Razorback (1984)

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers:

Peter Brennan (novel)
Everett De Roche (written by)

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

It's waiting outside and it can sense your fear. No nightmare will prepare you for it!

Plot:

A wild, vicious pig terrorizes the Australian outback. The first victim is a small child who is killed...

Plot Keywords:

Hunter | Pig | Death | Killer Animal | Silhouette

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Gregory Harrison	...	Carl Winters
Arkie Whiteley	...	Sarah Cameron
Bill Kerr	...	Jake Cullen
Chris Haywood	...	Benny Baker
David Argue	...	Dicko Baker
Judy Morris	...	Beth Winters
John Howard	...	Danny
John Ewart	...	Turner
Don Smith	...	Wallace
Mervyn Drake	...	Andy
Redmond Phillips	...	Magistrate
Alan Becher	...	Counsel (as Alan Beecher)
Peter Schwarz	...	Lawyer (as Peter Schwartz)
Beth Child	...	Louise Cullen
Rick Kennedy	...	Farmer

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-12 | Australia:R (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

McElroy & McElroy

Trivia:

According to the Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) audio commentary, Russell Mulcahy said that the producer of Razorback offered him the chance to direct it after seeing the Duran Duran music video "Hungry Like The Wolf," also directed by Mulcahy.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jake Cullen: [to Scotty] Come on, off to bed. There, there, Scotty. Now, now, now, boy, it's alright.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)

Soundtrack:

New Moon on Monday

A film that could have been better...and worse.

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.