Rawhead Rex (film)

Did You Know?

• The film was released on VHS by Vestron Video in 1987.
• A 4K restoration based on the original camera negative was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Kino Lorber on 17 October 2017.
• Pavlou and Barker had previously worked together on Transmutations (also known as Underworld).

Plot

Howard Hallenbeck travels to rural Ireland with his family to research items of religious significance. They visit a rural church to photograph gravestones and stained glass windows. Outside town, a farmer jars a large obelisk loose in his field; lightning strikes it, toppling the obelisk and releasing the monster Rawhead Rex. Howard meets Declan O'Brien, the church verger, who directs him to Reverend Coot.

O'Brien later touches the altar and experiences visions that destroy his sanity. Howard asks about parish records, but Coot finds them stolen. O'Brien destroys Howard's camera. Rawhead kills a local man named Dennis and drags his body through the forest, then kills a teenager named Andy Johnson at a Traveler site.

Howard's family stops by the road; while his daughter urinates, Rawhead kills Howard's son and takes the body. Howard returns to the church and discovers a weapon depicted in the stained glass window that can defeat the monster. Coot touches the altar but resists its temptations. Rawhead arrives at the church to urinate on O'Brien in a mock baptism.

Coot sees Rawhead, flees into the basement, and finds the missing parish records showing a blueprint of the monster. O'Brien forces Coot upstairs to be sacrificed. Police arrive but hesitate to fire because Rawhead holds Coot. A brainwashed inspector dumps gasoline around the police cars and ignites it as they shoot, killing all the police including himself.

Production

Though the original story by Clive Barker placed the action in Kent, the movie was shot entirely in Ireland, specifically in County Wicklow, Leinster, Redcross, and Laragh. The production had originally intended to use Bray Film Studios in England but relocated to the Republic of Ireland to save money. The monster was created by Peter Litten's company Coast to Coast, which had previously worked on the Barker-Pavlou film Underworld. Peter Mayhew was the first choice to play Rawhead Rex, but his asking price proved too high.

Reception

Rawhead Rex holds a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 4.4/10 based on 10 critics. Cinefantastique gave a negative review, criticizing the monster design as laughable and the finale as dull. Clive Barker said the movie is essentially faithful to his story but he is dissatisfied with it, noting that monster movies depend on directorial 'oomph' rather than the screenplay. In a 2004 interview, Barker expressed interest in a remake, but nothing came of it.