Razorback (1984)

Razorback is a 1984 Australian horror film, based on Peter Brennan's novel, written by Everett De Roche, and directed by Russell Mulcahy who would later make the first two of the Highlander trilogy. The film revolves around the exploits of a gigantic wild boar terrorizing the Australian outback, killing and devouring people.

Plot
Jake Cullen lives with his grandson in the Australian outback when a massive razorback boar attacks him, destroying his house and killing his grandson. He is falsely accused. However his dignity is destroyed.

Two years later, a wildlife reporter, Beth Winters, journeys to the outback to document the hunting of Australian wildlife to be used as animal food, processed in a large factory, but she is attacked by two deranged locals, Benny and Dicko, who leave her to be killed by the beast. She tries to hide in her car, but the hog rips open the door and kills her by lacerating her groin. Her husband, Carl, goes in search of her, and aids Jake Cullen and his young associate, Sarah Cameron, in hunting for the razorback responsible for her death.

As they search for the creature, Benny and Dicko worry that they may be associated with the murder of Beth Winters, so they attack Cullen and leave him to be killed by the boar. Vowing revenge for his wife and his friend, Carl finds Benny and lowers him into a mineshaft, presumably killing him, and finds Dicko in the factory. Before he can kill him, the razorback surges and mauls Dicko to death before chasing after Carl and Sarah, where they face off inside the processing factory. Carl lures the boar (having speared it with a pole) into pursuing him down a conveyor belt, at the end of which is a large industrial fan. Not able to stop itself, the boar falls to its demise onto the blades of the fan, while Carl rescues Sarah.

Production
By the early 1980s Australian Russell Mulchay had established himself as one of the leading music video directors in the world. He wanted to make features but at that point had only been offered musicals - a sequel to Flashdance that was never made and Space Riders - which he did not want to do. He was offered Razorback in August 1982 and accepted the job. The movie was mostly shot in Broken Hill.

Release
Razorback grossed $801,000 at the box office in Australia.

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Warner Bros. in November 1984. It grossed $150,140 at the box office.

Reception
Razorback received positive reviews from critics and audiences. Rotten Tomatoes has no approval rating as of today, but the Want-To-See score is currently 80%. Many have compared the film to Jaws. Clint Morris of Moviehole called it "Jaws with a wiggly tail! Ferocious and Fun!" Chuck O'Leary of Fantastica Daily gave a positive review, saying "The atmosphere of the Australian Outback makes this a decent oversized-creature-on-the-loose thriller."

Home media
The film was released in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment on 21 September 2005. It was presented in 2.40:1 Widescreen, and included a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and the original 2.0 Soundtrack. Special Features include a 70 minute featurette "Jaws On Trotters", an audio featurette interview with actor Gregory Harrison, four deleted scenes from the VHS release with extra gore, a gallery, an original theatrical trailer, plus two extra trailers for Roadgames and The Chain Reaction.

The UK release contains a 5.1 DTS track, biographies, a still gallery and a 25 minute featurette that contains interviews with several production crew.

Razorback was released in the United States by Warner Home Video in 2009 as part of the Warner Archive Collection.

Trivia

 * A full-sized, fully animatronic model razorback was built at a cost of $250,000 and is seen for only one second.
 * This film is considered an "Ozploitation" (Australian exploitation) picture.
 * According to the Resident Evil: Extinction 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.