Pig Hunt (2008)

Pigs are far out, man

Combining aspects of "Deliverance" with backwoods folks and a sense of adventure, along with "Razorback" and a setting with a life of its own and a legendary creature hiding in the midst, "Pig Hunt" produces a mishmash of genres that's more fun than completely serious with a hippie cult that's both prone to Zen and violence thrown in for good measure.

A man with the fitting name of John Hickman heads out to his late uncle's ranch in the sticks with his girlfriend and three other friends from the city for a hunting weekend. Their first stop is the general store that leads them to the legend of the Ripper--a supposed 3000lb pig--as well as a confrontation with a muscled, sword-wielding guy who looks like an ancient warrior walked into the wrong movie or thought he was at a convention for "Xena: Warrior Princess." The area isn't known for its steady employment, so a share of the dwellings look run down and lived in by dirty, grumpy rednecks who use the local forest for perfecting their aim at the animals.


They tentatively team up with John's two old childhood friends who've since took the path of drugs, alcohol, cruelty, perversion and good ol' hunting in between to everyone else's discomfort. There's a share of posturing with each person thinking they're the best to the point of a who-can-puff-out-their-chest-the-biggest contest rather than who can actually shot the straightest. There's a building tension in the air that could burst at any moment that's both annoying with no one but John and possibly his girlfriend Brooks, who's proving she's got the stuff, to lean on with a backbone. But it still proves to be somewhat engaging as to who or what could set off the balance thinly held together by condescending remarks. Soon enough the boars are called, someone gets injured, human remains and marijuana crops are found, and then ulterior motives come into play. The characters go separate paths and it turns over to a human on human blood sport on someone else's turf. Though there's a third party lying in wait that makes the local degenerates in town look a few steps closer to normal.

The third act feels a little underrealized but still comes as a surprise and carries some mystery about how, where and why. Though it's most likely for the best because the more it's thought about the less it makes logical sense. Some of the transitions and editing have places of awkwardness but a share of events flow from one heated aspect to the next. There's some subtext attempted with John and a past in Iraq but then it's dropped to keep it more in light of exploitation. "Pig Hunt" is not a movie that causes the brain to kick in but hits enough surface sensations to keep the popcorn moving from bowl to mouth without pause unless it's a choke or a what-in-the-heck remark. The quicker pacing doesn't give time to scratch beneath the surface but a number of in-the-now events happen to keep one's attention locked and focused with surprises and a share of uncomfortableness about being so far from home and encountering unwelcoming people that seem like from another place and time. Like "Razorback," the wild boar is shown the least amount while the human characters are developed more till they meet up. Les Claypool, the frontman from the band Primus, layed down the music and played a smaller part as a "preacher" who lets his gun do all of his sermons. The soundtrack is a mixup of almost genreless music apart from itself with unconventional and discordant layers and an almost boondocks feel with an acoustic and gibberish twang.


This is more of an offbeat adventure-thriller than an outright horror, but that doesn't stop it from including point blank injuries and a share of gory wounds anywhere from knees busted in to eyes gouged out. "Pig Hunt" is no doubt an out there story that's about as unlikely to happen than being held hostage by a group of clowns robbing a donut shop with flamethrowers, but this is never short of something bizarrely humorous or to leave one ill at ease, not to mention some individual characters with their own personality to remember, while others can be forgotten but were most likely there to up the body count which us blood-thirsty viewers crave.

Rating: 7/10

Director: James Isaac (The Horror Show, Jason X, Skinwalkers)
Stars: Travis Aaron Wade, Tina Huang, Howard Johnson Jr., Rajiv Shah, Jason Foster, Nick Tagas, Bryonn Bain
Link: IMDB

Razorback (1984)

A wild boar, urban Americans and Australian rednecks

A man named Jake Cullen puts his grandson to sleep when suddenly a huge razorback boar charges through his home. The man is blamed for the events and goes to court with the evidence being suspicious but ultimately inconclusive. Two years later and a woman from New York, Beth Winters, heads to the town of Gamulla, Australia to do investigative coverage of kangaroo and wallabies being slaughtered in excess. She gets closed mouths and dirty looks of the we-don't-like-your-kind-'round-here type at the local bar and inn, only to stop into Cullen who now dedicated his life to going exclusively after boars: "There's something about blasting the shit out a razorback that brightens up my whole day." Soon enough the must-unravel-the-truth-no-matter-the-cost woman not only has a run in with two violent and sadistic local brothers that want to teach her a lesson, but also the monstrous razorback that's returned from years earlier. Her attentive husband, Carl, goes to Gamulla to look into his wife's disappearance, runs into Cullen, the two that initially terrorized his wife and also meets another lass named Sarah (Arkie Whiteley - R.I.P. 2001) who tracks the boars.


After a certain point, the story is somewhat loose as it moves from one thing to the next, all the while building up to have a final show down with the razorback who by that point seems more cinematic and fantasy than made to be the real deal. With such open land mass, somehow it's able to elude hunters that canvas every square inch and then come about with a sixth sense for confrontation; this isn't an open body of water like in "Jaws" but a place with little vegetation for hiding. It makes it seem like it's boarding on gimmick if it weren't for the locations and locals being utilized along with it. The razorback comes and goes conveniently as to how the story is holding up and when it's needed. When it shows up it's a raging beast with a nearly impenetrable body that only has one mode of attack: charge. The razorback plays both sides of the fence by taking out bad people and good, so in that it keeps itself less formulaic and straightforward.


