Oct. 1, 2026

Beware Boiúna: Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe & Mike P. Nelson (& Creature Features)

Show Notes
Transcript

Beware Boiúna is bringing the giant-snake movie back to theaters, and Kyle McMahon is all in. Kyle sits down with stars Kiana Madeira and Jessica Rothe and director Mike P. Nelson to talk about the new R-rated creature feature, which sends a medical mission deep into the Amazon and straight into the territory of Boiúna, an ancient colossal predator.

Before the interviews, Kyle digs into why creature features live or die by something other than the creature: the characters. From Jaws and King Kong to Lake Placid and Kyle’s childhood love of Anaconda, the best monster movies give us human beings we actually give a shit about before something enormous decides to eat them. Kyle also explores the Amazonian folklore behind Boiúna, why the rainforest is basically a perfect horror-movie location, and how practical techniques helped give the movie’s massive creature a physical presence.

Kiana and Jessica talk about the relationship between Lena and Allie, what each character sees in the other and how that dynamic developed while making the film.Jessica shares the realization she had during filming that there might be another layer to Allie’s feelings for Lena, while Kiana talks about discovering a new side of herself as an action performer. They also get into shooting on location in the Amazon and how being physically immersed in that environment changed their performances.

Director Mike P. Nelson explains why he knew Beware Boiúna needed to be rated R and why he never wanted to make a giant-snake movie just for the sake of making a giant-snake movie.For Nelson, the characters, heart and story had to come first. He also talks about using the Amazon itself as a character, grounding the movie in the real-world issue of illegal gold mining and finding the right moment to unleash Boiúna.And then things take a turn when Mike reveals another horror movie he would love to make.It involves a giant truck. Hollywood, give this man the friggin truck.

Beware Boiúna is out now.

Let’s go.

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In this episode of Pop Culture Weekly, we're diving into

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creature features, killer snakes, Amazon horror, and talking with the

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cast and creative team.

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Behind Beware Buena. Let's go!

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Welcome to Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon, your pop

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culture news, views, reviews, and celebrity interviews on all the movies, TV, music,

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and pop culture you crave weekly. Here's Kyle McMahon.

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What's up, degenerates?

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Welcome to Pop Culture Weekly, the show where we take

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pop culture very seriously, even when the pop culture in

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question is a gigantic Amazonian snake trying to eat everyone. I,

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of course, am Kyle McMahon, and today we are talking

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about one of my favorite corners of horror, creature features.

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Give me King Kong. Give me Jaws. Give me Lake Placid.

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Give me a gigantic animal that has decided humanity's had

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a pretty good run, and it's, you know, officially time

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to wrap that shit up.

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I am there.

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And when I was a kid, one movie in particular

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had me completely obsessed with creature features, and that is Anaconda.

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Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, John.

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Voight making some truly incredible acting decisions in A documentary

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crew floating through the Amazon while a gigantic snake picks

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them off.

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I friggin' loved that movie. I still do, to be honest.

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But the creature features that really work, they understand something important.

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The creature itself can't carry the entire movie. You have

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to care about the people that it's chasing. Otherwise, I'm

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just watching some creature's expensive lunch. And that is what

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immediately grabbed me about the new film Beware Buena. It

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is a new R-rated creature feature from director Mike P.

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Nelson.

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It stars Kiana Madera, Jessica Roth, and Logan Marshall Green.

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And yes, there is an enormous snake in it. A very,

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very enormous snake. But the film actually gives a crap.

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about its characters.

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It really does.

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So before we get into my conversations with Kiana, Jessica,

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and Mike, I need to talk about the snake because

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I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about Buena.

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Turns out they did not just invent a giant murder

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snake and give her.

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A cool name.

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Buena, also known as Cobra Grande or the Great Snake,

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it actually comes from Amazonian folklore in Brazil. There are

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different versions of the legend, but Brazil's National Center for

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Folklore and Popular Culture describes the Cobra Grande as a

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mythical being of the Amazon that lives in the deepest

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parts of the river. Its eyes are said to shine

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like torches, frightening fishermen, and the grooves left behind it

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as it moves across the land become streams, which is

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already enough for me.

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If I'm on a river at night anyway, what the F?

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If I'm on a river at night and two gigantic

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glowing eyes suddenly appear in the water, I don't need

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additional lore and backstory.

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I've received the message. I am leaving.

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And learning that after seeing Beware Buena made the creature

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even cooler to me because the movie's taking something that

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already has a life in Amazonian folklore and And it's

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turning it into the foundation for this big R-rated creature feature.

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And Hollywood does have a bit of history with giant snakes. Obviously,

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there's Anaconda. And Anaconda understood something that, beware, Buena. understands too.

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If you're going to put a gigantic snake in a movie,

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putting it in the Amazon is a pretty damn good idea.

