Rating: 3/5
Hooptober X | 27/34 | Based on a Clive Barker story
Howard travels to the land of his forefathers to do research for a book on Neolithic fertility cults in the area. He enters the town church and sees a stained glass window depicting a monster beneath a pillar.
An absolute dipshit tries to uproot a rock in his field. An electrical storm fires up. From beneath the rock rises Rawhead.
The eyes of the stained glass monster glow red, and their light cast upon the altar. Declan O’Brien touches the altar, receives visions, and laughs maniacally.
Rawhead goes on a rampage, but stops when he reaches a pregnant woman — his claws retract.
It didn’t feel like Clive Barker until we got more scenes of Howard and his wife, Elaine. They engage in public intimacy, much to the dismay of a local woman with unsettling eyes. It’s refreshing to see a married couple that loves and supports one another in a horror movie.
The Rawhead Rex design is incredible and awful — he looks like Goro from Mortal Kombat with more cartoonish jowls.
The movie falters when it requires strong emotional performances. Also, it’s clear that the screenplay holds more potential than what the director realizes on-screen.
There’s a scene where O’Brien kneels and lets Rawhead Rex pee on him to “baptize” him. There’s the Clive Barker I know.
This movie is pretty dumb, but time and 80s nostalgia has only helped it. Enjoy it more by watching it with friends.
** SPOILERS ** At a certain point, Rawhead only kills men (who knew Satan was a TERF?). So, when Howard finds the fertility totem hidden in the church, Elaine must hold the totem and trap Rawhead. That’s pretty rad.