IMDb RATING
5.2/10
7.1K
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An ancient creature called Rawhead is awakened from its slumber near an Irish village and goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight.An ancient creature called Rawhead is awakened from its slumber near an Irish village and goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight.An ancient creature called Rawhead is awakened from its slumber near an Irish village and goes on a rampage killing anyone in sight.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Cora Venus Lunny
- Minty Hallenbeck
- (as Cora Lunny)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
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"Rawhead Rex" was one of several "unknown" films I prided myself on "discovering" during the late 1980s, when friends would visit for a day or four. I seemed to have a knack (seemingly lost, now!) to pick out videos I had never heard of, which turned out to be surprisingly quite good. Rawhead Rex was one of these.
I found it a quite riveting, scary movie. As with almost all horror movies, I thought a few things could have been done better. Still, Rex was infinitely more satisfying to me than a number of present-day "horror" flicks which center on someone hacking people up with a knife for no apparent reason or which drift confusingly between reality and halucination.
I thought the monster looked pretty convincing -- then again, I was weaned in the pre-Speilberg era. I have to agree with the reviewer who said the scene where Rex kills the farmer in the shed and the wife sees him from the kitchen window, then tries to hide, is quite scary. So was the boy glancing up from his comic books in the van, to see Rex standing outside.
I loved the touches with the stained glass puzzle & the chief detective's stunned "I'll be d****, the Yank was right" when he looks at the horrific crayon drawing made by the young survivor of the trailer park attack, too stunned to speak. (The severed arm was a very nice touch, too.)
Anyone who thinks Rawhead Rex was "hilarious," is no horror fan. It may not have been one of the genre's best efforts ever, but it was one of a number of very meaty horror flicks of the 1980s which are still have plenty bite today (pun intended)!
I found it a quite riveting, scary movie. As with almost all horror movies, I thought a few things could have been done better. Still, Rex was infinitely more satisfying to me than a number of present-day "horror" flicks which center on someone hacking people up with a knife for no apparent reason or which drift confusingly between reality and halucination.
I thought the monster looked pretty convincing -- then again, I was weaned in the pre-Speilberg era. I have to agree with the reviewer who said the scene where Rex kills the farmer in the shed and the wife sees him from the kitchen window, then tries to hide, is quite scary. So was the boy glancing up from his comic books in the van, to see Rex standing outside.
I loved the touches with the stained glass puzzle & the chief detective's stunned "I'll be d****, the Yank was right" when he looks at the horrific crayon drawing made by the young survivor of the trailer park attack, too stunned to speak. (The severed arm was a very nice touch, too.)
Anyone who thinks Rawhead Rex was "hilarious," is no horror fan. It may not have been one of the genre's best efforts ever, but it was one of a number of very meaty horror flicks of the 1980s which are still have plenty bite today (pun intended)!
This is one hell of an odd movie yet it always makes me think of dear old mom. A few years ago my mother had a chemical peel on her face and for a few days she looked just like the monster in Rawhead Rex, in fact I still call her Rawhead Rex every now and again (just for fun). This picture is good for a laugh but that's about it. Pity this picture stars the wonderful David Dukes but i won't hold that against him.
Im the kind of person who alot of the time will buy movies before I have even seen them. That was the case with this movie. I loved this movie! People say it was cheezy, maybe a little but if you love cult horror, get this movie. Its defently a fun little satanic film and I would recomend it to anyone that are fans of the horror / cult genre.
This is an hilarious horror flick, if you like bad movies and especially if you remember Glenroe et al from the 80's..its a veritable spot the face. I loved the fact that the 'bad' priest was church of Ireland, another classic Irish touch.
I found this really amusing, as I love this sort of bad movie. You'll never look at a fairy fort or ring fort the same way after seeing this!
I found this really amusing, as I love this sort of bad movie. You'll never look at a fairy fort or ring fort the same way after seeing this!
The short story Rawhead Rex is a gory and stomach churning piece of literature appearing in Clive Barker's Books of Blood Volume 3. Reading it one sees the possibilities of a good old fashioned monster on the loose movie. Unfortunately, most of the graphic violence of the story is removed from the film that followed. Although many of the character details remain the same, except that the protagonist and his family are Londoners instead of Americans in the short story. The setting, score, a few actors and the occasional scare make the films worth seeing for true Clive Barker completists. Be warned, what does make the proceedings less alluring is the fact that Rawhead himself is a great disappointment; the direction somewhat poor and from a script by Barker himself I expected more. Not even in league with his superior Hellraiser, effective Candyman or intriguing Nightbreed. Though I must admit I must've seen this film about eight times since it was initially released.
Trivia note: The mother of the American Family is the actress who plays the nurse Joe Spinell skewers in Maniac.
Trivia note: The mother of the American Family is the actress who plays the nurse Joe Spinell skewers in Maniac.
Did you know
- TriviaClive Barker hated the film. While he wrote the screenplay and it is mostly faithful to the original story, he was very unhappy with some of the acting and especially with Rawhead Rex's ogre-like design, as he intended the monster to look like a giant phallus. This dissatisfaction inspired him to take a more central role when making Hellraiser.
- GoofsIn several scenes the monster's mask is obvious. The spot where the mask ends gets loose from time to time is especially obvious where the neck meets the shoulder. The most obvious is during the attack on the trailer park right after a propane tank explodes and Rawhead runs toward and attacks the man who fired the gun.
- Quotes
Reverend Coot: [Declan is pushing Coot up to be killed by Rawhead Rex] No, no, no! Declan, wait! Think, think! He doesn't care about you! When it's finished with you, what will it do with you?
Declan O'Brien: Kill me... I HOPE!
Reverend Coot: Declan, for the love of God!
Declan O'Brien: Get upstairs, fuckface! I can't keep God waiting!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Trailer Trauma 3: 80s Horrorthon (2017)
- SoundtracksThat Eastertide With Joy Was Bright
Lyrics by John M. Neale
Music by Michael Praetorius and George Ratcliffe Woodward
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- RawHeadRex
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £1,500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 29m(89 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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