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You can't see very far in front of you, right?

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Everything is alive. Everything's making noise. The weather hates you.

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The terrain hates you. Your phone is basically an expensive

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camera with no service. And then something moves in the water. And, oh,

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what's cool, beware, Buena really was shot. in the Colombian Amazon.

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I had a suspicion watching it because this did not

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look like, you know, West Dublinson County Park, Indiana, that's

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standing in for the Amazon.

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There's really a tactile kind of quality to the whole thing.

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And that extends to Bowen herself. The movie combines visual

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effects with practical techniques.

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You know, I love my practical effects.

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And they used both of them during production to give

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actors something physical to respond to and help sell the

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idea that something absolutely enormous is moving through this environment.

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And you know me. Practical effects are catnip for me.

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But at the end of the day, none of that

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matters if I don't give a damn about the characters.

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Which brings me to Kiana Madera and Jessica Roth. Kiana

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plays Lena while Jessica plays Allie. a doctor who arrives

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here believing that she can help. And if you're a

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horror fan, these two already have some pretty serious genre credentials.

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Kiana starred in Netflix's Fear Street trilogy, which is amazing,

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and Jessica survived being murdered over and over and over

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again in Happy Death Day. I talked with them about

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Lena and Allie and discovering things about their characters during

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filming becoming action stars and what it was like actually

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making this thing in the Amazon.

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Ready? Here they are.

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Kiana Madera and Jessica Ruff. I love the film. Congratulations

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on it. It's really, I love a great creature feature

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and this is really well done.

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Thank you.

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Of course. So this is for both of you.

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Kiana, Lena, you know, kind of wants nothing to do

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with this place anymore, right? And Jessica, Allie arrives kind

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of believing that there's a chance for her to save it.

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What do you think that each woman sees in the

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other that she actually needs?

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That's a great question.

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That is an amazing question.

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We've been talking a bit about this discovery of needing

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each other, like you said, that wasn't necessarily obvious on

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the page, that really came to life after Jess and

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I met each other and we dove into our characters

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and actually started filming. I think, like you said, Lena

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comes in, guards up, heart closed. I'm here on a mission.

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I just want to find my brother and get out

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of here. I'm not trying to make friends. And Allie

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is so earnest in the way Jess plays her so

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earnest and genuine and curious and like heart wide open,

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like quite the opposite of Lena that I think that's

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what she, what Lena needs is like, um, a little softening.

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And I think like, As an actor working alongside Jess,

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it was impossible to keep my guards up as Lena

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throughout the process. Just in the dynamic that we discovered,

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I feel like Lena definitely softened up and her heart

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was opened. Because of that, I genuinely think that throughout

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the film, Lena was able to continue on and fight

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for herself in a way that was with her heart open.

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And not so guarded.

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There's a version of this story where Lena's like, you

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know what, I'm leaving and I'll figure out finding my

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brother in a different scenario. But I think Ali really

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equips Lena with the bravery and the fearlessness and the

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openheartedness that she needs.

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Oh, that's so nice. I mean, I think for me,

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Ali is, like Kiana said so beautifully, wears her heart

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on her sleeve. And it's just trying to make a

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difference and trying to show up. And then she meets

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this mysterious, strong, brave, courageous, badass woman who's like fixing

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engines and doing all of these like tactile kind of

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more traditionally masculine things. And I think that for Ali,

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it's such an incredible moment in her life where she's

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really challenging all of the things that she believed about

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herself and about who she could be growing up. And

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I think that Nina is such a beautiful example of

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There's so many ways in this world to be brave

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and to be courageous and to help people. And I

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think that Ali's perception and idea of who she is

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and who she can be just expands throughout the entire film.

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And so much of that was to do with Kiana's

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beautiful performance and the relationship that we came together with.

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And I think that Leanna helps Ali realize she's braver

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than she thinks she is and that she can do

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more than she thinks she does. And she's incredibly capable.

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And then the other thing I've loved talking about, which

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was a surprise for me, Jessica, as the actor, as

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we were shooting this, I was like, oh. And also,

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maybe Ali has, like, a crush on Lena. And I

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don't think Ali knows that she's queer yet. But, like,

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maybe this is her, like, sexual coming-of-age story. Like, there's

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just something happening here that is deeper even than thisâ deep,

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deep respect and kind of like fascination. And that was

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a really fun layer to discover. Um, and again, I

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think it was such a testament to Kiana and the

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brilliant performance she was giving that I just, the whole

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time I was like, well, are you, is she going

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to look at me?

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Like, like, how do I look?

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Oh my God.

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I feel nervous around this person. It was cool.

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Like seeing that come to life.

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I remember like when they.

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Said cut, we would be like, Oh, so cool.

