Rawhead Rex (1986) Reviews

• hugely entertaining cheapo horror

  kevin-caprani2005-08-15

  This film just doesn't get the credit it merits, its a cheaply made film which inevitably relies on the viewer to accept the limitations of the genre and "go with it", just as an old tom baker doctor who episode never had anything going for it except the characters and storyline so it goes with rawhead rex,the story and characters are good enough to carry the film, the setting in celtic ireland and the roots of the beast from the underworld are classic horror fare and i just don't see what more you can expect from this genre, its a blast from start to finish with gore and an unusual baptism scene for good measure, I've seen much worse major budget films, some of the acting . particularly the irish priest is gloriously over the top and all the more entertaining for it, its funny and gory at the same time, it sort of meets hammer and the evil dead and comes up with an entertaining movie, i voted a ten to hype the figures lol but its a good seven if truth be told:)

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• Rawhead Rex has its own special place in its genre!

  y2campo2000-04-08

  Im the kind of person who alot of the time will buy movies before I have even seen them. That was the case with this movie. I loved this movie! People say it was cheezy, maybe a little but if you love cult horror, get this movie. Its defently a fun little satanic film and I would recomend it to anyone that are fans of the horror / cult genre.

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• Rawhead Rex and the forgotten monster horror genre.

  Excaliber822011-04-30

  So the year is 2011 and time has not been kind to poor old Rawhead Rex (1986) and the monster horror genre in general. Anyone who has read Clive Barker's short story Rawhead Rex knows that this is a downright disturbing and wicked tale. The monster Rawhead has sexual issues, he hates women, he pisses on priests and has an appetite for eating small children/babies. However, all these awful things are what makes the story such a page turner and adds more depth to what would otherwise be a mindless monster work. The movie Rawhead Rex (1986) suffers from a very low budget. The main offender is Rawhead's mask itself. Its cheap rubber with little to no animatronics and the rubber shakes as the actor tries to move quickly. A higher budget would have done this monster so much justice, if only a creature master like Stan Winston had gotten involved, this would have been a whole different movie experience. I would love to see Rawhead Rex remade today with all the trimmings, but unfortunately Hollywood is a complete mess. Bad actors are thrown into quick PG-13 horror crap fests and CGI technology has become the only main focus of everything. I think it's time for someone to step up to the plate and re-boot the monster movie genre. Rawhead Rex could be an action/monster movie extravaganza if remade correctly. Hollywood simply refuses to take any chances and because of this, the horror genre is more or less dead. In the end, Rawhead Rex is still an enjoyable monster flick for the bored late night horror buff. But it just doesn't measure up to the more well-made 80s monster classics like "Pumpkinhead".

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• Read the short story

  Krug Stillo2003-09-20

  The short story Rawhead Rex is a gory and stomach churning piece of literature appearing in Clive Barker's Books of Blood Volume 3. Reading it one sees the possibilities of a good old fashioned monster on the loose movie. Unfortunately, most of the graphic violence of the story is removed from the film that followed. Although many of the character details remain the same, except that the protagonist and his family are Londoners instead of Americans in the short story. The setting, score, a few actors and the occasional scare make the films worth seeing for true Clive Barker completists. Be warned, what does make the proceedings less alluring is the fact that Rawhead himself is a great disappointment; the direction somewhat poor and from a script by Barker himself I expected more. Not even in league with his superior Hellraiser, effective Candyman or intriguing Nightbreed. Though I must admit I must've seen this film about eight times since it was initially released. Trivia note: The mother of the American Family is the actress who plays the nurse Joe Spinell skewers in Maniac.

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• Way better monster movie than it's reputation

  slayrrr6662004-07-30

  `Rawhead Rex' is one of the more unusual monster movies to come around. **SPOILERS** A photographer, Howard (David Dukes) comes to Ireland to do a book on sacred church sites. He stumbles across a site where three workers are raising a giant stone. Unbeknown to Howard, the stone is the resting spot for a creature called Rawhead Rex. As Howard checks around the town with various members of the church for permission to photograph the church, Rex kills one of the men who raised the stone. As Howard's wife (Kelly Piper) displays her dislike of the town, he goes to visit the man since the local priest, (Niall Tobian) gave him permission to do so. He stumbles across the murder and alerts the police. They believe that the murder is caused by someone in the town wanting revenge on the man, and start their investigation. Another couple nearby, arguing, walks off into the woods and leave their son. He finds Rex's first kill in the woods, as do the couple, and they race out of the woods, leaving only the woman and the son to reach safety. As the murders continue, the police chief (Naill O'Brian) realizes that a monster is behind it. Howard begins to suspect that the local verger for the church, Declan O'Brian, (Ronan Wilmont) is behind the monster's appearance, and he searches for the truth before Rex finds him. The Good News: `Rawhead Rex' is a better movie than people give it credit for being. The locale switch to Ireland is a great twist and is very creative. It allows Ireland's landscape to be fully exposed to the outside world, and it's sweeping landscapes, dense forest, and luscious mountains are put on full display. The locale also gives Rex tons of hiding places to pop out of, allowing for some nice scares. Almost all of his appearances are great scares, having him pop out or showing up unexpectedly. Some were better than others were, but all in all the shock of his first appearances allow for some nice scares. The monster's roar was also very creepy. It was very deep, very loud, and very chilling. It sent a chill down your back when you heard it. It was effective for Rex in that a monster of that power and ugliness had a roar to match it. The killings in the film were also very gory. Rex had a violent end for all of his victims, and made the film a bit better to stand, with the gore in it. The gore was very realistically done, with as much burned or damaged skin as cut and bleeding. The blood flow wasn't as great as would be expected, but it was more of the aftereffect that provided more bloodletting. However, the best part of the film is easily the creativity used in telling the story and setting up the plot. No real reason is given for Rex to appear, but was certainly clever in allowing the characters to get into the plot and get it going. Harry's character is given an interesting job and a reason to be in the location when the events go down. His job of locating ancient sacred places where churches are now built is a great new, creative job to have in a horror movie. The ending is also very creative and was one of the more unusual endings in horror movies. The Bad News: For being the central character, Rex was one really weird monster. It was an unusual movie, but Rex needed to be designed better. He looked imposing only in very few scenes and his power was displayed only in one scene, towards the end. As the central character, he needed to be a better monster. The main problem was his face. It resembled too much that of a gorilla on steroids, with the exposed lower jaw, fanged teeth, and human-ish face. His eyes were creepy, and could be left alone, but the rest could've been altered. The move to Ireland was creative, but that means that the viewers have to sit through the Irish accents for most of the movie. Only harry and his family are not Irish, so the rest of the cast has the almost indistinguishable accent that will probably hinder some viewers from enjoying it, as they should. The Final Verdict: `Rawhead Rex' is an unusual film, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It will grow on you after repeated viewings, but most may not make it to repeated viewings. That is a shame, since it is a creative movie that will surprise the casual horror viewer as well as those who want to see a new twist in horror films. Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language.

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