ASWANG

Aka THE UNEARTHING.

Billed on it's back cover as "The best indie horror since THE EVIL DEAD", I understandably went into Wrye Martin and Barry Poltermann's ASWANG with high hopes.

It tells the tale of a young woman, Katrina (Tina Ona Paukstelis), who at the beginning of the film we learn is carrying an unwanted child. As if to answer her prayers, wealthy Peter Null (Norman Moses in overdrive) suggests a bizarre contract that will benefit the pair of them.

Null is heir to a huge estate, but in order to get his hands on the riches he must produce an heir of his own. He takes Katrina to his solicitor's office and has her sign an agreement binding her to pose as his wife during the course of her pregnancy. To ensure payment at her end, Katrina is to hand over her baby to the estate when it is born.

Once Katrina has been successfully relocated to the Null family estate, Peter introduces her to her 'mother-in-law' Olive (Flora Coker) and sinister maid "Cupid" (Mildred Nierras) - some great overacting to be enjoyed from these two!

Things seem to be going well, if somewhat strained, as Peter and Katrina work on getting to know one another sufficiently in order to pull their scam off. That is, until they bump into neighbour Doctor Harper (John Kishline) one afternoon, who informs them that he is investigating strange empty cocoons in the nearby woodlands.

Suitably intrigued by Harper's findings, Katrina invites him over to the Null abode for dinner that evening. Though initially unhappy about this, Peter reluctantly agrees. Hmm, what could he have to hide, one may wonder?!

That night during dinner, we learn about the legend of the Aswang - a Filipino vampire with a huge projectile tongue, that feasts upon unborn children ... Things get decidedly darker from there onwards, as Harper meets the Aswang, Katrina fears for her life and Peter gets manic with a chain saw!!

Slightly cut upon it's initial (limited) release in the US, ASWANG is presented here in it's unrated, fully uncensored director's cut. To be honest though, there's not much to be offended by - despite the gore quotient being enough to satisfy most SGM regulars, I doubt this would suffer cuts in this day and age.

FX-wise, ASWANG delivers the goods pretty well for such a low-budget production. Prudent use of dim lighting in some scenes is obviously intentional, but combined with some decent effects and inventive editing from the directorial duo, proves to be highly effective.

The idea, too, is an inventive one (allegedly based upon a genuine legend). Not least of all, the film is inspired on a visual level - employing interesting edit-cuts and camera-work to combat it's budgetary limitations. From the opening credits sequence (a shadowy puppet-show upon a cream canvas), the film strives for atmosphere ... and often succeeds.

In fact, the main give-away to the film's cheapness is the amateur acting that I simply cannot avoid addressing. Everyone concerned seems to either understate their lines in an almost surreal manner, or overact to the point of hilarity.

Moses is the most obvious offender (especially in the final 30 minutes). However, I found his stagy, unhinged performance curiously endearing. I enjoyed watching the nutter!

Visually, the film here looks a bit ropey. The 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer seems to be correctly framed (I'll confess to never having seen the film before!). Grain is prevalent in many scenes, and colours are washed out on occasion - especially in a couple of night scenes. Far from being a transfer problem, I imagine this is due to the limited resources Mondo Macabro had to work with - this is, after all, one of the most obscure US titles of the last decade.

Audio-wise, you have a choice of the original 2.0 stereo soundtrack, or a brand new 5.1 remix. I preferred the former to be honest - the latter had me fiddling with my remote control volume buttons constantly (music: LOUD; dialogue: QUIET)! Generally clean though.

When it comes to extras, this is the most comprehensive collection of bonus features that Mondo Macabro have thus far mustered. A Special Edition, indeed ...

First off, you have not one but TWO audio commentary tracks. The first finds the directors in fine spirits, speaking candidly to MM head honcho Pete Tombs about the tribulations of shooting a horror flick on such a tight budget and schedule. Technically informative without being boring, it's a good listen.

The second commentary track is more jovial, as cast members speak over each other with anecdotes from the shoot. Moses dominates, with his natural flamboyance. Should I love him or hate him - I can't decide?!

There are three trailers for the main feature, including the original fund-raising trailer ... all of which are suitably atmospheric and fairly representative of the film (but note the alternative title, THE UNEARTHING ... awful).

Two cast audition tapes serve their purpose as fun in a limited kind of way (will you really watch these titbits more than once?). I guess the same can be said of the posters/stills gallery. But they've been included, and I would never berate a distributor for stockpiling their releases with whatever they can get their hands on (how foolhardy would that make me?!).

Finally - and best of all - there's a 27 minute video documentary on the making of the film, entitled DIFFERENT THAN HOLLYWOOD. The directors seem genuinely flippant about whatever impact their film may have had (in a promising, down-to-Earth type of way). Moses and Paukstelis giggle in retrospect as some of their more uncomfortable scenes. It's an interesting, entertaining watch - though interspersed with spoiler clips from the film, so do beware ...

The disc is Region 0 NTSC encoded and comes in a black keepcase. No booklet or inlay card inside.

As an interesting (?) footnote, co-director Poltermann went on to edit Chris Smith's highly rated mockumentary AMERICAN MOVIE (1999).

Region 2 PAL encoded. Comes in a black keepcase.

For ordering details visit the Mondo Macabro USA site by clicking here.

Review by Stu Willis