Aswang (1994) ***

Aswang (1994) is a pretty cool little low budget horror film (which I was surprised to learn played the Sundance Film Festival). Based on the mythical creature from Philippine folklore, it manages to create some solid, squirm-inducing moments from its little resources and features decent performances from mostly theater actors who were novices to film (plus Victor Delorenzo—founding drummer of Violent Femmes (!)—who plays a pretty good bumbling sheriff). 

Aswang is the sole co-directing credit of Wrye Martin and Barry Poltermann, the latter of whom later worked as an editor on the documentaries American Movie (1999), Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2015), and Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017) (review). The influence of early works by Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, and David Cronenberg is obvious but never in a way that feels derivative. 

There is a lack of cohesion, particularly in the setup at the start of the film, some wonky editing in spots, and despite lots of weird goings-on, I still wanted the film to go a little further in its transgressions. Fortunately (and smartly) the film is under 90 minutes long. Aswang is definitely one of those movies where the admiration for what the filmmakers accomplished with so few dollars is greater than the outcome itself, but I have a soft spot for unique indies where heart and soul was clearly put into the production.