There's anywhere from light to dark humor thrown in to make the events a little more fun than overly serious: some of them misplaced, some of them genuinely funny. This has a peculiar atmosphere at points as you get used to Gamulla and its gun in one hand, beer in the other Australian country folk that are so over-the-top with their sayings and makeshift, do-it-themselves modes of living that they might give some "Texas Chainsaw" cretins a run for their money. The score, performed on a synthesizer, delivers both a distinctive and mood enhancing tone, though sometimes it can be intrusive by hitting higher strings at bombastic levels to the point of being louder than anything else. There are a number of atmospheric scenes when out in the brush with certain lighting tricks, obscured view and odd noises to make it seem both serene and also dangerous, like anything could pop out at any time in this out of reach area where some of the locals might be just as dangerous as to what's lurking in the shadows.



To its credit, "Razorback" isn't always predictable--apart from the whole regular people shtick that have to handle the problem instead of authorities--but then, on the other hand, it only takes its premise and story so far. This has a share of characters yet doesn't keep a steady focus on a specific one for too long, not to mention the razorback even less. By jumping around it keeps it a little more general and simplistic by not always treading deeper to be a closer friend to share secrets but more an amusing acquaintance that comes and goes with idle conversation. Gregory Harrison, as Carl, seems to represent the you or me character that finds himself in an unfamiliar situation and how he has to solve it without always making him a thoroughly captivating hero till he can work up the courage; essentially the finale is the most exemplary but before that he doesn't always capture the frame. Bill Kerr takes over every scene he's in with some memorable lines as Cullen and should have been shown more of. Some insignificant scenes are grazed over to help it move steadily along, while others have some tones that clash and seem exaggerated. The subtext shows the greed of certain hunters, how they want more and more or don't care at what cost they get it. Along with two men who have a determination after tragic events robbed something from them that turns into a vendetta at whatever the cost.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, The Shadow)
Stars: Judy Morris, Bill Kerr, Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, David Argue, Chris Haywood
Link: IMDB

Chawz (2009)

A boar in an un-boring small town

This is a comedy first and foremost with offbeat characters and more humor of the situational variety than the gross or perverted kind. Even during supposed serious scenes this still injects a certain amount of humor to play light on cruelty and misfortune. It's a B movie that's actually taken with a bit of merit: steadily paced instead of rushed, along with developed characters that have a share of individual personality than playing catch up or using the medium as a stepping stone. It's definitely a refreshing surprise from a country you wouldn't expect it to come out of.

In a reportedly crimeless village in South Korea, a man's grave is dug up. Little do they know that another man stumbled into it first but got taken away and killed by some mysterious thing. Meanwhile, a traffic cop named Kim Kang-soo gets transferred out of the major city of Seoul to the small village of Sam-mae-ri with more eccentric residents than he can keep up with, including his own delusional mother and on-edge, pregnant wife that he brought along. Soon enough they find some scattered body parts and have a murder investigation on their hands headed by the new hot shot, klepto, shades-at-night detective named Shin that bosses around the incompetent police captain who's more talk than show except when it comes to berrating his own men.


A Mr. Chun--who used to be an expert hunter and who's granddaughter was recently taken--claims it was an animal. The police suggest to close down the organic farming weekend for the investigation but the town's chief is having none of it as it might scare away visitors--"Jaws" anyone? Soon enough their mysterious murderer turns out to be a hulking, wild boar that's now so out of control that it brazenly attacks someone in broad daylight and with everyone around. A special hunting team is called in headed by the renowned Baek Man-bae along with his Finnish men and the chase is on to capture or kill the beast who's acquired a ravenous taste for human flesh. But that might not have been the biggest of their problems, which causes a motley crew of town's people to do what the up-to-their-ears-in-political-moves officials couldn't and put a stop to the crisis. That or get hurt trying.

As a creature feature "Chawz" doesn't stick out as a prominent special effects picture--the CGI beast is detailed to an extent but not always the main showcase--or an entirely in-your-face violent one either. Even its action scenes are kept more realistic to keep it humorous and relatable to the average person than grossly cinematic and over-the-top. This still manages to provide a share of excitement and thrills with some chase scenes that feel worked out than running back and forth like a typical survival film. It sifts through the ones that pretended versus the ones that actually have it in them. The heroes are made to purposely stumble and run away fearful but also to find some strength when opportunity calls to possibly win the upper hand.


This is a story that progressively escalates and at the same time it manages to steadily keep up with its array of characters that get a share of memorable screen time anywhere from the town witch to the drunk that now gets to prove himself instead of shamelessly letting go of who he once was. "Chawz" is definitely a fun movie that takes the participation route with its various adventures, characters and recallable scenarios that make you feel like you're there. It's a two hour film that could have been longer since you're now accustomed to the people like long lost relatives. Even the monster goes back and forth between terrorizing the people to feeling sorry for it as it might have been a product of human encroachment. They laugh, yell and get excited for better or worse at the same time as you and go through a learning process as to how to solve the exceptional predicament with some trial and error theories. Not to mention what it all means to the small town with a name that possibly has more hypocrisy to work out than a wild boar on the loose could have entirely resolved.

Rating: 8.5/10

Director: Jeong-won Shin (Sisily 2km)
Link: IMDB