Movie Review: Rawhead Rex

“Rawhead Rex” is a 1987 horror/fantasy film from director George Pavlou, starring David Dukes, Kelly Piper, and Huh O’Conner.  This is a movie that often gets derided for its extreme 80’s cheese factor.  If you don’t like the 80’s aesthetic, with rubber-suit creature effects, predictable plot points, and corny dialogue, then this movie isn’t for you.

Here’s a quick synopsis; Mr. Howard Hallenbeck (played by David Dukes) is on an extended work/vacation with his family in rural Ireland. The Hallenbeck family is on vacation, while Mr. Hallenbeck is using this time to study and photograph local churches, presumably for a research project of some kind. His “theory” is that modern day Judeo-Christian places of worship were built on the ruins of previously pagan ritual sites.

We then see a farmer and a few friends working in a field, only they aren’t farming. They’re struggling (like, really busting their asses off) trying to remove a giant megalithic cairn stone from the farmers field. Being unable to make it budge, the farmer’s friends go home just as a storm is moving in. One thing leads to another, lightning strikes the carin, and hey wouldn’t you know- it falls over! But that’s because beneath the stone is a demon-monster-troglodyte who bursts forth from the ground, apparently rejuvenated from the lightning strike. This monster is none other than Rawhead Rex himself, in all of his medieval glory.

It’s important to note the creature design used for Rawhead Rex, and how it differs from the book (yes, this gem was originally a short story by Clive Barker, first published in his ‘Books of Blood’ anthology). In the film, Rawhead is a giant 7-foot-plus monster with a head and face that sort of resembles a wild boar mixed with a sasquatch. Interestingly enough, they gave Rawhead clothes for the movie, which is a kind of leather armor with a lot of strap-on pieces and parts. Very medieval, and not too far removed from what Vigo in Ghostbusters 2 was dressed in. I suppose the clothing would infer that Rawhead is something more than simply a demon or monster. He’s more intelligent than that. Interestingly though, the only time we see Rawhead command any sort of tools or technology in the movie is when we see him cooking one of his kills over an open fire, and using a roasting spit of some sort. Besides that one very quick scene, Rawhead really doesn’t “act smart” anywhere else in the movie. No real strategy, planning, or game playing… Rawhead is pretty much an instinct killer for the entire film.

Fun fact; In the original short story, Rawhead is supposed to look like a giant penis. Not kidding at all- while not literally a giant penis, he was described as pale,naked, and slender, with a giant bulbous moon-like head. Clive Barker has gone on record saying that indeed, the original look was meant to be phallic. This actually ties in with the story, so it’s not an unimportant detail. It’s also understandable why the film studio decided to go for a more traditional looking monster.

For the majority of the film, Rawhead is basically just wilding out and eating random people. Early on in the film, we’re introduced to Declan O’Brian, a.k.a. “Declan the sadistic priest” (played by Ronan Wilmot), who is a church minister in the area where Rawhaed is doing his thing. Declan gets “possessed” by Rawhead’s energy early on, and basically turns into Rawhead’s cheerleader for the entire film. It’s interesting that he’s not really “possessed” in the sense that he’s still Declan, and still a normal human, and apparently still able to work at his church. But nevertheless, Declan is a hard-core Rawhead fanboy, and is responsible for (quite honestly) some of the movie’s best scenes. The part where he lets Rawhad piss on him is an all-time classic. Also, the part where, while being pursued by Rawhead, Declan is asked “When it’s finished with you, what will it do with you?  “Kill me, I hope!” Declan answers with glee.  I have to give it to Ronan Wilmot for this performance.  I’ve seen a lot of horror movies that feature a “sniveling human familiar/errand boy” character, and Declan is by far the most memorable.  

Back to Rawhead’s killing spree. There’s some good blood, a bit of gore, but nothing really over the top. Honestly this movie could probably get a PG-13 in another time and place.  Today, Rawhead Rex’s practical effects will probably be seen as “corny”, cheap, or not realistic… But c’mon now.  That’s pretty much the calling card of horror movies from this era.  It should also be noted that Rawhead declines to kill a pregnant woman. This might have to do with the possibility that the unborn child is Declan’s, but that’s never established.

As far as the movie itself, it’s a pretty typical (well, better than typical) 80’s monster movie. It’s got some slasher vibes, some religious mystery, and a good amount of “hidden history” in its DNA. The concept of what our ancestors truly were doing, and the horrors they may have faced is put front and center here, without actually making it too obvious. Also woven in (sometimes in a much more obvious way) are the themes of fertility, gender roles, and the “destructive phallus”. I would recommend the original short story if you’d prefer to have those elements explained in more detail.  

During the climactic ending, our monster is defeated after unsuccessfully “fighting the blue light”.  If you’re not aware, “fighting the blue light” is a film-making metaphor for an extremely common Mary-Sue ending where the movie’s villain is taken out by some form of magical blue light.  If you don’t have any clue what I’m talking about… think about it.  How many horror, sci-fi, and action movies end with some sort of all-powerful “blue light” (even if it’s a white light, or simply ‘magic’) stopping the antagonist?  The blue light could really be any number of things… a magical weapon, a relic, even some sort of technology.  Whatever the case, really think about how many movies (especially from this era) end with the antagonist writhing and dying in a blast of magical blue rotoscope effects.  There are a lot, and this movie is one of them.  

Without spoiling too much, this movie is paced pretty well, and has some great monster-munching, monster-violence, monster-mania, demonic possessions, rural victims, incompetent police, child-munching, guns-don’t-work, and occult madness moments.  It might be the perfect film for this Halloween season, and is currently streaming on Tubi and Shudder.  Look into it.