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We actually coined a song called Allie and Lena Best

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Friends Forever that was just like playing on repeat in

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Allie's head. She would have gone full Thelma and Louise

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with this relationship.

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Like get in a car.

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Let's drive away.

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I love that.

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And both of you, you've survived enough horror movies at

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this point that I feel like you've earned a doctorate

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in like terrible situations. But what does a big, you know,

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kind of thoughtful, I would say, creature feature like this?

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Because it's really, you know, it's not just like.

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It really has a story that has meaning and depth.

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And what does a film like this let you do

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as an actor that, say, Happy Death Day or Fear

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Street didn't?

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Like, what, you know, what has that allowed you to

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do as an actor?

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I think for me, like, there were some moments where

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I was like, I'm an.

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Action star now. Like, this is like.

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My, like, I... There were some stunts involved in Fear Street,

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but this kind of took it to another level. And

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I think, like, this movie's so brilliant because, like, there

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are times where it does feel like an action thriller

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and a horror.

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And a drama.

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Like, checks in big boxes in that way. So that

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was new for me, like. It's not just a horror film,

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which was really, really cool. I learned that I love

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action and would love to continue doing films like that

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as well. So this film definitely taught me that about myself.

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I think for me, it's funny because... I try to

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bring full commitment to everything I do, whether I want

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to or not. I think I do. And that, I

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feel like, is some of the special sauce for horror films,

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whether it's something like Happy Death Day or Fear Street

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or Beware Boy Una, is just full commitment to, in

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some ways, the bit. Like the bit of the horror,

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the bit of the stakes, the bit.

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Of the jokes.

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Yeah.

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And I guess this one for me was different than

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Happy Death Day. I mean, Happy Death Day, we shot

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on location in the university, but there was a lot

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of set work. And this we shot entirely on location

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in the Amazon rainforest. And that was such an amazing

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gift that Mike P. Nelson and our incredible producers gave

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us because everything was real. Everything was tactile. The sweat

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you see, the dirt, the mud, the water, luckily not

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the blood.

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But like it's all real.

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So real.

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And it helped us create such nuanced performances. Um, and man, yeah,

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just getting to, getting to get out there in nature

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and experience. This was such a huge gift and one

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that I would love to continue doing throughout my career

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is just as many times as possible, get into the

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real place as long as it's safe.

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Yes.

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Yeah.

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I love that. I love the film. You guys are amazing.

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Thank you so much. And I can't wait for everybody

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to see this.

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Great. Thank you so much, Kyle.

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Have a good day.

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You too.

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Okay.

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I love Jessica realizing that they were filming when they

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were filming that Allie might have a crush on Lena.

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Like what?

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I did not read it that way when I watched

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the movie, but like moment that she said it.

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I went, oh, now I see it. And then Kiana

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having that moment of realizing, wait, am I an action

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star now? Yes. Yes, Kiana, you are.

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And that is what I mean when I say, you know,

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this film gives you more than a snake.

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It's a horror. It's action. It's survival thriller energy. And actually,

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character work is happening underneath all of it. And then

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you have director Mike P.

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Nelson, who has made The Domestics, Wrong Turn, and Silent Night,

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Deadly Night. We're going to talk to him in a moment.

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We're going to take a quick break to pay the bills.

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But when we come back, director Mike P. Nelson tells

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me why, despite making a movie about gigantic killer snakes,

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he never actually wanted to make a giant snake movie. So, yeah,

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we're going to unpack that. I'll see you right here

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in 60 seconds.

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Music.

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All right, welcome back, and thank you for supporting our

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sponsors who allow me to keep bringing you Pop Culture

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Weekly each and every week.

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Now, about that giant snake, right? Here he is. It

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is Mike P. Nelson. So, first of all, congratulations on

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the film.

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Thank you so much.

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I absolutely love it. I love a good creature feature,

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and I love that it's R-rated as well.

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Yeah, dude, it had to be like that was a

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discussion from very early on.

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I was like, I think this this has got to

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be rated R. Like, you know, even though we're not

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like we're not going like full on, like like crazy

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is like we need to make the people feel.

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Like there's some real danger here.

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So and what you know, you what drew you to that?

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Was it that part of it?

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I mean, to a certain extent, yes.

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I remember going into this being like, if I'm going

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to do a giant snake movie, first of all, it's

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got to have some great characters. It's got to have

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a lot of heart. But second of all, I don't

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want it to be tongue-in-cheek. I don't want it to

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be a joke of itself. I kind of want to

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try to do something straight, if that makes sense. And

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something that really is scary and dangerous... And it.

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Hurts at times.

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And, you know, I feel like that was what we

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all set out to do. I think all the actors

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knew that. All the producers knew that. And so we

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went in and we just tried not to hold back.

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And that's where you get it. That's where you get

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Beware Boyuna. It's unrelated.

