Razorback - Kampfkoloß der Hölle

The best thing about this Australian production is Russell Mulcahey's direction which gives this admittedly doofy material a veneer of class. (Although he does have a tendency to overuse the fog machine.)

What this film has going against it however is Gregory Harrision's ineffectual performance as the "hero". I remember him spending most of the film getting beaten up and/or falling down.

If this had focused on the "Moby Dick" aspect of the storyline, that has a grizzled old man searching the outback for the killer boar that killed his baby, it would have been a bit stronger in the storyline department. As it is now, it's OK.

Plot

As a vicious wild boar terrorizes the Australian outback, the husband of one of the victims is joined by a hunter and a farmer in a search for the beast.

Cast

Not familiar with anyone involved except the ill fated Arkie Whiteley.

Verdict

This was recommended to me by a guy who likes throwing me the absolute most dire and cheesy monster flicks, it's because of him I'm pretty sure I've seen the entire Scyfy original catalogue.

Razorback most certainly comes under that category, namely a dire cheesy monster flick! Set in the outback we see our hapless hero teaming with a grizzled hunter who has history with porky and fending off two local miscreants who are more of a threat throughout than the beasty itself.

Our piggy is barely on screen and when it is it's generally ultra close up shots of its tusks/nose at no point do you really get a proper look at it and I'm sure the reasons for this are pretty obvious.

The plot is bland, it never reels you in. You never feel the threat of this creature, you're more annoyed by the other pair of antagonists who are just dreadful! And our lead? He couldn't have been anymore bland if they tried, awful awful character.

Razorback is not an 80's classic, it's a movie kept afloat in peoples mind by the power of nostalgia.

Rants

Oh Arkie, what could have been? There was a young talented actress with a successful career on the up! What a dreadful shame, so incredibly young, she hadn't even hit 40 before falling. I'd have loved to see how her career would have inevitably blossomed.

The Good

Arkie Whiteley

The Bad

Weak creature effects Awful finale Bland leading man Antagonist humans were simply too annoying Fails to engage the viewer.

Judging by the external reviews, quite a few people appear to hate this film. I can see why, but I think they're coming at it from the wrong angle.

I see it as - intentionally - trying to send up the whole genre of vengeful animals horror flicks. In truth, neither sharks nor grizzlies, and certainly not razorback hogs, are smart enough to conceptualize, let alone carry out, acts of vengeance on humankind. The film simply takes the "rules" of this particular genre and applies them to a ludicrously unfit vehicle: a giant pig. And there are some pretty funny scenes, notably one where the monster eats a nasty watchdog that's chained to the side of a house; naturally, the corner of the house to which the chain is attached comes off and Joe Couch Potato is left sitting in a wall-less abode, staring quizzically as his television disappears into the outback.

Treat it as comedy, and the film makes a lot more sense.

Call me stupid, but this is actually one of my favorite horror flicks. The story's about a giant wild boar munching on Aussies in the outback. Our hero goes in search of his wife...she's missing out there. Many interesting ideas come forth in this movie. I especially like the kangaroo killing brothers Benny and Dicko (hehe). The way the movie portrays them is interesting, contrasting the life of the outback trash to the much more civilized life of Bill, the hero. I also enjoyed the use of weird settings(the desert with that "horse") to create atmosphere. Overall, I enjoyed this flick a lot, and I think most horror fans would if they look beneath the seemingly ridiculous plot.

It's not that scary with an abrupt ending and features some really annoying characters but Razorback is still overall a good thriller. Gregory Harrison and Bill Kerr are both great. There's a few effectively suspenseful scenes and it's surprisingly extremely well filmed with some really gorgeous shots. There are some laughably bad moments and the music by Iva Davies is really good.