Movie Review: BOAR

As far as giant killer pig movies go, Russell Mulcahy’s (and writers Everett De Roche’s and Peter Brennan’s) RAZORBACK from 1984 stands head and tusks above the rest. It’s the CITIZEN KANE of giant killer pig movies.

Now we have a new contender. BOAR is right up there with it. It’s a grand, old-fashioned “nature rebels” gorefest like the ones that used to be all the rage, after the phenomenal success of JAWS led to a bajillion would-be imitators (of which the aforementioned RAZORBACK ranks among the best).

BOAR works not just because of the pig, a hulking animatronic beast the size of a dinosaur. It has considerable star power, featuring the likes of Bill Moseley, and John Jarratt of WOLF CREEK. (It also has considerable brawn in the form of former wrestler Nathan Jones, whose acting is better than one would expect.) Adding to this, the script by Chris Sun, who also directed, sparkles. It has natural-sounding dialogue that succinctly introduces all the characters, then imbues each of these with personality, making them well-rounded; they seem like real people, not caricatures. And then the action plays out in ways that the viewer wouldn’t expect. All this serves to lift BOAR above its genre pedigree—not that there’s anything wrong with that—and makes it not just a successful Monster movie but a successful movie, period. Granted they do sacrifice a little bit of realism to give the audience a somewhat happy ending, but still, it works.

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

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