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So you had said something about this movie that kind

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of had jumped out at me where you weren't interested

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in making a giant snake movie, but you were interested

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in making like a great story that happened to have

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this giant snake in it. Like, so once you kind

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of made that decision, what was the first idea where

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you kind of went like, all right, this is what

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my version is.

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You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

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You know, I think it was finding our backdrop, which, again, was,

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I mean, the Amazon is a huge character in this.

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And it was figuring out that we had to drop

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the audience in a place that was already, there was

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already things happening.

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And that, you.

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Know, is the gold mining epidemic that's going on down there,

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which is a very real thing. And it's running rampant

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even right now. Um, and so starting in a real

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world scenario that has really nothing to do with a

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giant snake and, and seeing people, you know, that are,

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that are butting heads, showing the conflict right off the bat.

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Um, and then putting our care, throwing our characters right

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in the middle of that. Um, so immediately you're like, okay,

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something's awesome. Things dangerous.

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You know, what is going to happen to our characters? Um, obviously,

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you know, that you're going into a giant snake movie. So,

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you know, that that's also going to come up at

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some point.

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So you're just kind of waiting.

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Oh my God, when is this going to reveal itself?

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And that was a huge part of it was when

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is our snake going to come and make things even

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harder for this group of characters? It was really allowing

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there to be time to spend with these people. So

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when shit hits the fan, it's bad. Um, and you

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are really scared for these people in this situation. Um,

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and so, yeah, that was, that was kind of, those

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are the bones of it. Like it had to be,

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those are the things that had to be there. You

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had to kind of fall in love with these people

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and they had to be people who are broken, who

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are trying to find themselves in the midst of this,

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because really at the core of all of this, it's like,

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where do I belong? And the, and, and Boyun is saying,

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you don't belong here. Or I decide if you belong here.

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We'll leave it at that.

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Right.

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00:18:50.710 --> 00:18:55.390
So, you know, with your career, which I have loved following,

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you know, I've kind of.

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You've done some slashers.

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You've done survival horror, now like a big giant creature

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feature movie. Is there a corner of horror that you

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look at and you're like, I haven't dipped my toes

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00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:12.779
into that yet.

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00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:18.349
Like, what's kind of... what is that on your, you know, wishlist?

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Oh my God.

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00:19:20.789 --> 00:19:25.529
Um, that's a great question. Oh, okay. Well, I would

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love to do vehicular horror.

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Okay. Like a Christine style.

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Oh my God. Like, give me, give me a, give

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00:19:34.470 --> 00:19:39.250
me a fricking giant truck race with the devil.

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Give me, give me something in which it's just, how do,

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how would I make, a horror car chase movie. Like

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that to me is like dream, dream scenario.

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I love the film and I can't wait for everybody

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to see it and so you know we can start

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I can start talking about it to people oh.

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My gosh I can't wait for the world to see this.

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00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:07.980
One yeah it's so awesome thank you so much I

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00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:10.079
really appreciate it Mike All right.

365
00:20:10.099 --> 00:20:10.559
Thanks, Kyle.

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Have a good one. Mike P. Nelson.

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That right there is the creature feature sweet spot for me.

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Mike didn't want to make a giant snake movie. He

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00:20:24.789 --> 00:20:27.210
wanted to make a great story that happened to have

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a giant snake in it. Of course, you know, I

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00:20:29.869 --> 00:20:32.529
want the monster. I want the reveal, the attacks. I

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00:20:32.549 --> 00:20:35.940
want great effects. I want to sit there thinking, oh,

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absolutely the fuck not. Every time something enormous moves in

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the background. But you have to give that creature something

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worth threatening. And beware, Buena does. I care about Lena.

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I care about Ali. I care about what happens to

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these people, you know. So when Buena enters their orbit,

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there are actual stakes to all of it. The creature

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00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:04.779
is fantastic. I love the practical work. The mythology gives

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00:21:04.819 --> 00:21:08.039
it a different flavor from, you know, any other generic

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oversized animal movie. And the Amazon is both gorgeous.

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And threatening at the same time.

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So it's suspenseful, thrilling and intense without me needing to

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spoil a damn thing for you, because I will not ever.

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You know that you are safe here. Beware, Buena is

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out now.

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And if you love creature features, this is absolutely one

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to have on your radar. But we cannot leave without

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addressing the other extremely important revelation from my convo with Mike.

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This man wants to make a vehicular horror movie involving

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a giant truck. So, Hollywood, I'm asking you nicely. Give

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this man his fucking truck. I've seen what he can

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do with a giant snake. Give him the keys. All right,

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huge thanks to Kiana Madera, Jessica Roth, and Mike P.

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Nelson for hanging out with me. Make sure you're following

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Beware Boiúna: Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe & Mike P. Nelson (& Creature Features)

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