From the director of 1986's Highlander and the 1991 sequel The Quickening, Russell Mulcahy brings you a monster revival flick involving a giant killer boar, also known as a "razorback." What we have here is a cleverly executed film, a little typical considering the time period, but entertaining nonetheless.
A young woman by the name of Beth Winters is sent on assignment to film a wildlife documentary in the Australian Outback. The locals don't take too kindly to her nationality while she attempts to conduct her business and two disturbed individuals decide to attack her in a secluded area. Suddenly, they are brought face to face with a large beast out in the wilderness; an overly-sized razorback boar, thought to be a legend among the people. An experienced boar hunter, Jake Cullen, knows the nature of this beast due to his grandson being dragged off into the night by it two years earlier. Now, after the disappearance of his wife Beth, Carl travels to Australia in search of her...and what he finds there is more than he bargained for.
There's not much to knit-pick here. When I initially read the premise I half-expected the turnout to be lame but it wasn't so bad after all. Films of this nature really aren't my cup of tea but I rated it highly. The acting is solid for what it needs to be and the techniques utilized for the monster sequences were decent. Since this was 1984 one can expect to see animatronics and tricky camera angles to get the point across...I didn't feel that any of the scenes involving the boar were lame or obnoxious. Some of my favorite shots involved dark silhouettes against the bright orange backdrop of the Outback horizon. At one point during the film you can hear a Duran Duran song play over the car radio...clearly an amusing connection due to Malcahy's involvement in several of Duran Duran's music videos early in their career - the most famous being "Hungry Like the Wolf" in 1982.
I wouldn't go out and purchase this movie but that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it for anyone seeking a bit of fun. Razorback doesn't take itself too seriously and there's enough action and excitement to go brain-dead for 90 minutes. Give this one a shot.
From the director of 1986's Highlander and the 1991 sequel The Quickening, Russell Mulcahy brings you a monster revival flick involving a giant killer boar, also known as a "razorback." What we have here is a cleverly executed film, a little typical considering the time period, but entertaining nonetheless.
