When an American journalist goes missing on assignment in the Australian outback, her husband begins the search for answers leading to a startling discovery. Various oddball characters are living in fear of a mythical giant wild boar, roaming the prairie preying on the vulnerable. Music video director Mulcahy made an (at the time) inauspicious feature debut with his picture about a big pig. It didn't limit his career though, with several high grossing and popular films to his credit since ("Highlander", "The Shadow", "Resident Evil: Extinction"). Time has elevated this curiosity to cult status, and it now receives more attention as a genre piece. For itself, it's heavily allegorical, bears resemblances to news of the day (which might be lost out of context), and benefits from some strong performances (particularly Kerr) and outback scenery and sets.
Harrison's one-man army churns and burns through an almost post-apocalyptic looking outback hunting down the clues to the mystery, dispatching of enemies with sadistic relish (one character is dispensed down a disused mine shaft with disturbingly callous cruelty). Meanwhile, guilt-ridden grandfather (Kerr) overcome by the loss of his grandchild, spirited away during the night, spends his remaining screen time, effectively writing his epitaph. Only one of these men will have redemption and avenge their loss, but both their plights, while starkly different methods, are engaging. There's a certain Ahab quality in both cases, and the biblical references are corny, but appropriate in the circumstances.
Paints a depressingly desolate view of rural Australia, filled with perils both man made and ecological, yet also handles some mature issues with sensitivity and reverence. All this achieved, and still in the shadow of the world's biggest marauding ham steak with the tusks of a rhino and attitude to match. No wonder it's a cult favourite.
Harrison's one-man army churns and burns through an almost post-apocalyptic looking outback hunting down the clues to the mystery, dispatching of enemies with sadistic relish (one character is dispensed down a disused mine shaft with disturbingly callous cruelty). Meanwhile, guilt-ridden grandfather (Kerr) overcome by the loss of his grandchild, spirited away during the night, spends his remaining screen time, effectively writing his epitaph. Only one of these men will have redemption and avenge their loss, but both their plights, while starkly different methods, are engaging. There's a certain Ahab quality in both cases, and the biblical references are corny, but appropriate in the circumstances.
Paints a depressingly desolate view of rural Australia, filled with perils both man made and ecological, yet also handles some mature issues with sensitivity and reverence. All this achieved, and still in the shadow of the world's biggest marauding ham steak with the tusks of a rhino and attitude to match. No wonder it's a cult favourite.