Razorback (1984)

A vicious wild boar terrorizes the Australian outback. The first victim is a small child who is killed. The child's granddad is brought to trial for killing the child but acquitted. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writers:

Peter Brennan (novel), Everett De Roche

Stars:

Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A vicious wild boar terrorizes the Australian outback. The first victim is a small child who is killed. The child's granddad is brought to trial for killing the child but acquitted. The next victim is an American TV-journalist. Her husband Carl gets there and starts to search for the truth. The local inhabitants won't really help him, but he is joined by a hunter and a female farmer to find the beast.

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Plot Keywords:

hunter | tracking device | cigarette smoking | fainting | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

A new breed of terror

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dödens käftar

Filming Locations:

Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 5,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$150,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

McElroy & McElroy, UAA Films, Western Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A full-sized, fully animatronic model razorback was built at a cost of $250,000 and is seen for only one second.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Reckless (Don't Be So)"
Written by James Reyne

User Reviews

One of the most amazing-looking films I have ever seen.

One striking shot follows the next in this monster B-movie, and the overall tone of the visuals is beautiful, I think. And there is some thick, intense atmosphere. In those departments it's so stunning that the many flaws can't ruin the film. The acting is OK all in all but there are some moments that make you want to put your head through the next wall. The action scenes and especially the ones with the razorback, a huge boar, are more or less comprehensible in that you get the basic idea of what's going on but all the crucial scenes happen between cuts, so the editing is jumpy, kind of like a TV edit. The worst example is the movie's finale and the destruction of the monster, which after an exhaustingly loud, dark, monotonous battle between man and monster plot-wise also ends on a ridiculous and schmaltzy note and so the film leaves you with a bad aftertaste. But those visuals, man, those visuals... It's kinda like a more extreme 'Alien³'. Worse plot, more stunning visuals. What else could I do but consider this a new B-movie favorite?