very very long tongues... to get to their meal. This could have led to some very sick/sexy situations but this film has none. They 'intend' to feed on a victim and the film is all about trying to get her (or rather her unborn).