"Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

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Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

Additional Posters Part 2:

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

How are The Wiz, and Razorback connected?

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I really liked this film the first time I watched it with the Umbrella Blu Ray. I thought it was one of the best 80s nature run amok films. Upon rewatch I have to significantly downgrade my rating. Honestly, this is more of a rape/revenge film than a monster movie. The mutated Razorback only makes an appearance in the excellent opening scene and then about 15 minutes at the very end. The Razorback is more of an afterthought. The film is really about a NY couple where the wife makes a trip to Australia to make a film about animal cruelty and runs into some slimy guys who attack her and leave her for dead. The Razoback killing of the wife was there in the middle of the movie, but felt rushed. The husband treks down to Australia after his wife dissapears and extracts his revenge. The cinematography was excellent, but the film really doesn't go anywhere for 2/3rds of it.

5/10

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

This is my third or fourth viewing of the movie. I love it. One of the better Jawsploitation films. Cinamatography is excellent.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

This is on the Internet Archive site if anyone is looking for a source.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

The beginning of the film where the grandfather is on trial for the murder of his grandkid that was killed by the hogzilla was clearly inspired by the Lindy "a dingo ate my baby" Chamberlain trial in which she was falsely convicted for infanticide. I didn't like this movie, but it is gorgeously shot by Russell Mulcahy.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

Overall, I thought this was all right. It's definitely appropriate for the jawsploitation theme. There were times I found it a bit too reminiscent of Jaws, but the Australian setting was great. The creature itself was good, but I actually liked how the creepiest thing in the movie was probably that pair of guys.

It wasn't until it was closing in on the end that I started getting this distinct deja vu feeling. The ending in the warehouse felt so familiar. I wonder if I caught the end on cable one time as a kid. Just not completely sure.

As an aside, I mentioned in the main thread that I splurged on the UHD. When I put it in the main player, I was surprised to discover that it's actually locked to region B. Luckily, I have a region-free player, but it's something for people to be aware of. I actually had some slight playback issues toward the end as well. Despite it being brand new, the disc might just need some cleaning.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

Razorback was not what I expected. The scenic Austrialian vibe was amazing and I appreciated it didn't take itself too seriously. It was unexpectedly low key. There's a nice sense of social malaise that makes it feel like a film about longing, grief, loss, the opposite of togetherness open enough that the mutant warthog could be a metaphor for all manner of relatable adversity. It didn't pull any punches murdering a kid from go. If anything the brothers seemed too unrealistically mean spirited they were less believable than the outgrown pig. The staging and cinematography was great. It'd be curious if they tried to make a Warthog 2 with updated social climate and technology of today.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

They sure do make Australia as a barren hellscape of a location. This is the first Umbrella blu I purchased and I subsequently also bought my first region-free players soon after. The disk ended up not being region locked. I really love this movie, and completely forgot the wife was killed and the husband ended up being the protagonist.

I’m curious if the music is unchanged for the US disks. There’s a Duran Duran song playing on the radio when the wife is killed, and one of the villains is singing, ‘Move on Down the Road’.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

In the commentary the director mentions that DD gave them the song to use for free.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

That makes sense. The director, Russell Mulcahy, also directed some of Duran Duran's best videos (like Rio, Hungry Like the Wolf, Save a Prayer, Is There Something You Should Know, etc)

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I saw this movie years ago and remembered nothing of it. At all. Seriously, how is that even possible? I had it confused in my head with BOAR (2018), which I really like.

Anyway, I dug the opening sequence. Very gnarly. There were some lovely sunlight/sunset/blue and orange landscape shots. I felt like the female reporter's death happened too soon. And then her husband comes to look for her, but I didn't find him that compelling of a character or particularly smart in how he goes about things. The two meat-packing-plant brothers were disgusting and slimy yet the husband goes off with them. He just doesn't seem to really have the conviction or energy you'd expect in a revenge story. He felt a bit wishy-washy about it. Maybe it was the actor. This film also sags in the middle. I agree with others that there isn't enough of the giant boar in the movie. And there are bits that feel like they're there just to fill time, like him wandering through the desert. Not sure what the point of that was other than to show us the windmill/pond area. And then there's a romance brewing when his wife was just killed? I mean... ok? Really?

Not a bad watch. I enjoyed it for what it was and it was good for Jawsploitation night. Not one I'd are to revisit. 2.5/5 stars.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I really wish I had remembered to upgrade my WA dvd of this before the challenge. While there are far better and more enjoyable Jawsploitation films out there (a genre I really like), this is still pretty fun to watch over and over.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I guess they kinda did with Boar (2017) which seems to be an unrelated sequel to Razorback. I watched Boar right after Razorback (it is streaming on AMC+/Shudder) and it has the exact tongue in cheek vibe that Razorback does, if not more. I definitely recommend a reviewing of it if you remotely enjoyed Razorback and as a bonus, it has a cameo by one of the main actors in Razorback.

But enough about Boar, let's talk about Razorback. I thought it was a lot of fun and had that grimy, gritty, dusty look of Texas Chainsaw Massacre mixed with Mad Max 2. I cinematography was great and I enjoyed the little inventive wipe, dissolves, and related cutaway editing. I thought the acting was decent and Gregory Harrison does a fair job of being the "fish out of water" protagonist.

I see some people calling this a revenge flick, but I never got that impression. He ended up getting revenge due to the circumstances he uncovered but I never got the impression that was what he was there for or was the movie's main drive.

There were some decent practical and optical effects which are always welcome but sadly the titled character is MIA a lot of the film and really only shows up in shadows and extremely quick edits. Obviously, this was due to the miniscule budget, and I assume the main creature effect probably looked like shit. Like the Jaws situation but even worse.

IMDB says the budget for this 1984 film was $5.5 million but I find that hard to believe. If that is the case, it didn't show it. And it flopped big time making only $150K worldwide gross.

Overall, this was a fun little movie that I can't believe I haven't seen until now.

My rating: *** out of *****

ps...Just curious but do all Australians come across nice as hell but at the same time creepy in real life? Movies and shows have taught me that this is the case. :lol:

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I didn't really like this one at all. It felt much longer than it's 90 minutes. The only scene were I felt anything was the rape scene, and that was just mean spirited. It's also really goofy that the husband shows up at the two brothers place and they're immediately inviting him to hang out and telling him where he can sleep, etc. The whole thing was just silly. Creature effects in the climax were pretty good when you could see it. Rest of the movie it just isn't there. I won't be watching this one again.

Yeah, one of the brothers was randomly singing :"Ease on Down the Road" from the Wiz for some reason, lol. Can't say that I've ever seen that before.

Re: "Razorback" Reviews/Discussion - 2023 Horror Challenge
 

I remember back in the day all these 'Come Visit Australia, Mate' ads, some with Paul Hogan promoting Australia as a tourist destination. These kind of movies were a real contrast to that messaging.