Who: novelist / screenwriter Clive Barker, a few years before he'd take the hell over and direct Hellraiser for himself; director George Pavlou who'd recently turned in a Barker mess called Transmutations (aka Underworld); several Irish people; Heinrch Von Schellendorf.What: Based on a cool short story found in Barker's "Books of Blood Volume 3," it's the story of a hellish beast who awakens from beneath a demonic stone and commences harsh villainy on all who cross his path. And while it sounds silly to say it, this "Rawhead Rex" guy is one nasty bugger.
When: April of 1987, and if you need proof that this flick opened theatrically, here you go: my cousin and I saw it the day after it came out.
Where: A quaint and lovely little village in Ireland is the setting for Rawhead's cavalcade of hatred, brutality, and vicious murder. Plus he pees on a priest! Not cool.
Why: Because Clive Barker wrote some damn good short horror stories early on, and his movie career had to start somewhere.
The Good: Taken as a rather aggressive and mean-spirited b-grade monster movie, there's certainly some fun to be found here.
The Bad: Nowhere in the previous sentence did I imply that the flick is particularly well-made ... although it does have some really creepy moments.
The Ugly: Lots of vicious kills, one wacky-looking mega-monster, and I do believe I mentioned the priest who gets peed on by the nine-foot demonic hellbeast. You just don't forget a scene like that, even if you were a 16-year-old Jewish kid when you saw it.
The Verdict: It's badly-lit, mean-spirited, and more than a little choppy, but hell, it's a monster movie with an edge. As for Mr. Barker, let's just say he doesn't seem to be a big fan of the film.
