BOAR
Australia, 2017, 96 minutes, Colour.
Nathan Jones, Bill Moseley, Christy-Lee Britten, John Jarrett, Steve Bisley, Roger Ward, Madeline Kennedy, Chris Haywood, Ernie Dingo, Simone Buchanan, Chris Bridgewater, Hugh Sheridan.
Directed by Chris Sun.
An Australian exploitation film harking back to similar films of the 1970s and 1980s, specifically Russell Mulcahy's film of the outback, Razorback.
For those seeking action, especially with the gore and destruction wrought by a giant-sized boar, a large selection of victims, a sense of menace and fear, there is enough to occupy them for an hour and a half.
On the other hand, those wanting something more, especially in the outback setting, especially with memories of the Wolf Creek films and television series, especially with the presence of John Jarrett, the storyline is rather thin and the dialogue is exceedingly banal, crude, and, while there are some psychological themes, they are played out rather thinly.
On the one hand, there are the old codgers, played by John Jarrett, Roger Ward, Steve Bisley and Chris Haywood having an opportunity to spin yarns in the pub. On the other hand, there is Ella who runs the pub, John Jarrett's daughter, a bright spot in terms of characters, finally desperate to find her father who has not returned as promised and ventures out to find him and confront the boar.
There is also a subplot concerning a family who returned to the town in order to see a relative, a giant of a man played by Nathan Jones, who have the opportunity to confront the boar. There is the mother and her second husband who has helped bring up their daughter and son, the daughter romantically involved with her potential fiance. This group finishes up bearing the brunt of the confrontations with the boar, the pursuit, the fiance being a coward, sudden deaths.
There are also some campers in the outback, discovered by the old men, two killed by the boar, two running in fear.
The film was directed by Chris Sun. He also wrote the screenplay which would have benefited by further revisions. An exercise in Australian schlock-horror.
