‘Jaws with boars’, Razorback was the debut feature of Australian director Russell Mulcahy (opens in a new tab), probably best known for the 1986 fantasy classic Highlander (opens in a new tab). Prior to shooting the film Mulcahy had been working as a successful music video director for several years and is credited with the first video ever to air on MTV (Video Killed the Radio Star (opens in a new tab) by The Buggles (opens in a new tab)).

Set and filmed in the Australian outback, the story sees American Carl Winters (Gregory Harrison (opens in a new tab)) traveling there to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his wife, a reporter who was looking at the illegal hunting of outback wildlife. Carl soon discovers that she was attacked by an oversized Razorback (opens in a new tab) boar and teams up with a local hunter (Bill Kerr (opens in a new tab)), whose grandson was killed by the beast, and his friend Sarah (Arkie Whiteley (opens in a new tab)). They set out to track down and stop the creature before it can kill again but have to contend with a pair of deranged locals intent on covering up their part in the death of Carl’s wife.

Mulcahy’s direction and Dean Semler’s (opens in a new tab) award-winning cinematography elevate the film above the usual low-budget horror fare. The special effects used to realise the titular beast aren’t particularly great but there a handful of scenes that are well done, including some long shots of the rhino-sized animatronic monstrosity. The ending feels notably rushed and an interview with Alan Jones (critic, and friend of Mulcahy) on the DVD makes it clear that the director was forced to film the last few minutes against his wishes; Mulcahy having planned an alternative ending.

I’m crediting the artwork to ace illustrator Boris Vallejo (opens in a new tab), despite the lack of his usual signature, because it’s clearly his work as seen on this signed Belgian poster (image taken from emovieposter). It could be that Boris worked on a landscape layout, but It’s likely that a British designer was tasked with adapting his original artwork to the quad format. It’s equally possible that a British illustrator was asked to ape his style with a new layout. Regardless, it’s only fair that he is given the credit.

The original trailer is on YouTube (opens in a new tab).