Is "Boar" a flawed horror film with quite a few shortcomings? Yes, it most certainly is. Is it possible for a B-movie to offer more outrageously violent & bloody entertainment than "Boar" does? No, absolutely not and that's a guarantee! Sincere apologies, but you won't be reading a 100% objective review from me. I'm incredibly biased and already knew that I was going to love "Boar" long before I sat down to watch the world premiere at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. I have a lot of sympathy for writer/director Chris Sun ever since the unscrupulous "Charlie's Farm", I cherish a tremendous fondness for Australian horror cinema in general, and my favorite sub-genre also just happens to be "oversized animal attack" movies!
With its premise, "Boar" naturally reminds you instantly of Russell Mulcahy's 1984 classic "Razorback", but Chris Sun's film is neither a sequel, a remake or an homage. The plot is incredibly simplistic and straightforward: a small community in the wide Australian outback is beleaguered by a mastodon boar, about the size of a mammoth, and it is killing one helluva lot of people! Sourpusses are likely to slam the script, since it doesn't bother to clarify why the animal is approximately ten times its species normal size, but B-movie fanatics will simply just enjoy the massive amount of bloodshed, the breath-taking rural Aussie filming locations and - of course - the sight of the humongous pig with its filthy tusks and eerie growling. The special effects are not always convincing, especially when the digital pig is spurting or devouring human heads, but the gore is overall fantastic. Last but certainly not least, deep respect for Chris Sun as he managed to gather a dream-cast full of Australian cult legends! "Boar" stars John Jarratt ("Wolf Creek", "Dark Age"), Roger Ward ("Mad Max", "Blood Camp Thatcher") and Steve Bisley (Goose from "Mad Max"). Following their previous collaboration on "Charlie's Farm", former wrestling champion Nathan Jones and horror veteran Bill Moseley also returned to join Chris Sun's cast. "Boar" probably only deserves a solid rating 5 or 6 out of 10, but I'm rewarding it with a big fat 8/10 and hope all Ozploitation fans will seek it out!
