Aswang

Aswang, also called The Unearthing, is a 1994 American horror film directed and written by Wrye Martin and Barry Poltermann. It is based on the mythical creature that feeds on the unborn in Philippine folklore, with the screenplay written following a story telling session by Frank L. Anderson, who was a friend of the filmmakers. The movie was written by amateur directors Wyre Martin and Barry Poltermann and shot with a low budget, while actors were paid just $50 a day with the expectation they would receive a cut of any future profit. Many of the actors were cast from Milwaukee theater group Theater X, most of whom had never acted in a film before. To achieve some of its effects, the film utilized reverse motion as well as hiring an effects technician and a mechanical tongue, despite the limited budget. Some people had mixed opinions on the film, with some believing it was too slow to start while others felt the opposite, that it started well but were disappointed with the ending; critic Emanuel Levy considered it was "more gruesome and gross than really frightening". It was one of only 65 films selected to be shown at the Sundance Film Festival, to a mixed audience reception. Some people walked out part way through due to the use of blood and gore. Plot Wealthy Peter Null, heir to his family's prosperous estate, is desperately in need of a child. An opportunity presents itself when he meets Katrina, a young and unmarried woman who is trapped with an unwanted pregnancy. Despite protestations from her boyfriend, Katrina meets Peter Null, who offers to pay her to bear the child; she agrees to sign over the rights for a large payment, in effect acting as a surrogate. In exchange for her payment, she must pose as his wife in order to convince Null's mother Olive, the family matriarch, that they are truly in love and that she is having his child, ostensibly to allow him to inherit his family's estate. Heavily pregnant, Katrina is brought to the secluded estate deep within a menacing forest and is introduced to its residents; crippled Olive Null, mentally-ill reclusive sister Claire and their devoted Filipino maid Cupid, who Peter explains was once a midwife. Unbeknownst to Katrina, the residents are secret "Aswangs", vampires with mega-tongues that feed on living fetuses and they are planning to eat her unborn child. The Aswang kills and feeds via its endlessly long, flexible and strong tongue, nourishing on blood. It also has the ability to possess others.